When I created the “Remember the 19th” Juneteenth tee, I wanted more than just a shirt. I wanted a statement—something that carried the weight of our history and the power of our legacy. As a 7th-generation Texan and founder of Resilient Grace, a Black Herstory brand, I knew this tee had to spark memory, pride, and reverence. Here's what inspired it:

1. We Were Taught to Remember the Alamo—but Not Juneteenth

Growing up in Texas, we were drilled to “Remember the Alamo.” It was everywhere—textbooks, field trips, morning announcements. But never once did we stop to “Remember the 19th”—the day in 1865 when freedom finally reached enslaved Black people in Texas. Juneteenth, our day of delayed liberation, was quietly skipped over in classrooms. That silence shaped me—and this shirt is a way of reclaiming what was deliberately left out. It's a bold reminder that our history is worth remembering just as loudly.

2. The Ashton Villa in Galveston: Where Freedom Was Proclaimed

The front of the Ashton Villa in Galveston, Texas, is hallowed ground. It’s where it was originally believed General Order No. 3 was announced, declaring that “all slaves are free.” Though, it has now been proven that the first declaratin of freedom was declared at  Osterman Building, not too far from Ashton Villa . For a lonng time I beleived it happened first here.  I remember standing in front of it and feeling the weight of those words echoing across time. I later found out that it is one of the first buildings built by slaves in the state of Texas. During the Civil War it was a confederate headquarters that was taken over by the Union on Juneteenth. The building itself became a symbol in my design process—not just for what happened there, but for the fact that so many still don’t know where Juneteenth began. This tee honors that place and the promise it held, even if it came two and a half years late.

3. Black Women Are the Carriers of Legacy

Juneteenth has survived because Black women carried it. They cooked the food, passed down the stories, organized the parades, and made sure the next heneration knew what the 19th meant. Our grandmothers told us stories that no textbook ever could. This tee is for them—for the women who held on to history even when the world tried to erase it. It’s for the ones who kept remembering when no one else did.

4. The Veil W.E.B. Du Bois Spoke Of

In The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois writes about the “veil”—the invisible barrier that separates Black Americans from truly being seen or understood. That veil is still with us when our holidays aren’t taught, our contributions aren’t celebrated, and our grief is dismissed. “Remember the 19th” is my way of piercing through that veil—of making our truths visible. It’s a refusal to stay hidden behind someone else’s version of history.

This shirt is more than fabric and ink. It’s protest. It’s praise. It’s memory stitched into style.

Wear it loudly. Remember boldly.

—Kyra 
Founder, Resilient Grace
Resilient Herstory in Every Thread