Juneteenth recognizes the day in 1865 when Union Gen. Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, Texas, signaling to slaves living in the farthest reaching U.S. state at the time that they were freed. Mark Anthony Neal of Duke University said Granger's announcement made a point that even though they were free, “the formerly enslaved would continue to work, try to pursue wages, and their idleness would not be accepted." Neal, a professor of African & African American Studies at Duke University, joined William Brangham of the PBS NewsHour on June 18 to speak about Juneteenth.

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

Follow us:
Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour
Snapchat: @pbsnews

Subscribe:
PBS NewsHour podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts
Newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe