1 00:00:00,149 --> 00:00:05,149 JUDY WOODRUFF: As of tomorrow, Juneteenth, the day marking the end of slavery, is a federal 2 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:06,520 holiday. 3 00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:10,869 Juneteenth is observed on the 19th of the month, but, because it lands on a Saturday 4 00:00:10,869 --> 00:00:15,869 this year, most federal employees will be able to celebrate this Friday. 5 00:00:15,900 --> 00:00:20,900 For millions, the commemoration is long overdue, and far more significant than another day 6 00:00:21,670 --> 00:00:22,670 off. 7 00:00:22,670 --> 00:00:23,710 Amna Nawaz explains. 8 00:00:23,710 --> 00:00:28,710 AMNA NAWAZ: Judy, Juneteenth is either observed or an official state holiday in 49 states 9 00:00:29,550 --> 00:00:31,130 and the District of Columbia. 10 00:00:31,130 --> 00:00:33,910 The effort to make it a national holiday goes back decades. 11 00:00:33,910 --> 00:00:38,910 But, today, President Biden signed a law making it the first new federal holiday since 1983. 12 00:00:39,910 --> 00:00:44,910 Now, Juneteenth commemorates what took place on June 19, 1865, when union soldiers arrived 13 00:00:46,500 --> 00:00:50,440 in Galveston, Texas, and announced to enslaved Black people that they were free. 14 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:55,440 That came 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the Confederacy 15 00:00:56,580 --> 00:00:57,580 surrendered. 16 00:00:57,580 --> 00:01:01,690 We explore the significance of this moment with Khalil Gibran Muhammad. 17 00:01:01,690 --> 00:01:05,610 He's a professor of history, race, and public policy at Harvard Kennedy School. 18 00:01:05,610 --> 00:01:10,110 He's also the former director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black culture. 19 00:01:10,110 --> 00:01:12,030 Professor Muhammad, welcome to the "NewsHour." 20 00:01:12,030 --> 00:01:13,070 Thanks for being with us. 21 00:01:13,070 --> 00:01:17,150 So, Juneteenth is now added to the list of federal holidays that includes things like 22 00:01:17,150 --> 00:01:21,560 New Year's Day and Martin Luther King Day and Memorial Day, Independence Day. 23 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,180 What's the significance of this day joining this list? 24 00:01:25,180 --> 00:01:28,680 KHALIL GIBRAN MUHAMMAD, Harvard Kennedy School: Well, the significance is that, for the first 25 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:33,680 time in American history, America's original sin -- that is, slavery -- will be center 26 00:01:34,409 --> 00:01:39,409 and a commemorative moment annually that will bring parents and children, teachers and students 27 00:01:42,229 --> 00:01:47,229 and everyday Americans and newcomers alike together, with the hope and possibility that 28 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:52,530 they will reflect on the meaning of that history, so that we might reconcile with our present. 29 00:01:52,530 --> 00:01:56,210 AMNA NAWAZ: Why do you think that's important, especially at this point in American history? 30 00:01:56,210 --> 00:02:01,210 KHALIL GIBRAN MUHAMMAD: Well, in our political climate, where conversations about the fragility 31 00:02:03,300 --> 00:02:08,300 of our democracy, protests around systemic racism, an ongoing climate crisis that will 32 00:02:11,260 --> 00:02:16,260 require all of us to come together across partisan lines, we are facing some serious 33 00:02:16,670 --> 00:02:21,670 existential in this country, of which race and racism in many ways animate so much of 34 00:02:23,159 --> 00:02:24,510 the problem. 35 00:02:24,510 --> 00:02:29,510 And so to have a holiday that could become a way of reminding ourselves of the obligations 36 00:02:30,650 --> 00:02:32,819 that we owe each other, this is a big deal. 37 00:02:32,819 --> 00:02:34,110 AMNA NAWAZ: What about education? 38 00:02:34,110 --> 00:02:38,459 I mean, I know you say the holiday can remind all of us of a history a lot of people don't 39 00:02:38,459 --> 00:02:41,069 learn about in their formal education. 40 00:02:41,069 --> 00:02:44,769 Juneteenth is often not taught in our formal school systems. 41 00:02:44,769 --> 00:02:47,560 You learn about sort of exceptional stories from slavery. 42 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,120 We all know about Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. 43 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:53,329 Do you think this becoming a federal holiday could change that? 44 00:02:53,329 --> 00:02:57,620 KHALIL GIBRAN MUHAMMAD: Well, I think there's a lot of momentum and possibility and movement 45 00:02:57,620 --> 00:02:58,680 in that direction. 46 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:03,040 Indeed, some of the people who've been organizing for Juneteenth as a national holiday have 47 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:08,040 centered the holiday around education, wanting to see the recognition of the day itself as 48 00:03:08,999 --> 00:03:11,599 part of the curriculum in American schools. 