Celebrating the 2026 Juneteenth Holiday Observance. “Honoring the Past, Serving the Present, and Inspiring the Future” was the name of the event hosted by Mount Olive Worship Center in McAllen yesterday, June 18. At the same time, a documentary directed by Dallas native Jillian Freda Glantz premiered to a small crowd of history enthusiasts. “Reclaiming Restlawn” is the title of this new documentary that Glantz finished editing this week, just in time for the celebrations.
As Dr. Raymond A. Howard, Sr. stated at the event, seeing African Americans in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas is not something that happens often. I often wonder why their communities left the Valley. I’ve learned that in the early days of the Valley’s development at the start of the 20th century, many African Americans moved here to work on farms and on the development of the railroad. Few Valley natives know that two people who were born into enslavement, but died as free persons, rest in the historic Restlawn African American Cemetery in Edinburg, Texas.
Restlawn Cemetery is the topic Glantz focused on for directing this documentary, her second in recent times. I had the privilege of working with her on her first film, titled “Remember My Soul.” This film explores the hidden Jewish history of South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley and was registered with the United States Library of Congress shortly after its release in 2019. Glantz’s passion for documenting little-known stories with respect and warmth is again projected in this new film. It moved me to tears of hope for the resurgence of the Valley’s African American history.
“In the 1920s, African Americans in the Rio Grande Valley, referred to as ‘colored’ people at the time, lived in humble, often shared households. Men worked the cotton fields or on ranches. Women were employed as maids, worked alongside their husbands in the fields, or cared for the landowners’ children. Many had moved from adjacent southern states for better wages.” Dee Lopez – Hidalgo County Historical Commission Board Secretary Emerita.
In the 1920s, people of color were not permitted burial at Edinburg’s Hillcrest Cemetery. But Dora Baker, a local cook, was determined to find her people a sacred burial ground. Baker worked for a board member of Hillcrest Cemetery and noticed that the cemetery owned a large amount of unused land. She bravely approached her employer and asked if he could address the board about allowing a small section of this vast property as a cemetery for her people. The governing board agreed and allotted a small portion of an isolated corner of Hillcrest for colored burials. It was unofficially referred to as the “colored cemetery.” It was also known as the “cabbage patch,” according to some of the event’s presenters.
In the early 1990s, the cemetery was hidden among the thorny South Texas brush when a local advocate, Valerie Ramirez, decided to work to restore the cemetery’s dignity and advocate for its preservation. At the same time, the African American congregation of Rising Star Baptist Church in Edinburg proposed a more distinguished name for the cemetery, and the site officially became Restlawn Cemetery.
Over sixty people have been buried at Restlawn since its first burial of Leaonard Bass in 1928. Unfortunately, some early burial records are lost, and some markers have crumbled. There are also several unmarked graves.
For the documentary, Glantz interviewed Valerie Ramirez, Dr. Howard, and members of the Rising Star Baptist Church. Ramirez provided Glantz with invaluable tape recordings she produced in the 90s, in which she interviewed now-deceased members of the black communities in McAllen and Edinburg. There is so much history to unpack! Reconfirming my perception of the Valley as a whole other country with much to tell and much yet to be revealed. Glantz did an outstanding job weaving together images and oral accounts of this particular story that reminds us of the possibilities when we are determined to make a difference.
I asked Glantz what motivated her to produce these documentaries with such compelling stories. She said: “I’ve always been interested in the underdog, and so in history I’m drawn to people and groups who have contributed to society but are ignored in the historical narrative. If I can help uncover more truths and a more accurate and inclusive history, that makes me feel like I’m contributing in some way.” With her work and dedication, she has already brought to light stories that few ever knew.
Anything that teaches us about the communities that helped shape who we are today is of immense value. We realize that by working together and respecting all people, we can move forward as civilized people.
Events like this encourage us to record our history for posterity. Let us interview our grandparents, historians, and researchers wherever we are. Time goes by fast and bestows only a few opportunities. Let’s not let them pass.
Restlawn is a peaceful and well-maintained place today. Ms. Glantz promised more details as to where and when people can watch this documentary.
After the ceremony, attendants were invited to visit Restlawn Cemetery on June 19 to honor and commemorate Leonora White Callis, Edinburg’s first African-American nurse. Glantz wrote about Lenora and the Callis family in 2018 for UTRGV’s newspaper, The Rider, when the idea for this film was taking shape. This was also Glantz’s master’s degree project. She is currently a PhD student in the Graduate History Program at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
Read her 2018 article about the Callis family here.
