At the close of the Civil War, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and read General Order No. 3, informing Texas slaves that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two and a half years earlier by President Lincoln. Juneteenth is the oldest national commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Since 1979, Juneteenth has been an official state Holiday in Texas but it has been widely celebrated by African Americans across the south since 1866. Take a dive into this unique American holiday with Linda Jann Lewis, a distinguished African American activist and leader in Texas who’s family has celebrated Juneteenth for more than 100 years on the very plantation where her ancestors were enslaved. In a storied career in Texas politics, Linda served Texas governors from both parties, the famed Lt. Governor Bob Bullock, was the fist African American Elections Administrator in Texas, and, among other things, helped found KAZI, a listener-supported, community radio station in Austin, Texas. And, best of all, she’s an amazing story teller and human being. Jump into an amazing holiday tradition many Americans have never encountered on this Special Juneteenth Edition of the American Shoreline Podcast! Only on ASPN.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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