Speaker Event: Sam Collins of the Juneteenth Legacy Project on May 16, 2025

"Our Juneteenth Journey: How a Texas holiday became a nationwide celebration”

This year's Juneteenth Celebration kicks off at 6:00 p.m., on Friday, May 16, with subject matter expert Sam Collins. Teaming with Sue Johnson of the Nia Cultural Center in Galveston, he and others have established the Juneteenth Legacy Project. Tickets include a wine and cheese reception with a pop-up exhibit by Houston Suffragists Project.

Samuel Collins was born in Galveston, Texas in 1971. He grew up in Hitchcock with his mother and grandparents and spent time in Galveston with his father's family. He grew up in a predominantly African American community but attended the integrated schools. He attended Texas A&M University. After he graduated, he moved to Corpus Christi in 1995 but quickly returned to Houston in 1996. In 2012 he decided to become his own boss and opened his own business. In 2005, Collins and his wife purchased the Stringfellow Orchards after he saw a historical marker on the road. Since then, he has endeavored to restore the property and highlight the histories of African Americans who worked in the orchards following the Civil War. Collins has also been involved in Juneteenth Celebrations in both Galveston and Hitchcock, and other historic preservation efforts in Galveston County. In his interview, he details the need for historical preservation in the African American community.

This program event is sponsored in part by The Summerlee Foundation.

Teacakes and Tours every Saturday in June and on Juneteenth

Delight in the Juneteenth tradition of teacakes and red punch at our popular Black history tour. Explore the following three houses that are designated by UNESCO as Sites of Memory for their “Routes of Enslaved Peoples’ Project” - 1847 Kellum-Noble House; 1866 Fourth Ward Cottage; and 1870 Yates House.

🏠 Step into History: Our three historic houses stand as silent witnesses to the triumphs and struggles of generations past. From the opulent grandeur of the plantation era to the resilient spirit of emancipation, each house tells a unique story of resilience, courage, and hope.

📜 Guided Tours: Led by a tour guide, this Black History Tour offers a glimpse into the lives of those who once lived on a plantation and segregated neighborhood after June 19, 1865. Learn about the daily lives of enslaved individuals, the struggles for freedom, and the years that followed Juneteenth in our nation's history.

🍰 Tea Cake Tastings: Indulge in a sweet treat as you savor the flavors of tradition with our tea cake tastings. Made from cherished family recipes passed down through generations, these delectable treats serve as a reminder of resilience and community in the face of adversity.

TICKETS

🗓️ Saturday, June 7, 2025, 10 AM, 11:30 AM, 1 PM, 2:30 PM

🗓️ Saturday, June 14, 2025, 10 AM, 11:30 AM, 1 PM, 2:30 PM

🗓️ Thursday, June 19, 2025, 10 AM, 11:30 AM, 1 PM, 2:30 PM

For Group Tours, please contact tours@heritagesociety.org.

Visit Houston Signature Experience Tour “From Plantation to Emancipation”

🎭 A Visit Houston Signature Experience for the Soul  

“From Plantation to Emancipation”
Travel back in time during this 90-minute experience. Stepping into The Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park, you embark on a unique journey through history. Tour three  (3) historic houses that tell Houston's stories from plantation to emancipation that are UNESCO Sites of Memory through the “Routes of Enslaved Peoples Project.”  See and listen to a talented actress Kijanna Wiseman who brings to life the hardships of slavery and the victory of freedom through song and theatrics. Where else can you hear the stories drawn from a script penned by Martha Whiting-Goddard, a descendant of Reverend Jack Yates, who once lived in one of the houses you explore?

🗓️Saturday, June 7, 2025, 10 AM

🗓️Saturday, June 14, 2025, 10 AM

🗓️Thursday, June 19, 2025, 10 AM (Juneteenth!)

🗓️Saturday, June 21, 2025, 10 AM

🗓️Saturday, June 28, 2025, 10 AM

Our Juneteenth Initiatives

The Heritage Society offers Black History tours and offers Juneteenth activities. In 2021, our leadership team made additional efforts to educate Houston about life before emancipation, freedom after June 19, 1865, and the ongoing pursuit of equal rights. Below are our Juneteenth initiatives for showcasing Houston’s history better than ever.

  • To unveil the success stories of African American suffragists in Houston during 1920 through our suffrage exhibit

  • To highlight the journey of emancipation and other civil rights history through our exhibits 

  • To inform tourists and locals of the African American experience in Houston in our historical home tours being conducted during Juneteenth

  • To educate our board and leaders on original Juneteenth history in Galveston, TX on June 11, 2021

  • To collaborate with and showcase key organizations in the Fourth Ward, Freedmen's Town who are our neighbors. We now share the same City zone with Fourth Ward

  • To express Houston's history of the road to achieving equality through art, murals, poetry, and photography

  • To celebrate our new federal holiday with family Juneteenth traditions such as serving red punch and tea cakes

  • To serve on the Mayor’s Citywide Juneteenth committee 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Federal Holiday Media & Press Coverage

TOUR OF THE YATES HOUSE - GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF JACK YATES AND THS BOARD MEMBER Martha Whiting-Goddard, Senator John Cornyn, GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF JACK YATES Jacqueline bostic. Also in picture: THS member, houston historian, & photograPher Priscilla T. Graham AND THS Executive Director aliSon Ayres bell. (PHOTO CREDIT: THS STAFF, JUNE 18, 2021.)

TOUR OF THE YATES HOUSE - GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF JACK YATES AND THS BOARD MEMBER Martha Whiting-Goddard, Senator John Cornyn, GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF JACK YATES Jacqueline bostic. Also in picture: THS member, houston historian, & photograPher Priscilla T. Graham AND THS Executive Director aliSon Ayres bell. (PHOTO CREDIT: THS STAFF, JUNE 18, 2021.)

Private Tour for Senator John Cornyn

On Friday, June 18, Senator John Cornyn held media interviews with KHOU, KTRK, and KPRC at the Jack Yates House and received a tour from Yates’ great granddaughters. Board member Martha Whiting Goddard and her sister Jacqueline Bostic showed Senator Cornyn the home where they lived once. Senator Cornyn had been a co-sponsor of the bill honoring Juneteenth since 2011 and selected the Yates House as a historic location to share more information about his support for America's new federal holiday.

THS member and Houston historian Priscilla T. Graham, who is a subject matter expert on Freedmen's Town, was also present to photograph this Fourth Ward historic opportunity and was on standby in case the media or Senator Cornyn had any history questions on June 18, 2021.

See Graham’s vivid photos of the event HERE. See Graham's website HERE.

(In Photo: Senator John Cornyn, Alison Ayres Bell, Priscilla T. Graham. Photo Credit, Sen. Cornyn’s Staff, June 18, 2021)

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