(Aaron E. Martinez / American Statesman)
East Austin’s Streets Come Alive for Juneteenth 2026
Thousands of people lined Chicon Street, East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Rosewood Avenue on Friday for Austin’s signature Juneteenth Parade and Park Festival, the city’s longest-running celebration of the day enslaved people in Texas finally learned they were free.
The parade kicked off at 10 a.m. near East MLK Jr. Boulevard and wound through the heart of East Austin’s African American Cultural Heritage District, with the Austin All-Star Band’s drum majors leading the procession down Chicon Street as families, city leaders and longtime residents crowded the sidewalks. The route fed into Rosewood Neighborhood Park, where the celebration stretched into the evening with live music, food vendors, children’s activities and a fireworks finale.
The event has been organized for 25 years by the Greater East Austin Youth Association, a volunteer group dedicated to growing the city’s Freedom Day traditions and the youth programs that grew out of them.
The day’s events stretched well beyond the parade route. An early-morning fun run drew runners of all ages to Leona Street, the George Washington Carver Museum hosted a remembrance ceremony with music and reflection, and the Austin Public Library marked its 100th anniversary at the historic Carver Branch with a family-friendly festival and dominoes tournament.
Travis County held its 37th annual employee and community celebration downtown, and venues across the city, from comedy clubs to neighborhood watch parties along the parade route, added their own programming.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay and announced that more than 250,000 enslaved Texans were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
Texas was the first state to recognize it as an official holiday, in 1980, and Congress made it a federal holiday in 2021. Most City of Austin offices, courts, libraries and museums closed Friday in observance.
For East Austin in particular, the celebration carries extra weight: it’s a chance for longtime Black residents to pass down the neighborhood’s history of community and resilience to a new generation, even as the area continues to change.
Sources:
- Austin American-Statesman, “Juneteenth events: Austin’s free 2026 celebrations”
- KUT Radio, “Austin celebrates Juneteenth with parade, community”
- KUT Radio, “7 Juneteenth celebrations happening in Austin this weekend”
- CBS Austin, “Juneteenth 2026: Austin celebrates with annual parade, festival in east Austin”
- KXAN, “LIST: 2026 Juneteenth events in Austin, Central Texas”
- City of Austin, “City of Austin Celebrates Juneteenth 2026”
- Travis County, “Juneteenth”
- CultureMap Austin, “12 places to celebrate Juneteenth in Austin this weekend”
The Austin Police Department Missing Persons Unit stated Friday evening that they are asking for help from the community in locating a missing woman. (CBS Austin)
A man’s body was found Friday morning in Lake Pflugerville. A family reported seeing what they believed to be a body that was partially submerged just before 9:00 a.m.
The Milam County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a murder-suicide at an RV park on FM 908. (FOX 7 Austin)
SWAT elements, along with Travis County Sheriff’s Officers, were at the Beckett Apartments, on FM969 Friday, attempting to apprehend a person they assume may be armed and refusing to turn in. Authorities sent a text message to residents asking them to not leave their apartments during the operation.
Deputies are searching for a suspect after at least three vehicles were damaged along State Highway 21.
The Big Sandy Creek area of Travis County among the hardest hit outside the Kerrville area during the 2025 Independence Day floods. Ten died and dozens more lost homes, vehicles, livestock and family pets. Nearly a year later, some survivors remain concerned that not enough has been done to address the area’s vulnerable infrastructure. (Austin Current)
WEATHER
FRIDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
Incumbent Dan Patrick, Democratic challenger Vicki Goodwin and potential independent candidate Mike Collier discuss their priorities.
A domestic violence shooting in San Antonio on Friday left two people dead and a San Antonio police officer wounded after an hours-long standoff.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, former correctional officers have been arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving female inmates at Hospital Galveston.
The Texas Supreme Court has unanimously blocked environmental groups from suing to keep a beach open during SpaceX rocket launches. Siding with SpaceX and the General Land Office, the court upheld a lower ruling dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. (Texas Tribune)
A Tesla allegedly on autopilot crashed into a Katy home, sending a 76-year-old woman inside to the hospital where she later died, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday he is a “strong supporter” of in-vitro fertilization, which was demonized in the state party convention in Houston last week. (Texas Politics)
The fellas run the gamut of happenings this week, including more screwworm, a final report on last year’s floods, and a Libertarian announces himself.
Yes, Lt. Gov. Patrick got a lot of attention for saying James Talarico is “going to hell, for sure.” But in understanding what may happen in this election, what’s maybe more significant is that senior Texas Republicans including Patrick and Sen. John Cornyn are still feuding following some of the nastiest high-profile GOP primaries in this state’s history.
Plus, take a trip with us to South Texas as we look for the “Mexican tune” and try to figure out if the GOP can hold their recent gains there despite serious national headwinds.
We’ll also take you inside the Republican Party of Texas Convention in Houston with Tony Ortiz at currentrevolt.com – he and his team created a virtual simulation of the convention that you can play on your phone. Yes, really.
(Episode from June 19, 2026)
Can the party the says it believes in freedom of religion also ban people from worshiping how they want? That’s exactly the line Texas Republican Party is trying to walk. On this week’s Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace pushes one of the leaders of the anti-Islam push in Texas, Alan Schoolcraft, about his claim this isn’t about religion.
The Democrat running to lead the biggest county in Texas isn’t buying it. Harris County Judge candidate Letitia Plummer, a Muslim, joins the Take for an exclusive interview to explain how the GOP’s latest culture war won’t distract her from what she says is the real work of dealing with affordability and public safety.
Plus, D’rinda Randall, fresh off her victory to become the new chair of the Republican Party of Texas stops by the show for an exclusive 1-on-1 interview to talk about her plan for fixing how the state party operates. And yes, we have elephants peeing and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in more leather than you’ve ever seen him. Reporters John Moritz and Haajrah Gilani join this week’s episode.
(Episode from June 18, 2026)
SPORTS
MLB: The Texas Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak in Arlington last night.
Jacob deGrom struck out nine over six innings to win on his 38th birthday, even after giving up a grand slam to Ty France in the first, and the Texas Rangers beat the San Diego Padres 9-7 in a wild series opener Friday night. (Associated Press)
Because of travel issues, Emil Jimenez and John Bacon were the lone umps ready to go by first pitch. Gabe Morales and Mike Muchlinski arrived and joined them on the field in the middle of the first, about the same time Rangers bench coach Luis Urueta was being ejected from the game. (Associated Press)
Jose Altuve hit a three-run home run, Jeremy Peña had two solo shots and the Houston Astros beat the Cleveland Guardians 9-3 on Friday night. (Associated Press)
ON THE SCHEDULE
2026 WORLD CUP: The Americans advanced to the knockout round of the World Cup without their injured star forward, beating Australia 2-0 on Friday for their second straight victory in the expanded 48-team tournament. The U.S. then won Group D when Paraguay beat Turkey 1-0 early Saturday morning. (Associated Press)
The U.S. concludes the group stage against Turkey on Thursday in Inglewood, California.
Gorman Falls is a waterfall that builds itself.
Most waterfalls wear rock away. This one in Colorado Bend State Park
does the opposite — spring water loaded with dissolved limestone leaves
stone behind, layer by layer, so the falls is actually getting taller.
