It goes beyond the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s about liberating our own hearts and minds and staking a claim to freedom.

On June 19th, 1865, roughly a quarter million enslaved people in Texas officially learned that they were free, years after the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation. It was the last place the Union delivered news. Kai wants to go to Houston to hear the history, music, and perspective from locals about how they celebrate. And he finds even more – how people create and claim their own freedom.

- Zion Escobar, Executive Director at Houston Freedmen's Town Conservancy. Freedmen’s Town was the first town established by formerly enslaved Black Texans.

- Torin Collins of the Juneteenth Legacy Project.

- Lolade, a native of Nigeria and a vocalist/songwriter/music educator based in Houston.

- Callers, from lawyers to activists to plastic surgeons, who say how they find freedom in their own words, in their own lives.

Tell us what you think. Instagram and Twitter: @noteswithkai. Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or going to Instagram and clicking on the link in our bio.

“Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. Tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.

Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Juneteenth Is an Act of Bravery

Notes from America with Kai Wright