A DIVERSE CROWD ATTENDED Saturday’s Galveston County United Rally at Hitchcock’s Stringfellow Orchards. For more than two hours, the attendees were able to unite around the theme of equality, which has been amplified across the world over the past month.
“The one thing I am thankful for is that it’s (the deaths of George Floyd and several other African-Americans in the hands of law enforcement) the eyes of some of those who need to finally see what is happening,” said local activist Tracy Steans. “It will take all of us to make the change we want to see in the world.”
Originally slated to take place at Jack Brooks Park, the rally was moved to Stringfellow Orchards after a scheduling conflict. “In the end, it worked out well,” said Dedrick Johnson, the Texas City mayoral candidate who assisted in putting together the event. “There’s a lot more shade here.”
Stringfellow Orchards is named for Henry Martyn Stringfellow, a former Confederate officer who fought in the Battle of Galveston in 1863. After successfully opening up an orchard in Galveston, he bought land in Hitchcock in 1883 and turned the orchards into what was called “the Showplace of the Gulf Coast.”
The willingness of Stringfellow to double the salary of his African-American workers allowed them to use their money to invest building homes and businesses for themselves.
Johnson feels the event will continue to help shine a light on the push to make for a stronger and united county, one that could be an example of what can done when like-minded people come together.
“We aimed to make it a multi-cultural event, and it turned out well,” he said. “We’re uniting people of all ages, colors, genders, religions, and the visual is beautiful.”
Perhaps the most profound words of the evening came from Galveston County Criminal District Attorney Jack Roady, who turned to Galatians 6:9 as motivation to continue the push toward a more united and equal nation.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up,” said Roady. “My hope is that those that are weary won’t give up. Not now.”
