Transcript[]
Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Nat & Moby
On screen, a girl, Nat, and a robot, Moby are attending a Juneteenth celebration, drinking bottles of Ol' Red soda. A "JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL" banner hangs behind them; along with a red, green, and black balloon arc; and a Juneteenth flag. In the background, people walk around and visit food stands. Nat takes a sip of her soda.
NAT: Mmm, I'm getting notes of bubble gum… and cotton candy.
In the animation, Moby hands Nat a letter.
MOBY: Beep!
Nat reads from a typed letter.
NAT: Dear Nat and Moby, Can you tell us about Juneteenth? From, Ms. Safford’s class. Sure. Juneteenth is short for June 19th. On that date in 1865, enslaved people in Galveston Bay, Texas learned they were free.
On screen, enslaved people are working in the field. The sound of horses are heard approaching.
NAT: Two thousand Union troops showed up with the news: The Civil War was over, and so was slavery in the South.
In the animation, Union soldiers ride up on horses. One holds a declaration and begins reading from it. The animation returns to the enslaved people, who drop their tools and cheer.
NAT: The news had taken a while to reach Texas, the westernmost state in the Confederacy.
The animation shows a map of the Confederacy, with shackle icons in each state. Each pair of shackles breaks, from east to west, until Texas's shackles break last.
NAT: Juneteenth celebrates that day: when the last enslaved people in the South were set free.
A timeline shows the Civil War lasting from 1861 to 1865, as well as a Texas icon showing Juneteenth, at June 19, 1865.
NAT: The Emancipation Proclamation had made it official.
On the timeline, a Lincoln icon is added showing the Emancipation Proclamation, at January 1, 1863.
MOBY: Beep?
NAT: That was an executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln in the middle of the Civil War. It said that all enslaved people in the states “in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”
On screen, the Emancipation Proclamation icon grows to full-screen, showing Lincoln next to the Emancipation Proclamation. The animation zooms in to the Emancipation Proclamation, highlighting the text as Nat reads from it.
NAT: Meaning, it applied to the Confederate states—but not to the slave states that stayed in the Union. That's because Lincoln wanted to keep his allies in those states happy.
The screen shows a map of the Union and Confederacy states, along with their respective flags. The Confederate states are highlighted. Then Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia are highlighted, along with shackles icons.
NAT: Slavery continued there for months after the Civil War ended. The 13th Amendment outlawed it across the land in December 1865. A half-year after Juneteenth.
The animation returns to the timeline from earlier. A parchment icon marking the 13th Amendment is added to December 6, 1865.
MOBY: Beep?
NAT: Well, the Emancipation Proclamation was still a big step forward. For one thing, it allowed Black men to enlist in the Union military. Nearly 200,000 Black troops went on to fight for the freedom of their brothers and sisters.
The animation shows a line of Black Union soldiers.
NAT: But more importantly, it placed the Union squarely on the side of freedom. Which meant enslaved people could escape across Union lines—and half a million of them did.
In the animation, a U.S. map zooms in to the Union states. Silhouettes of human beings are shown moving from the South to the North, accompanied by arrows pointing north.
NAT: Every Union victory brought an expansion of freedom. In each area of the Confederacy it conquered, enslaved people were freed.
The animation returns to the Union soldiers on horseback, with silhouettes of enslaved people listening from the foreground, Enslaved people cheer their freedom.
NAT: But as Union troops advanced, lots of slaveholders took their operations west. Many found refuge in a place far from the fighting: Texas.
The animation returns to the map. The gray Confederate states start turning blue, from east to west. An icon of a man riding a horse-and-buggy, accompanied by other people walking behind, moves west across the Confederate states. Arrows point west to Texas.
NAT: Until Major General Gordon Granger came to Galveston on Juneteenth. Standing on the balcony of the Confederate headquarters, he read from General Order No. 3: "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves…"
On screen, General Granger stands on the Ashton Villa Balcony, with Union troops behind him, and enslaved people watching from below. Granger unfurls a document and moves his face like he's reading it. The words of the document appear on screen.
NAT: Newly freed people danced, cried, sang—and started to make plans. Word spread quickly across Texas.
The animation shows formerly enslaved people celebrating. They cheer as they ride away on a horse and buggy, waving American flags.
NAT: 7-year-old Molly Harrell was enslaved on a plantation over 200 miles north of Galveston. She said, "Me and my mother left right off… we all walked down the road singing and shouting."
The animation shows a family of formerly enslaved people cheering. The screen zooms in to a young girl, and her words appear on screen.
MOBY: Beep?
NAT: If only it were that easy. Many white Southerners refused to accept Black people as their equals. The most hateful began a campaign of terror, attacking and killing Black people across the South.
In the image, an angry white man is shown scowling. A white hood comes down over his face, and he joins other people wearing white hoods and holding torches, riding horses.
NAT: Defying these threats, Black Texans observed the first anniversary of Juneteenth. Back then, it was also called Emancipation Day or Jubilee Day. They sang spirituals, ate BBQ, played games, and recited the Emancipation Proclamation. Even though the threat of violence was always there.
The animation shows a Juneteenth celebration in a park, with some people waiting for barbecue food and others gathering and playing games. A four-tile of images shows: people singing together, people eating barbecue, boys play with a ball and bat, and a man standing on a box to recite the Emancipation Proclamation for a pair of people.
MOBY: Beep?
