After a Martin Luther King Jr. monument in downtown Fort Worth was vandalized in February, the community showed what it meant to come together at the revitalized monument’s unveiling June 16 at General Worth Square, which is named after the namesake of Fort Worth, General William Jenkins Worth.
“We’ve come a long, long way since June 19, 1865. But every bit of progress that we’ve made in the 158 years since is in danger, because there are those who do not like freedom and there are those who feel threatened by our freedom,” Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks said.
Guests proposed a new Fort Worth tradition — the Sixteens Days of Freedom Challenge that will run from June 19, 2024 – July 4, 2024. The challenge entails hosting a “freedom event every day,” Rev. Kyev Tatum said. Some of those events include film watch parties and discussions.
Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth, speaks on June 16 in General Worth Square, named after General William Jenkins Worth, the namesake of Fort Worth. A new Martin Luther King Jr. marker was revealed after it was previously defaced. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Tarleton State University Vice President of Global and Community Connections Sherri Benn speaks on June 16 in General Worth Square. Tarleton State University helped in the revealing of the revitalized marker. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Sam Allen, a member of the Texas Buffalo Soldiers, reads General Order No. 3, which passed June 19, 1865, and freed enslaved people in Texas. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Roy C. Brooks, Tarrant County commissioner, talks to a crowd about battling hate on June 16 at General Worth Square. “You can deface it each and every day, but we’re coming along right behind you to restore that marker,” Brooks said at the revealing of a revitalized Martin Luther King Jr. marker. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
Organizers hope to bring community members together through the Sixteen Days of Freedom Challenge.
“We’re in their way, and they know that if, and when, Black folk and Brown folk join together, in coalition, that we can take over this state and take over this nation,” Brooks said. “They are determined to keep that from happening by any means necessary.”
Brooks said people need to push back against hate every time they deface the Martin Luther King Jr, marker. “You can deface it each and every day, but we’re coming along right behind you to restore that marker.”
After a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and General Order No. 3, which proclaimed all enslaved people in Texas to be free on June 19, 1865, visitors enjoyed barbecue and music and children enjoyed bounce houses.
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.