Figure 1: Picture of Charles Joel Robinson, courtesy of the Williams Family
General Gordon Granger formally decreeing slavery’s end in Galveston on June 19, 1865, was an epoch event that demolished the existing social, economic and political foundations of society in Texas. Moreover, the end of slavery in the Lone Star State ushered in a new era of possibilities for emancipated people. Freed people in Texas opportunistically exited bondage to experience the social elevation freedom offered them.
Along with this group of newly freed men and women were optimistic free blacks who had never experienced slavery, such as Charles Joel Robinson. Robinson, born in Mississippi around 1859, just before the start of the Civil War, migrated to Texas sometime during the war or Reconstruction. The Robinson Family’s oral traditions revealed that Charles’s mother was of Irish descent.
Robinson was among the first students to attend Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth, known today as Prairie View A&M University. Charles, possibly a member of the “Unknown Eight,” graduated in 1882.
Figure 2: Picture of Charles Joel Robinson’s 1882 graduation diploma signed by Principal Ernest H. Anderson, courtesy of the Williams Family
Upon graduating, Robinson moved to Burleson County and became a teacher in the town of Snook, Texas. In addition to teaching, Charles was a farmer and owned over 400 acres of land in the Brazos Bottom. During the early 1900s, he served as Chairman of the Burleson County Republican Executive Committee.
Although Robinson had not experienced slavery, he understood the broader social limitations, trauma, and profound economic impact the institution had on enslaved people. He coveted freedom and sought to celebrate the 18th Anniversary of Black Texan’s liberation.
A leader in civic and political affairs in the area, Robinson organized a Juneteenth Celebration in Burleson County on June 19, 1883. The only existing documentation that details the itinerary for the program is a handwritten draft for the order of the program within the private family records held by his descendants. The event had a 25-cent admission fee and a “Come one come all” open invitation extended to the public.
Figure 3: Certified copy of Charles Joel Robinson’s election as Chairman of the Burleson County Republican Executive Committee, courtesy of the Williams Family
The occasion started early in the morning with a parade where the processional ventured through the main streets of Scott’s Springs. The processional, led by a brass band, included participation from local churches, brothers and sisters of the Eastern Star, and the youth from local Sabbath schools. The afternoon festivities included orators inclusive of Robinson. One of the highlights of the event was the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Prairie View’s first generation of graduates approached the Post-Reconstruction Era with optimism and sought to experience all that freedom had to offer. Notwithstanding the social, economic and political restrictions placed on them during the Jim Crow Era, these valiant men and women departed the former grounds of the Alta Vista plantation, remembering emancipation and becoming positive contributors to their communities. Their efforts to promote and celebrate emancipation inspired generations to come.
As we pause to recognize Juneteenth 2024, a federal holiday in the United States, we salute early trailblazers like Robinson, who carried the torch for remembering freedom and the cost paid for it. Because of their efforts, we now have the freedom to be – more than we were and all that we can be.
Marco Robinson, Ph.D.
The Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice is committed to exploring and documenting the history of Prairie View A&M University, its former students, and the local community through the efforts of the Epa Committee.
I want to extend a special thank you to Mr. Robert and Dr. Sarah B. Williams for their gracious assistance and for providing access to the Williams Family’s private collection to complete this article. Dr. Sarah B. Williams, a long-time professor at Prairie View, is the granddaughter of Charles Joel Robinson.
Dr. Marco Robinson is an Associate Professor of History and the Assistant Director of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice at Prairie View A&M University.
Academic course instruction is not affected by the passage of SB 17. The law specifically states that its limitations may not be construed to apply scholarly research or a creative work by an institution of higher education’s students, faculty, or other research personnel or the dissemination of that research or work. This page reference is to specific research interest of a professor, Dr. Marco Robinson.