19 min
Ollie Johnson, Ph.D, chair of the WSU Department of African American Studies Today@Wayne Podcast
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- News
Episode Notes
As Juneteenth celebrations around the country become more prominent, Ollie Johnson, Ph.D., chair of the Department of African American Studies at Wayne State, sits down with Today@Wayne Podcast host Darrell Dawsey to explain why the observance has grown in popularity and the significance it has for the current American political landscape.
About
Ollie Johnson is chair and professor of the Department of African American Studies at Wayne State University. Johnson has conducted extensive research on the Black political experience in the Americas. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Additional Resources
Follow Ollie Johnson on LinkedIn
Follow Ollie Johnson on Facebook
Books by Ollie Johnson
• Kwame Dixon and Ollie A. Johnson III, Comparative Racial Politics in Latin America (New York: Routledge, 2019)
• Ollie A. Johnson III and Rosana Heringer, eds., Race, Politics, and Education in Brazil: Affirmative Action in Higher Education (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)
• Ollie A. Johnson III and Karin L. Stanford, eds., Black Political Organizations in the Post-Civil Rights Era (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2003)
Follow the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on Twitter
Transcript
Announcer:
Welcome to Today at Wayne, a podcast that engages and informs the Wayne State University campus community with news announcements, information and current event discussions relevant to the university's goals and mission. Today at Wayne serves as the perfect forum for our campus to begin a conversation, or keep one going. Thanks for joining us.
Darrell Dawsey:
Welcome to Today at Wayne Podcast. I'm your host, Darrell Dawsey. June 19 marks the observance of an important yet too often overlooked milestone in American history — the anniversary of Juneteenth. Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 and saw it enacted the following year, word of the order freeing Black people held in bondage throughout the South took years to spread.
In fact, it wasn't until June 19, 1865, that word finally reached Galveston, Texas, a state where an estimated 250,000 people were still being subjected to the horrors of American enslavement. And even that event didn't end slavery completely; it wasn't until December 1865 that Blacks enslaved in Delaware and Kentucky were freed. The emancipation of the enslaved in Texas symbolized the ultimate death of the nation's most dehumanizing institution.
So significant was the event that June 19 would forever be known as ‘Juneteenth.’ Fast-forward to 2021, and a growing number of Americans around the country are now joining in Juneteenth celebrations that were once very limited in scope. Here to talk with us about the surge in celebrations as well as about the significance of the holiday is Ollie Johnson, Ph.D., the chairman of the Wayne State University Department of African American Studies. The author and coauthor of multiple books, including Black Political Organizations in the Post-Civil Rights Era, Johnson is a widely respected scholar of Black history and social movements. Welcome, Dr. Johnson.
Dr. Johnson:
Welcome, thank you for having me.
Darrell Dawsey:
Absolutely, always good to talk with you, always good. So let's just jump right into it. Let's just say: What is Juneteenth? Just talk a little bit about the day itself and what it marks.
Dr. Johnson:
Juneteenth is a celebration of African American freedom. I li...
Episode Notes
As Juneteenth celebrations around the country become more prominent, Ollie Johnson, Ph.D., chair of the Department of African American Studies at Wayne State, sits down with Today@Wayne Podcast host Darrell Dawsey to explain why the observance has grown in popularity and the significance it has for the current American political landscape.
About
Ollie Johnson is chair and professor of the Department of African American Studies at Wayne State University. Johnson has conducted extensive research on the Black political experience in the Americas. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Additional Resources
Follow Ollie Johnson on LinkedIn
Follow Ollie Johnson on Facebook
Books by Ollie Johnson
• Kwame Dixon and Ollie A. Johnson III, Comparative Racial Politics in Latin America (New York: Routledge, 2019)
• Ollie A. Johnson III and Rosana Heringer, eds., Race, Politics, and Education in Brazil: Affirmative Action in Higher Education (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)
• Ollie A. Johnson III and Karin L. Stanford, eds., Black Political Organizations in the Post-Civil Rights Era (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2003)
Follow the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences on Twitter
Transcript
Announcer:
Welcome to Today at Wayne, a podcast that engages and informs the Wayne State University campus community with news announcements, information and current event discussions relevant to the university's goals and mission. Today at Wayne serves as the perfect forum for our campus to begin a conversation, or keep one going. Thanks for joining us.
Darrell Dawsey:
Welcome to Today at Wayne Podcast. I'm your host, Darrell Dawsey. June 19 marks the observance of an important yet too often overlooked milestone in American history — the anniversary of Juneteenth. Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 and saw it enacted the following year, word of the order freeing Black people held in bondage throughout the South took years to spread.
In fact, it wasn't until June 19, 1865, that word finally reached Galveston, Texas, a state where an estimated 250,000 people were still being subjected to the horrors of American enslavement. And even that event didn't end slavery completely; it wasn't until December 1865 that Blacks enslaved in Delaware and Kentucky were freed. The emancipation of the enslaved in Texas symbolized the ultimate death of the nation's most dehumanizing institution.
So significant was the event that June 19 would forever be known as ‘Juneteenth.’ Fast-forward to 2021, and a growing number of Americans around the country are now joining in Juneteenth celebrations that were once very limited in scope. Here to talk with us about the surge in celebrations as well as about the significance of the holiday is Ollie Johnson, Ph.D., the chairman of the Wayne State University Department of African American Studies. The author and coauthor of multiple books, including Black Political Organizations in the Post-Civil Rights Era, Johnson is a widely respected scholar of Black history and social movements. Welcome, Dr. Johnson.
Dr. Johnson:
Welcome, thank you for having me.
Darrell Dawsey:
Absolutely, always good to talk with you, always good. So let's just jump right into it. Let's just say: What is Juneteenth? Just talk a little bit about the day itself and what it marks.
Dr. Johnson:
Juneteenth is a celebration of African American freedom. I li...
19 min