The U.S. is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Since that day, there are many national historical moments that occurred right here in Texas.
Here’s some of them.
The Grandmother of Juneteenth
North Texas has a very important connection to Juneteenth—it is home to Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth.”
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that enslaved people in the Confederate states—including Texas—were free. But the news didn’t reach Texas until June 19, 1865, when Gen. Gordon Granger of the Union Army arrived in Galveston. Since that day, Juneteenth was celebrated locally as a second independence day…