Celebrate and Honor Juneteenth with PBS NC

What is Juneteenth? 

Every year on June 19, our nation commemorates the day when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, almost three years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the proclamation. Slaveholders in Texas had kept the information to themselves, extending the period of violent exploitation of enslaved African Americans. The following year, in 1866, a celebration was held in Texas, the first Juneteenth observance to recognize freedom from slavery in the U.S. 

Juneteenth became a federal holiday is 2021 after the U.S. Congress passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act. 

This year, PBS NC honors and celebrates Juneteenth with documentaries and specials that explore the history of slavery, emancipation and the ongoing pursuit of freedom.  

American Coup: Wilmington 1898 

American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city in 1898. Stoking fears of “Negro Rule,” self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government. 

Watch American Coup: Wilmington 1898, streaming now on the PBS app. 

Unlocking the Doors of Opportunity: Rosenwald Schools of NC 

In the early 1900s, North Carolina and other Southern states largely ignored their responsibility to provide education for rural Black children. Learn how educator Booker T. Washington and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald hatched a plan that broke Jim Crow’s grip on funding for Black schools. The results helped change the South and the nation, one student at a time. 

Watch Unlocking the Doors of Opportunity: Rosenwald Schools of NC, streaming now on the PBS app. 

The Sacred Soul of North Carolina 

During a marathon recording session in the small town of Fountain, 11 family gospel groups lift their voices and celebrate the sacred soul traditions of Eastern North Carolina. 

Watch The Sacred Soul of North Carolina, streaming now on the PBS app. 

New Bern: Spirit of Freedom 

Explore New Bern’s complex and pivotal role in NC history, from the Tuscarora Nation’s first contact with Europeans through the city’s occupation in the U.S. Civil War. Featuring historians Earl Ijames, Crystal R. Sanders and David Cecelski; New Bern: Spirit of Freedom received the Best History Documentary Award at the 2020 Long Leaf Film Festival. 

Watch New Bern: Spirit of Freedom, streaming now on the PBS app. 

Black Issues Forum: Juneteenth, OWN’s “Delilah,” and Stephanie Mills 

With President Biden’s signature, Juneteenth becomes a national holiday. Anti-racism Coach Courtney Napier discusses the impact. Also, host Deborah Holt Noel visits the Queen City to meet the Executive Producer Charles Randolph-Wright and cast of the OWN Network’s Delilah, filmed in Charlotte, exploring the city’s Black neighborhoods, Black representation, and Stephanie Mills' latest project. 

Watch Black Issues Forum, streaming now on the PBS app. 

NC Weekend: Oberlin Rising 

Deborah Holt Noel traces the revitalization of the Black Oberlin neighborhood in Raleigh. 

Watch new episodes of NC Weekend, Thursdays, 9 PM on PBS NC. Streaming now on the PBS app. 

Oberlin: A Village Rooted in Freedom

Discover how a historic preservation project helped recover the story of a once-thriving town near Raleigh built after the Civil War by formerly enslaved and free Black people. Oberlin had more than 1,200 inhabitants before being paved over in the name of progress. The renovation of two 1880s houses by Preservation North Carolina has exposed remarkable stories about the families who lived there. 

Watch Oberlin: A Village Rooted in Freedom, streaming now on the PBS app. 

Molly of Denali: A Qyah Juneteenth 

When Trini hears there's never been a Juneteenth celebration in Qyah, she decides to plan one with Molly and Tooey! After realizing Qyah doesn't have the special foods and activities she had in Texas, Trini wonders, will the holiday be the same?  

Watch Molly of Denali, Thursday, 6/19, 1 PM on PBS NC and 8 PM on Rootle. Streaming now on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS App. 

Xavier Riddle & the Secret Museum: I Am Maya Angelou & I Am Frederick Douglass 

Our heroes meet Maya Angelou as a young girl, working in her grandmother’s store by day and reading every book in the library by night.  With Maya’s help, Xavier and Yadina find it in their hearts to forgive each other and vow that from now on they will always use their words for good. And then, Our heroes are sent back in time to meet Frederick Douglass, he isn’t allowed to go to school, but he doesn’t let that stop him from learning all he can in any way he can, until he ends up at the White House where the President wants to hear his incredibly smart ideas.  Xavier is inspired to stick with his own schoolwork, because he wants to do amazing things one day, just like Frederick Douglass, and learning can take you anywhere. 

Watch Xavier Riddle & the Secret Museum, Thursday, 6/19, 1:30 PM on PBS NC and 2:30 PM on Rootle. Streaming now on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS App. 

Juneteenth: The Long Road to Freedom 

A look at the history of Juneteenth, the current social climate, and the hope that comes from this holiday. 

Watch Juneteenth: The Long Road to Freedom, streaming now on the PBS app. 

Reel South Juneteenth Collection

Reel South honors the history of Black Americans and the federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the South with short films and stories. 

Watch Reel South now on the PBS app and explore the Juneteenth collection. 

Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts 

Established by Congress, the 14th Amendment promised citizenship in exchange for enlistment, prompting many African American men. They were denied due to Jim Crow laws but still served. The film examines the profound and often-contradictory roles played by Buffalo Soldiers in U.S. history, and how they fought on two sets of front lines: military conflicts abroad and civil rights struggles at home. 

Watch Local, USA’s “Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts,” streaming now on the PBS app only with PBS NC Passport. 

Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom 

A Black man is troubled by the legacy of American slavery and the misuse of Christianity to justify it. He travels throughout Texas and discovers how the Juneteenth holiday reveals the hope and courage that empowered the formerly enslaved and their descendants to fight for freedom in an often unjust society. 

Watch Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom, streaming now on the PBS app. 

Juneteenth: Freedom and the Fine Print 

In this episode we explain the origin of Juneteenth and look at the parallels of Black liberation work around Reconstruction and Black liberation work, today. We will focus on 3 areas of “Fine Print”: Voter Suppression, Mass Incarceration, and Policing with a special highlight on the work of leaders pushing for change in these areas. 

Watch Say It Loud’s “Juneteenth: Freedom and the Fine Print,” streaming now on the PBS app. 

Segregation Scholarships 

The untold story of Black Americans in pursuit of higher education in the North when Southern graduate schools were white-only. The academics, who left during the Great Migration, returned to the Jim Crow South to strengthen their communities and to help end segregation. Segregation Scholarships highlights the trailblazers while illustrating the role of education in transforming social conditions. 

Watch Local, USA’s “Segregation Scholarships,” streaming now on the PBS app.