Something to Chew On with Sam Collins: Life After Juneteenth

For our July Something to Chew On program, we're excited to welcome Sam Collins III, acclaimed citizen historian based in Galveston, TX and Co-Chair of the Juneteenth Legacy Project. Sam  will give a presentation titled "Life After Juneteenth 1865" in which he'll discuss  the experiences of African Americans in Texas after emancipation. 

ATTENTION: This Something to Chew On program will be held at the Alden B. Dow Office Museum. Admission is $5 for non-members. LJHA members should log in to receive free admission. Learn more about membership options here!

Feel free to bring your own lunch or order a boxed lunch through us. Go to this page to choose your lunch: https://www.ljhistory.org/product-page/something-to-chew-on-box-lunch. Lunch orders must be placed by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

Read Sam's full bio below: 

Samuel Collins III is a 7th generation Texan with roots back to 1837. He owns SLC Investment Services and has been providing financial consulting services in Galveston County for 24 years. In 2015 the Galveston County Daily Newspaper selected him as the Galveston County Citizen of the Year for his work in the preservation community on the local, state and national levels.

He graduated from Texas A&M University in 1994 with a BBA in Accounting and has been a lifelong resident of Galveston County. He is married to his wife Doris. They have four children, two daughters and two sons.

He currently serves as an advisor with the National Trust for Historic Preservation representing Texas. He is actively involved in the national campaign to #TellTheFullStory by expanding the narrative and telling the truth about American history. He was very active in the effort to recognize the Sugar Land 95 that were discovered in Fort Bend County in 2018 and how convict leasing was used to re-enslave individuals on the same plantation sites that they or their ancestors had been freed from at the end of the Civil War.

He is working in Brazoria County with the Texas Historical Commission at the Levi Jordan Plantation as a consultant for the new African American museum that will be built at the site. He is co-chair of the Juneteenth Mural Committee in Galveston which led one of the largest Public Art projects in the country recognizing Juneteenth and the contributions of the United States Colored Troops to delivering the message of freedom to the state of Texas on June 19, 1865.

Statement from Sam:

“My dream is that we create an environment of absolute equality that fosters the individual development of each person to their best self for the benefit of the entire community. Absolute equality is not a goal of equal results, but equal opportunity for personal growth without unnecessary roadblocks or obstacles that will hinder that growth.”