Juneteenth

From a botched Juneteenth event to a nationwide debate over our real history, our country continues to argue about how much race matters. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his On My Mind commentary, says it starts with a willingness to learn.

June 19, 1865, marked a huge turning point for Black people in America. But many slave owners refused to comply. And even celebrating the date was discouraged in the years to come.

Charlotte-area organizations, businesses and universities responded quickly on Friday to the declaration of Juneteenth as a new federal national holiday on June 19.

Local drummer Gary Mumford has been with the Juneteenth Festival of the Carolinas since its inception in 1997, and has seen it change and grow over the years. He joined WFAE's Nick de la Canal at Charlotte's House of Africa to share some of his music and his hopes for the holiday weekend.

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 that enslaved Black Americans were liberated in Texas.

Music offers freedom. Freedom of expression — a way to rejoice and to mourn, to offer comfort, to call for change.

To mark Juneteenth, NPR staff members read the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth — the celebration to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States — is now a federal holiday.

Now in its 24th year, the Juneteenth Festival of the Carolinas started by Pape Ndiaye is earning recognition as one of Charlotte's biggest celebrations of the year. The three-day event takes place this weekend in Plaza Midwood, and includes the first Juneteenth Freedom March For Liberty, Justice and Equality For All.

The Charlotte Symphony is performing music from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," and there are other outdoor concerts and many Juneteenth events on tap.

June 19 is a commemoration of the end of chattel slavery in the United States, marking the day enslaved people in Texas were finally freed — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.