By Bill Moyers, Moyers on Democracy, June 17, 2020
Join us as Bill Moyers talks with Rev. James Forbes, a passionate advocate of celebrating Friday, June 19 as Juneteenth – the day in 1865 when the last of America’s slaves learned they were free. Because many states had refused to end slavery when President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation two and a half years earlier, it took that long before Union troops landed in Texas with news that the Civil War was over and the quarter-million slaves in Texas were slaves no more. Since then, descendants of those former slaves have celebrated Juneteenth as their Independence Day. For the last five years Rev.Dr. James Forbes – senior minister emeritus of the city’s historic Riverside Church – has organized an acclaimed Juneteenth celebration in New York City, twice now at Carnegie Hall, this year online. Here for a conversation with him is his long-time friend, Bill Moyers.
BILL MOYERS: Hi Jim. This is Bill Moyers. How are you?
JAMES FORBES: I’m doing very well, thank you.
BILL MOYERS: Good. Good to talk to you. I’ve known you a long time now and I’ve watched as you’ve done more than anyone I know to press the case for celebrating Juneteenth as an extraordinary day. This is your sixth occasion coming up this week, big occasion, big celebration, right?
Comments (0)