By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
In observance of Juneteenth, the Galveston County Museum has unveiled a rare World War I propaganda poster as part of its military history exhibit. The artifact is also the focus of Episode 15: Galveston’s Pictorial Legacy of Juneteenth of Unboxing History, the museum’s podcast series exploring untold stories behind items in its collection.
On June 19, 1865—two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation —the U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order No. 3, declaring all enslaved people in Texas free. That pivotal moment, rooted in Galveston’s history, marks the origin of what is now commemorated as Juneteenth.
The rare World War I-era poster, part of the museum’s permanent collection, honors the Emancipation Proclamation and draws a visual and symbolic connection between the Civil War and the struggles of African American soldiers in World War I.
“The poster commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation and links the Civil War to World War I,” said Galveston County Museum Executive Director Jodi Wright-Gidley.
The poster features prominent historical figures, including President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. In the artwork, Lincoln is depicted holding the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, featuring the words:
“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Additional figures include poet Paul Dunbar, Lt. Col. Franklin A. Dennison—the first Black soldier to attain the rank of colonel—and Lt. Col. Otis B. Duncan, who served alongside Dennison in World War I. The poster also illustrates black soldiers, schools, farmland, and rural communities—symbols of progress and hope.
A quote beneath a symbolic Lady Liberty image, showing a young Black boy and a young white boy under her arms, reads:
“Look forward: There is room enough under the eagle’s wings for great achievements by both.”
According to Wright-Gidley, the poster was one of roughly 700 created by the U.S. Committee on Public Information during World War I. The agency’s mission was to promote war bond sales, food conservation, and national support for the war effort. As race relations in the U.S. shifted during this period, posters like this also became powerful tools in the national dialogue around equality and citizenship.
“For African Americans, military service became a means to push for full recognition as citizens,” Wright-Gidley said. “This poster captures that message in a compelling and symbolic way.”
In the podcast episode, local historian Sam Collins III joins Wright-Gidley to discuss Galveston’s significance in African American history. Collins, a driving force behind the Absolute Equality mural located at 22nd and Strand—formerly Granger’s headquarters—shares how public art transforms the site into what he calls “an outdoor classroom.”
Created by Houston artist Reginald C. Adams and his team, the mural features President Lincoln, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, Estevanico (considered the first African to traverse Texas), and the U.S. Colored Troops—whose role in Juneteenth is often underrepresented.
“It is our hope that we inspire them to want to learn more,” Collins said of those who engage with the mural’s augmented reality features.
“The World War I poster and the Absolute Equality mural offer deeply educational and emotional windows into African American history,” Wright-Gidley said. “These artifacts of visual storytelling invite audiences to reflect on progress, sacrifice, and the power of remembrance.”
As Collins adds: “Immerse yourself in the Juneteenth water and Juneteenth narrative.”
Unboxing History encourages listeners to connect the past to the present through honest conversations and thoughtful artifact exploration. Episode 15 invites the public to examine how narratives of freedom and citizenship continue to evolve.
Unboxing History is available on all major platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and IHeart, and on the Museum’s YouTube channel as well as Pod NOW on i45NOW.