NAT: The country passed several constitutional amendments to protect the rights of Black Americans. But down South, state and local authorities refused to obey these laws. Instead, they did everything they could to make Black people second-class citizens. First, Black southerners were prevented from voting, so they had no influence in government. Then, laws were passed to bar Black people from participating in everyday life.
On screen, slips of paper labeled as the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are added to the Constitution, A Black man holds up the 15th Amendment to show an angry white man. The white man tears it up, and the Black man, shown at the front of a line leading to a voting booth, hangs his head sadly. Icons appear showing a red slash over someone casting a vote, and people participating in a community vote.
NAT: They couldn't eat with white people, go to the same schools, or use the same water fountains.
The animation shows two restaurants: White people loiter in front of the one labeled "white," and Black people loiter in front of the one labeled "colored." Two schools are shown, one all white, one all Black. A water fountain, labeled "white," is shown beside a bucket, labeled "colored."
NAT: Black citizens had to live in separate neighborhoods and could only hold lower-paying jobs. And they had to treat white people like they were superior. Try to fight it, and you risked jail time, violence, and even death.
In the animation, a Black man walks down the street. A white woman in a fancy dress walks by, and the Black man takes off his hat and shows her a big smile. After she walks by, he hangs his head sadly. Icons show a pair of handcuffs, an arm cast, and a gravestone labeled "R.I.P."
NAT: This policy of segregation, or separation, lasted for 100 years.
The animation shows a train passing to reveal a train station: On the side labeled "white," a white woman sits on a bench; on the site labeled "colored," a group of Black people stand. The screen cuts to a more modern train station, with the same labels and separated white and Black people.
NAT: Still, Juneteenth persevered. Celebrating became an act of resistance and a show of strength. And Black communities got creative about making celebrations possible. Because of segregation, many public parks were off-limits to Black Texans.
On screen, a Black hand holds a flyer, labeled "Juneteenth Celebration: June 19." The flyer is dropped to show a park, labeled "Whites only," filled with white people in fancy dress.
NAT: So, they sometimes pooled funds to purchase their own land. In Houston, in 1872, ministers raised money to buy 10 acres, creating Emancipation Park.
The animation pans over to three Black men in suits and ties. One hands a bag of money to a white man holding a document titled "Land Deed." The scene pans over farther to show three Black men in suits and ties standing around a sign with a red cloth over it. One man pulls away the cloth to show the sign, which reads, "Emancipation Park."
NAT: It became a safe place to gather on Juneteenth for decades. Smaller celebrations were held in people's homes and in churches, too.
The animation pans over to a Juneteenth celebration in Emancipation Park. People wait to get barbecue, men play musical instruments, and kids play.
MOBY: Beep?
NAT: Juneteenth slowly spread through the country beginning in the 1910s. That was the start of the Great Migration, when millions of Black southerners sought a better life in the North. As people from Texas joined the migration, the holiday went with them.
The animation shows a car on a highway passing a sign that reads "Chicago, 230 miles." On a map of the United States, arrows grow from the South to point North.
NAT: Then during the 1950s and ’60s, Juneteenth got even bigger. Black people connected their fight for equal rights to the fight to end slavery. Juneteenth embodied all of the pain and triumph of their shared history.
In the animation, a four-tile of images shows: Rosa Parks' mug shot, Martin Luther King Jr. delivering a speech, Martin Luther King Jr. holding the hands of several others in a march, and John Lewis marching.
NAT: Celebrations now featured parades and fireworks, street fairs and rodeos, and presentations about Black heritage.
The animation pans to show a parade float with Black people dressed as Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty, fireworks, a food stand, a man jumping on a horse, a copy of Louis Jordan's record called "June Teenth Jamboree" and sheet music.
NAT: Red food and red drinks symbolized the blood of the enslaved, and their resilience in bondage.
On screen are red meat, hot sauce, Ol' Red soda, watermelon, and red velvet cake.
NAT: And in 1980, Texas declared Juneteenth a state holiday.
On screen is a calendar on the month of June, with a Texas flag as the image. Juneteenth is printed in the June 19th square.
NAT: Since then, 47 states have recognized it as a holiday or day of observance.
MOBY: Beep?
NAT: Yeah, there's recently been a push to make it a federal holiday. That's when government workers get a paid day off, and most everyone else does, too. Like we have for Independence Day.
The animation shows a sign that reads "Closed, Federal Holiday" with an American flag. The scene zooms out to show the sign hanging on the door of a building labeled "Smallville Bank." A man stands at the door, unable to open it.
NAT: In fact, some people think of Juneteenth as America's second Independence Day. Cuz the Fourth of July only commemorates when white Americans gained independence. While Juneteenth is about when all Americans became free.
The screen shows two images: On the left are a group of white men at the Constitutional Convention; on the right are a cross-section of modern Americans.
NAT: Making it a federal holiday may not seem like such a big deal.
The animation shows the Juneteenth festival where Nat and Moby are. In front of them, a man walks by wearing a tee shirt that says "Juneteenth, my Independence Day," along with an image of green, black, and red fists breaking free of shackles.
NAT: But what a country chooses to honor and celebrate speaks to its core values. And freedom and equality for everyone are values I think we can all get behind.
MOBY: Beep!
On screen, Moby holds out a red velvet on a platter, with one slice on a plate for Nat.
NAT: Nice, you baked a Juneteenth cake!
On screen, Nat takes a bite of the cake.
NAT: Uhm… You're not supposed to use actual red velvet.
In the animation, Nat says her line with her mouth full. She spits out the bite of cake. The screen goes to black.