TheGrio Sets Lineup For Annual Juneteenth Special

Allen Media Group’s theGrio’s fourth annual Freedom Forward: Juneteenth Special will feature performances from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Jamar Langley from The Voice. It also features comedian Roy Wood Jr. and journalist Robin Roberts, among other guests.

Hosted by theGrio Daily host Natasha S. Alford from New York City and theGrio columnist and podcast host Panama Jackson from Washington D.C., the one-hour special will air on Monday, June 19,across theGrio digital platforms including YouTube and theGrio.com.

2023 marks 158 years since U.S. Army Gen. Gordon Granger announced to the people of Galveston, Texas, that slavery was over. Granger’s announcement came in 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. More recently, on June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth National Independence Day as a legal public holiday. Since then, 24 states have made it a paid holiday.