ORANGE, Texas — Across Southeast Texas people came together to celebrate Juneteenth on Wednesday.
The now federal holiday marks the date that enslaved African Americans in Texas were told they were finally free. With this newfound freedom came free, black churches.
Churches like Salem United Methodist, one of the oldest black churches in Orange.
Today, 12News joined the church for their Juneteenth celebration.
"Salem has been instrumental in making sure people in our Community celebrate Juneteenth, and even understand why we bother to celebrate Juneteenth," said church member Velenta Mathews-Hunter.
Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, it took two more long years before the news finally reached Texas.
Federal troops marched their way to Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 and told the enslaved people that they were now free.
"Then they came to Galveston and said listen, all the slaves are free. The law was passed two years ago. You got to let them go now," said Mathews-Hunter.
Even with the the war over and their freedom obtained, the racial strife was unfortunately not yet over for African Americans.
Due to segregation, black people had to build their own churches, this is the origin of Salem United Methodist Church.
"This church came about in the 1860's. Around 1865 is when the Methodist Conference for the Afro-Americans was established. That included the states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi it was right around the time of the Emancipation Proclamation," said Salem United Pastor Emanuel Echols.
The church turned the chapel into a classroom.
"They established the first schools in Orange," said Mathews-Hunter. "They started making sure that the universities, the black universities that came into play. That we started sending our children for those educations and making sure they came back to educate those that were left here. That still continues to this day."
Churches, regardless of the denomination, became the foundation of communities.
They played a pivotal role in educating newly freed black people for generations to come.
"It was automatically understood that, okay the people over here are going to make sure you know how to read, they're gonna make sure you know math," said Mathews-Hunter.
Like many other black churches, Salem United Methodist Church went on to be involved in the Civil Rights movement in the 20th century.
"We had a lot of events here at this church. Langston Hughes has come and spoke here about two times," said Pastor Echols.
Now the church holds an annual Juneteenth celebration not only to mark the triumphs of the past, but to look forward to a better tomorrow.
"So that we can come back together as a community, as a people, and work together towards the same goal," said Pastor Echols.