TAAM in Tyler hosts annual Juneteenth celebration

Published 5:32 am Friday, June 20, 2025

Freedom came late to Texas and to the nation as a formally recognized holiday, but it’s never gone uncelebrated. And in Tyler over the last week, celebrations have been aplenty.

On Thursday, the Texas African American Museum (TAAM) marked Juneteenth with music, food, and engaging activities to recognize a pivotal moment in history.

“It’s been 160 years to the day and we have this annual event to celebrate community and to celebrate our emancipation from slavery,” said Denise Pendleton, a volunteer with TAAM and member of its advisory board.

Juneteenth has long been a grassroots celebration of freedom, community, and Black resilience. The annual holiday marks June 19, 1865 — the day Union troops, led by General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston and issued General Order No. 3, formally declaring all enslaved people in Texas were free. Although President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, the news had not reached Texas until that moment.

That delayed declaration marked a turning point in Black American history and has since become a symbol of liberation. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

“We were celebrating it long before it became a national holiday,” said Norma Kennedy, who has lived in the city for more than seven decades. “We need to not make it just a one-day event.”

For longtime Tyler residents like Kennedy, Juneteenth is personal — a reflection of how far the community has come, and how far it still has to go.

“There was a time in the North Tyler area we didn’t have anybody but Blacks over here,” she said. “It’s improving because the communities are changing. We’re mixing in the races of white, Hispanic and all of that. So, that in itself is improvement.”

With new businesses growing in historically Black neighborhoods, Kennedy said she’s hopeful for what’s ahead.

“The businesses going up together — that makes a difference… it’s changing a lot and I’m glad to see such improvement,” she said. “We are all human, there’s no color barrier… and Tyler has done a good job supporting Juneteenth.”

An estimated 3,000 people turned out Saturday for the Juneteenth Association of Tyler’s annual Juneteenth parade.

Thursday’s event also served as a moment of recognition, honoring community members including former students and staff of Dogan Junior High/Middle School (1962–2018); Herwanea Sirles, owner of Elite Personal & Business Solutions; former students, faculty and staff of Butler College (1905–1972); and TAAM’s Juneteenth Queen Davon Ferguson (2021–2023).

“It’s really nice to have a holiday that recognizes the struggles of the African American community,” Sirles said. “And it’s wonderful to see the city of Tyler support it.”

Sirles was presented with the Lifetime Impact Award as a Visionary Entrepreneur Trailblazer for her outstanding contributions to innovation, resilience, and community advancement. She has run her own desktop publishing business for 30 years and is active in civic and service organizations, including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

“I love giving back to the community,” Sirles said. “I really am just a servant, so I don’t do things to be recognized. I’m kind of backburner, not really in charge of anything — I’m more of a worker bee. But it does feel nice to be recognized.”

TAAM itself has become a hub for such community events. The Tyler museum is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history and cultural contributions of African Americans, both locally and nationally. Operated by the Empowerment Community Development Corporation, TAAM began in 2016 as a virtual project — conceived by Tyler native Clarence Shackelford — and has since grown into a permanent museum housed in a restored fire station at 309 West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, donated by the City of Tyler.

Today, the museum features exhibitions of historical photographs, documents, and artifacts, and regularly hosts school tours, speaker events, and donation drives.

“This has been our home for the last five years, and we’ve done pretty well in those short years,” Pendleton said.

Pendleton said she chose to retire in Tyler instead of staying in the metroplex because it’s home — she grew up on the city’s north side and still lives in her family house. But she said not much has changed in that part of town. The contrast becomes clear, she said, when driving from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard toward the more developed areas near Cumberland.

“We do have some ways to go, but I would be remiss in saying we haven’t had advancements,” she added. “Tyler is kind of a medical mecca, there’s all kinds of businesses, and it’s thriving. Hopefully we’ll make those strides as time goes on to elevate all of Tyler into that industriousness and business because, over here, it’s just really a lot different.”

For many in the community, Juneteenth is not only a time of celebration but a reminder of the past and a call to protect progress.

“We need to do what we can to keep history going,” Kennedy said. “We need to go forward, not backwards but make sure we take the time to remember the history, not repeat it.”