Why Juneteenth? Let’s Ask Black Texas

On this national live call-in special: The history. The party. The food. Black Texans school us on the holiday they created.

This Juneteenth, host Kai Wright is joined by Pulitzer-Prize winning historian and Harvard law professor, Annette Gordon-Reed, to break down the history behind the newest federal holiday, and help take calls from Black Texans about what it means to them. Plus, Ms. Opal Lee, retired teacher, counselor and activist known as the "grandmother of Juneteenth," checks in as she's moving between Juneteenth celebrations in Fort Worth, Texas. And Houston Public Media reporter, Cory McGinnis, calls in from the "150th Juneteenth Celebration" festival in Houston's Emancipation Park. And, food writer and host of the podcast Hot Grease, Nicole A. Taylor, tells us about her new cookbook, Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations.

A special thanks to Houston Public Media, KERA-Dallas, and Texas Public Radio for partnering with us on this episode.

Companion listening for this episode:

Juneteenth, an Unfinished Business (6/26/2020)

As the nation grappled with a reckoning during the summer of 2020, we paused to celebrate Juneteenth, for Black liberation and the ongoing birth of the United States.

“The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. 

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Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.