The “Grandmother of Juneteenth” on the Holiday’s Past, Present and Future

UNDISTRACTED With Brittany Packnett Cunningham

The Meteor, Collective Media

News, News Commentary, Society & Culture

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2021

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

This week, Congress voted to designate Juneteenth a federal holiday—something Opal Lee has spent years trying to make happen. The 94-year-old Texas-raised activist and author—known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth”— even walked from Fort Worth to Washington D.C. to raise awareness about the holiday. And now—156 years after slavery was ended in Texas—her dream of “Juneteenth National Indepedence Day” is coming true. Brittany talks to Miss Opal about her tireless quest, and brings us some summer culture recommendations along the way. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Asahi Pompeii, Global Head of Corporate Engagement and President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation.
0:11.0	Today's episode of Undistracted is brought to you by Golden Sachs 10,000 small businesses.
0:17.6	A program that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs grow their small businesses, including over 10 Thousands of
0:25.0	this
0:30.0	the entrepreneurs grow their small businesses, including over 10,000 here in the US.
0:28.0	Graduates of this program are creating jobs
0:30.0	and supporting their local economies across the country.
0:34.0	Later in the episode, you'll hear from one of our graduates
0:38.0	about how they've stayed resilient during 2020
0:42.0	amid unprecedented challenges.
0:45.0	To learn more about Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses
0:48.8	and join this community,
0:50.5	visit GS.com slash 10KSP. Hey y'all, it's Brittany. On July 5th, 1852,
1:17.0	famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke at an Independence Day celebration in New York.
1:25.0	He was kicking ass and taking names and asked the question on all black folks' minds.
1:32.0	What to the American slave
1:36.2	is the 4th of July?
1:39.1	One independence day when I was a kid,
1:41.4	between the fireworks and the cookout my dad made sure I read that speech
1:47.3	Now I didn't understand everything in it, but that question I got and he wanted to make sure I knew that barbecue aside this was not the
1:57.4	day of our independence for us that day is our beloved Juneteenth.
2:04.0	This Saturday, June 19th, will mark 156 years
	...

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