Politics: A Very Special Juneteenth Episode

This week, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law officially establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Juneteenth marks the day that enslaved people in Texas found out they were free, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. For some people, including guest host Melissa Harris-Perry, Juneteenth is a celebration of Black culture and freedom.

With that in mind, The Takeaway revisits a conversation from earlier this month about Black Music Month, with Nabil Ayers, writer and general manager of the record label 4AD, and Mark Anthony Neal, James B. Duke Distinguished professor of African and African American Studies at Duke University and host of the podcast, Left of Black. Black Music Month is an annual celebration every June of the Black musicians, producers, songwriters and more. Started more than 40 years ago, the observance celebrates the history and scope of Black artistry spanning musical genres from classical and folk to hip hop and rock.

Then, The Takeaway turns to KalaLea, host of Blindspot: Tulsa Burning and audio journalist for NPR’s Latino USA, Slate Studios, NPR’s Interfaith Voices, and The New Yorker podcasts. Blindspot: Tulsa Burning highlights the events leading up to the Tulsa Race Massacre. 

Finally, to close out the show, The Takeaway speaks to women lawmakers, including Rep. Alma Adams, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, and Rep. Lauren Underwood, about their dads for a very special Father's Day segment.

(Rep. Lauren Underwood with her father)