African American History Memorial Seeks Funds

Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter

AUSTIN (AP) - Supporters of a plan to erect a monument on the Texas Capitol grounds to commemorate the state's African-American history say they've raised about $750,000 of the $2.6 million needed.

Austin lawyer and lobbyist Bill Jones heads the effort to build the African-American Texas History Memorial. The project has received approval from the State Preservation Board, which manages statehouse grounds.

Jones told the Houston Chronicle the monument "will be a 30-foot panorama of African-American history in Texas."

He says the centerpiece will show the emancipation of slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865, a day now known as Juneteenth. On that day, federal troops arrived in Galveston to declare Texas slaves free. It was more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)