The joys and struggle of Juneteenth

Post Reports

The Washington Post

Daily News, Politics, News

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🗓️ 18 June 2021

⏱️ ? minutes

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Summary

Historian Annette Gordon-Reed discusses the meaning and history behind Juneteenth, the holiday that has come to symbolize the end of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth is officially a national holiday.

This week, Congress rushed to pass a bill officially recognizing June 19, commemorating the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas were finally informed that they had been freed two years earlier by the Emancipation Proclamation.

Historian Annette Gordon-Reed grew up celebrating Juneteenth with her family and community in Texas. While the holiday started in the Lone Star state in 1866, it has grown in scope and prominence with celebrations across the country. In this episode, we talk with Gordon-Reed about her experience growing up in Texas, Black Americans’ lives during and after slavery, and the growing significance behind this historic holiday. Gordon-Reed is the author of a new book, “On Juneteenth.”

We also recommend you check out a new podcast at The Post called “Please, Go On.” It’s hosted by James Hohmann from the Opinions desk. This week on the show, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs says the federal government needs to step in to protect voting rights. Listen to the episode here.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, it's Martin Powers, host of Post Reports.
0:05.2	If you value this podcast and would like to support the reporting behind it, please consider
0:09.5	a subscription to the Washington Post.
0:12.1	Right now, you can get one year of unlimited access to the post for just $29.
0:17.5	Learn more and subscribe at washingtonpost.com slash subscribe.
0:22.6	Or click the link in today's show notes.
0:24.8	I hope you'll consider and thank you.
0:28.8	From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports.
0:32.4	I'm Martin Powers.
0:34.4	It's Friday, June 18th.
0:41.8	So throughout history, June Teeth has been known by many names.
0:47.4	This week, Congress rushed to pass a bill officially recognizing the holiday of June
1:03.8	Teeth.
1:04.8	This holiday has been at the center of decades of advocacy and for a long time, there
1:09.6	were Republican holdouts.
1:11.6	But this week, some of that opposition fell away.
1:14.2	A bill was quickly passed in the House and the Senate, and then suddenly June 19th was
1:19.2	a federal holiday.
1:21.3	And I see members of Congress, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, members of
1:27.7	the United States Senate who passed this bill unanimously.
1:33.3	And all of whom collectively were responsible for
1:43.6	delivering this bill to the president's desk.
	...

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