A post-party Juneteenth Roundup

Some amazing stories crossed my feed last week!

Being in the Houston area, Juneteenth events seem to be everywhere. Not just last week, but all month long! Its wonderful and I am trying to learn all the things.

My good friend, Magnolia Mathews-Henry, recently hosted an event at the lovely Mathews Park in Tomball, named after her father, Samuel Mathews, at the community center. She combined it with a Father’s Day celebration. She and her family have worked diligently with our county precincts to honor her father by creating a 6-acre precinct-managed park with community center and pavilion, picnic areas, basketball, baseball and volleyball areas, playground and walking trails. If you live in this area, it would be a great location for a family reunion, and she frequently hosts community history events there.

The way that I chose to spend the Juneteenth holiday this year was listening to and reading as many stories as I could, and learning about the resources available that I can suggest to others who might be researching enslaved ancestors.

Here are some of my favorite Juneteenth 2025 Rootsquad Roundup items:

Ancestry’s “A Dream Delivered: The Lost Letters of Hawkins Wilson” video:

Ancestry’s Behind The Screen: A Dream Delivered:

I ALWAYS love Crista Cowan’s podcast, “Stories that Live in Us”. Never fails to cause me to have to grab the tissues:

Crista Cowan's Stories That Live in Us: These Are My Kinfolk: A Juneteenth Reunion

These very interesting articles,

The Truth Behind June 19, 1865: What Hari Jones Wanted Us to Know

💡 The Truth About Juneteenth: Were They Waiting—or Fighting for Freedom?

Check out these resources, and let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I know I cried about the Wilson family and I learned a lot more about my Texas in that time period, and I have a long way to go in understanding the lives of those who lived through it.