Banqueting House Celebrates JUNETEENTH

Our values at Banqueting House resonate with the joy and resilience of our African American brothers and sisters. Today we join in celebrating Juneteenth by remembering the story and significance of that fateful day in our history.

It was June 19, 1865 -- two and a half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, two months later, one of General Gordon Granger's first orders of business was to read to the people of Galveston, Texas, General Order Number 3, which began most significantly with:

"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer." 

So in honor of Juneteenth, we want to elevate voices who are stewarding their God-given rights and serving their community through entrepreneurship and innovation.

Meet Briana Thornton. In 2017, Briana founded Aesthete Tea. Aesthete Tea is an organic loose leaf tea and herbal blend brand based in Portland, Oregon. The brand maintains a strong commitment to know their farmers (all teas are farm direct) and source only the highest quality ingredients from individuals and collectives that share the same quality, ethics, and health values. Unique to Aesthete, the brand's proprietary tea and herbal blends are created by Folk Healer & Herbalist Maggie Cassidy, who happens to be the founder's mother. 

We are so proud to carry the healing teas + blends of Aesthete Tea at our online shop alongside their values in quality and respect to an ancient, ancestral craft.

P.S. If you are in Portland, OR, Aesthete Tea just opened their teahouse not too long ago, so have a visit! We wish we could!