We're in the midst of a great reckoning on race in America.

But in many ways, it's a reckoning on America itself of what this country has been in the

past, what it is today and what it could one day be.

As we grapple with these big fundamental questions, we're left to interrogate virtues

we assume to be true.

That at its core, America is a land of freedom.

But freedom has never been free, especially for the descendants of enslaved Africans who

twiled in bondage for centuries.

It took struggle and bloodshed.

Today is June 15th, a day that marks June 19th, 1865, when two whole years after the emancipation

proclamation was signed, enslaved people in the state of Texas were finally told that

they were free.

On this black Independence Day, we ask the question, are we truly free yet?

I'm Tremainly, and today on Into America, I'm sharing a conversation we're calling,

can you hear us now, June 15th, from NBC News Now.

It's a discussion about justice, equality, and the true meaning of freedom.

I had the chance to convene this virtual conversation earlier today, with playwright and actress

Anna DeVierce-Smith, Wes Moore, CEO of the Robinhood Foundation, Dr. Peniel Joseph,

founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University

of Texas at Austin, and Tiffany Crutcher, whose twin brother Terrence Crutcher was shot

and killed by police in 2016.

I began with a question to Dr. Peniel Joseph.

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