New York Public Radio Commemorates Juneteenth 2023 with Special Programming
(June 12, 2023) Juneteenth was first celebrated in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, as “Emancipation Day” and is now hailed by some as America’s second independence day. Leading up to the holiday and on June 19, WNYC, WNYC Studios and WQXR honor the holiday with programming that offers opportunities for reflection on Black liberation and freedom.
Friday, June 16
All of It with Alison Stewart
WNYC, AM820 and 93.9FM, NJPR, online at WNYC.org
WNYC/Gothamist culture & arts reporter Precious Fondren offers a roundup of Juneteenth events around the city.
Saturday, June 17, 12pm EST & 19, 8pm EST
Radiolab: “Family People”
WNYC, AM820 and 93.9FM, NJPR, online at WNYC.org
As a Black American Radiolab editor Alex Neason knew that her last name came from a white slave-owning family. But after a confusing discovery last year when her grandfather died, she decided to look further into the origins of her name. During her genealogical deep dive, Alex visits New Orleans, cemeteries, swamps and archives, following the trail all the way back to her great-great-great grandfather who was once enslaved, then free, and fought in the American Civil War. Genealogist Nicka Sewell Smith joins Alex on this podcast journey of discovery and revelation. Stream anytime.
Saturday, June 17, 8pm & June 18, 12pm streaming
New Standards
WNYC, AM820 and 93.9FM, NJPR, online at WNYC.org
New Standards honors Juneteenth with music covering a century of great songs, rolling out treasured historic recordings from W.C. Handy and Bessie Smith, right up to 2023 Tony Awards history-maker, Alex Newell.
Sunday, June 18, 6pm
Notes from America with Kai Wright
WNYC, AM820 and 93.9FM, NJPR, online at wnyc.org
Notes from America with Kai Wright and Houston Public Media team up for a second year to present a special live broadcast to mark Juneteenth. Join host Kai Wright and local leaders of the original Juneteenth movement, including Zion Escobar, who’s working to preserve the site of Freedmen’s Town – the first free city established by the last Black Americans to claim freedom from enslavement. Kai will talk with Houston-based musical artist Lolade – a native of Nigeria who specializes in soul, jazz and folk music with an African influence. Torin Collins of the Juneteenth Legacy Project will give Kai a walking tour of Galveston. Encore available to public media stations on June 19.
Monday, June 19
WQXR’s 24-hour Juneteenth Music Marathon
WQXR 105.9 FM, 90.3 FM (Westchester), wqxr.org
WQXR marks Juneteenth with its fourth annual 24-hour music marathon featuring Black composers & performers. At 10 pm, we present an encore broadcast of Every Voice with Terrance McKnight, an edited compilation of “The Magic Flute.”
The Brian Lehrer Show
WNYC, AM820 and 93.9FM, NJPR, online at WNYC.org
Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University professor and the author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family and On Juneteenth, talks with Brian Lehrer about the history of the Juneteenth holiday as callers share their plans for observing the federal holiday.
All of It with Alison Stewart
WNYC, AM820 and 93.9FM, NJPR, online at WNYC.org
For this month’s installment of “Full Bio,” Alison Stewart interviews Jonathan Eig, author of King: A Life, biography of Martin Luther King Jr. It’s the first full King bio in decades, with newly uncovered information based on FBI and government files.
Brian Lehrer Show
WNYC, AM820 and 93.9FM, NJPR, online at WNYC.org
Interview with Alex Neason, Radiolab producer and host of the episode “Family People,” in which Neason explores the untold stories of African ancestry and family history associated with her last name.
Photo credits: Terrance McKnight: Julie Yarbrough Photography; Kai Wright: Courtesy/Matthew Septimus; Annette Gordon-Reed: Smith College