06/19/2026
❤️💛CELEBRATE FREEDOM💚🖤
This weekend, we honor the legacy of Juneteenth in Bastrop County. From slavery, to freedom, to building communities and holding seats at the tables of power, there is much to celebrate.
Across the tracks: Bastrop’s hidden Juneteenth story
By Cheryl Lee
In Bastrop, Texas, the phrase “across the tracks” represents far more than geography. For generations, railroad tracks divided communities by race, separating many Black families from white neighborhoods, schools, and economic opportunities during segregation.
But across those tracks, African American communities built a lasting legacy of resilience, faith, and culture.
After Juneteenth in 1865, formerly enslaved Texans in Bastrop County created independent settlements known as Freedom Colonies. These communities gave Black families the opportunity to own land, establish churches, educate their children, and build lives rooted in freedom and self-determination. Many descendants of those original settlements still live in Bastrop County today.
Education became one of the strongest pillars of the community. During segregation, Black students attended schools such as Emile High School, which served African American students in Bastrop for decades before integration. Though resources were limited, these schools fostered pride, leadership, and opportunity.
Community institutions also became essential gathering places. The Kerr Community Center served as a hub for meetings, youth activities, celebrations, and cultural events within Bastrop’s Black community. Today, organizations like the Bastrop County African American Cultural Center continue preserving the stories, artifacts, and oral histories connected to Bastrop’s Freedom Colonies and African American heritage.
Juneteenth celebrations have remained a deeply important tradition in Bastrop for generations. Long before Juneteenth became a federal holiday, local families celebrated with parades, church services, reunions, music, and storytelling that honored both freedom and survival.
These traditions remind us that Bastrop’s Black history is not a side story. It is a foundational part of the community’s identity. The families who lived “across the tracks” built churches, schools, businesses, and traditions that continue shaping Bastrop today.
Their story is one of perseverance, community, and the enduring promise of freedom.
