On Sunday, June 19, Texas Public Radio joins Houston Public Media to present a special edition of WNYC's program, The United States of Anxiety, featuring a Juneteenth special. Host Kai Wright will talk with Texans about their Juneteenth celebrations: What’s the local history? How has the celebration evolved? And how do Black Texans feel about it becoming a national holiday?
Juneteenth is a celebration created by and for Black Texas. In 2020, as part of an exploding national conversation about racial justice, people of all races, all over the country became aware of Juneteenth. It became a federal holiday in 2021. But has that evolution deepened the national conversation about our country’s history with racism – or merely turned a local tradition into a national token? This episode will explore the good, the bad, and the unsure of Juneteenth’s evolution by centering Black Texans in the conversation.
But the episode will still be a celebration – of Black Texas’s food, music, and family histories. And we’ll take calls from people celebrating in Texas and around the country that day.
Tune in at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 19 on Texas Public Radio for this special program.
