News Headlines: June 16, 2021

Today on Sojourner Truth, our annual Juneteenth Special. Our guests are Danny Glover, Barbara Arnwine and Dr. Robin Kelley. On Tuesday, June 15, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would make Juneteenth a federal holiday. The bill would lead to Juneteenth becoming the 12th federal holiday. It is expected to easily pass the House, which would send it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The Senate passed the bill under a unanimous consent agreement that expedites the process for considering legislation. It takes just one senators objection to block such agreements. In 1862, former President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which had formally released over 3.5 million enslaved Black people in the Confederacy from the grip of slavery. Close to three years later, on June 19, 1865, Union Army General Gordon Granger proclaimed in Galveston, Texas, that all enslaved Black people would now be free. Thus, after Granger issued the proclamation in Galveston, formerly enslaved people began celebrating June 19 as Juneteenth, Freedom Day. Celebrations of Juneteenth began with local gatherings at houses of worship in Texas. Historically, Juneteenth has been celebrated in Black communities across the United States. It is now recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in 47 states. Today, 156 years after the first proclamation of Juneteenth, Black people in the United States continue to face major challenges because of systemic racism. These include police killings, the rise of white right-wing militias, threats to the right to vote, inequality in healthcare, mass incarceration, children being removed from families and put in foster care or up for adoption because families are poor, homelessness, the loss of land in the U.S. south, and threats to teaching Black and Brown history in schools.