Juneteenth Special with Linda Jann Lewis

June 19, 2021

Juneteenth, celebrating freedom

On June 19, 1865, just after the end of the Civil War, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and read General Order No. 3 informing Texas slaves that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two and a half years earlier by President Lincoln. June 19th has long been referred to as "Juneteenth" in the African-American community and is the oldest national commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Since 1979, Juneteenth has been an official Texas holiday.  Last week, President Biden signed a new law making Juneteenth the 11th Federal Holiday, a commemoration that will now be celebrated all over the country. Take a dive into this uniquely American holiday with Linda Jann Lewis, a distinguished African American activist and leader in Texas who’s family has celebrated Juneteenth for more than 100 years on the very plantation where her ancestors were enslaved. In a storied career in Texas politics, Linda served Texas governors from both parties, the famed Lt. Governor Bob Bullock, was the fist African American Elections Administrator in Texas, and, among other things, helped found KAZI, a listener-supported, community radio station in Austin, Texas. And, best of all, she’s an amazing story teller and human being. Jump into the newest American holiday on this Special Juneteenth Episode of the American Shoreline Podcast!

Only on ASPN.

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Show Transcription
This transcription was generated by a computer. Please excuse any errors.
Peter Ravella & Tyler Buckingham

Peter and Tyler joined forces in 2015 and from the first meeting began discussing a project that would become Coastal News Today and the American Shoreline Podcast Network. At the time, Peter and Tyler were coastal consultants for Pete’s firm, PAR Consulting, LLC. In that role, they worked with coastal communities in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, engaged in grant writing, coastal project development, shoreline erosion and land use planning, permitting, and financial planning for communities undertaking big beach restoration projects. Between and among their consulting tasks, they kept talking and kept building the idea of CNT & ASPN. In almost every arena they worked, public engagement played a central role. They spent thousands of hours talking with coastal stakeholders, like business owners, hotel operators, condo managers, watermen, property owners, enviros, surfers, and fishermen. They dived deep into the value, meaning, and responsibility for the American shoreline, segment-by-segment. Common threads emerged, themes were revealed, differences uncovered. There was a big conversation going on along the American shoreline! But, no place to have it. That's where CNT and ASPN were born.