'Black Towns Matter' mural painted on street in Houston's historic Independence Heights neighborhood
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- New artwork popped up on a street Friday morning in Houston's Independence Heights.
SkyEye was over the 3300 block of Link Road, where the message "Black Towns Matter" could be seen painted in red and yellow letters.
The Independence Heights community was the first city incorporated by African-Americans in Texas.
The writing also appeared on Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. It's the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.
President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was effective Jan. 1, 1863, but the news took time to travel. It wasn't until June 19, 1865, when the Union army brought word of the proclamation to enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, making them among the last to be freed.
Similar murals to "Black Towns Matter" have been painted on roads across the country.
In Washington, D.C., city workers and volunteers painted the words Black Lives Matter in enormous bright yellow letters on the street leading to the White House.