49 00:03:11,599 --> 00:03:16,599 And so perhaps this is the tip of an iceberg of a more capacious understanding of the American 50 00:03:18,989 --> 00:03:19,989 past. 51 00:03:19,989 --> 00:03:22,650 But I think it's also an important reminder that, in this political moment, states are 52 00:03:22,650 --> 00:03:27,650 passing bills to keep histories like Juneteenth and what they mean out of schools. 53 00:03:27,809 --> 00:03:32,439 And so it's not clear how much this will move forward in curriculum anytime soon. 54 00:03:32,439 --> 00:03:33,989 AMNA NAWAZ: You mentioned this political moment. 55 00:03:33,989 --> 00:03:37,849 We should point out this had overwhelming bipartisan support, which is not something 56 00:03:37,849 --> 00:03:40,169 we get to say often in Washington. 57 00:03:40,169 --> 00:03:41,519 Did that surprise you? 58 00:03:41,519 --> 00:03:43,449 KHALIL GIBRAN MUHAMMAD: Yes. 59 00:03:43,449 --> 00:03:45,389 Yes, it did, admittedly. 60 00:03:45,389 --> 00:03:50,389 But, upon further reflection, I think in a Congress that is debating protecting voting 61 00:03:51,090 --> 00:03:56,019 rights for all Americans, making it easier to vote and not harder at the federal level, 62 00:03:56,019 --> 00:04:01,019 questions about how to solve for police violence against unarmed people and other aggressions 63 00:04:01,559 --> 00:04:05,890 directed towards people, this is easier than those -- than that legislation. 64 00:04:05,890 --> 00:04:10,049 And so I do think we have to keep in mind that politics are still at play. 65 00:04:10,049 --> 00:04:14,579 AMNA NAWAZ: You also mentioned, of course, this moment in American national conversations, 66 00:04:14,579 --> 00:04:19,400 when we are talking much more about racism in American history and the systemic racism 67 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:21,009 that persists today. 68 00:04:21,009 --> 00:04:26,009 Do you think we would be at this moment today had we not had the last year of not just national 69 00:04:26,750 --> 00:04:30,210 protests, but global protests, in response to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis? 70 00:04:30,210 --> 00:04:33,440 KHALIL GIBRAN MUHAMMAD: In my opinion, no. 71 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:38,440 In my opinion, when millions of Americans numbering anywhere from 15 to 26 million, 72 00:04:38,450 --> 00:04:43,450 according to The New York Times, participated in racial justice protests a year ago, the 73 00:04:44,150 --> 00:04:49,150 conversation about the significance of Juneteenth, the anniversary of the Tulsa massacre, its 74 00:04:49,199 --> 00:04:54,199 centennial just passed, have all thrown in sharp relief the urgency of reconciling with 75 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:00,680 our past in order to make for a different and more just and racial, fully egalitarian 76 00:05:01,699 --> 00:05:02,699 future. 77 00:05:02,699 --> 00:05:05,910 And so I don't believe that this holiday would be where we are at this moment were it not 78 00:05:05,910 --> 00:05:07,350 for all that activity a year ago. 79 00:05:07,350 --> 00:05:11,940 AMNA NAWAZ: Finally, we noted, of course, several states have already commemorated, 80 00:05:11,940 --> 00:05:13,789 have been commemorating Juneteenth in some way. 81 00:05:13,789 --> 00:05:17,250 And, of course, millions of Black Americans have been marking the day for generations. 82 00:05:17,250 --> 00:05:22,000 I wonder what you would say to everyone else in the country, to white Americans, Latinx 83 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,560 Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, about how they should mark this day? 84 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,539 KHALIL GIBRAN MUHAMMAD: Yes. 85 00:05:27,539 --> 00:05:32,539 Well, this is a country, the United States of America, that gained its footing in the 86 00:05:32,830 --> 00:05:37,830 world and its wealth and its land on the backs of the indigenous and the enslaved. 87 00:05:37,990 --> 00:05:42,939 And for anyone who claims America as their home, whether it's an old home or an adopted 88 00:05:42,939 --> 00:05:45,539 home, owes a debt to those people. 89 00:05:45,539 --> 00:05:48,189 And, therefore, this is everyone's holiday. 90 00:05:48,189 --> 00:05:51,860 The very notion of freedom itself, of freedom delayed, of freedom aborted, and of freedom 91 00:05:51,860 --> 00:05:56,330 that is fragile is one that we ought to all remind ourselves as much as possible is one 92 00:05:56,330 --> 00:05:59,600 that has to be fought for and to be vigilant guardians of. 93 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,790 AMNA NAWAZ: Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad of Harvard Kennedy School, thank you so much 94 00:06:03,790 --> 00:06:04,790 for being with us tonight. 95 00:06:04,790 --> 00:06:05,840 KHALIL GIBRAN MUHAMMAD: You're very welcome.