Race

National

How Small Towns Are Organizing Protests For Racial Justice

7:58am June 21, 2020

Sharee Clark of Wilkes-Barre, Penn. and Alicia Gee of Bethel, Ohio helped organize protests in their communities. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro says they had very different experiences.

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The Rev. William Barber II speaks during the virtual Poor People's Campaign on Saturday.

National

Virtual Poor People's Campaign Puts Inequality At The Center

9:17pm June 20, 2020

by Jason Slotkin

In more three hours of testimonies and calls to action, the online event endeavored to continue a campaign initially planned by Martin Luther King Jr. more than half a century ago.

Books

From Professors To Justices, Former Guests Have Book And TV Recommendations For You

5:44pm June 20, 2020

Former guests tell listeners which books and TV shows they recommend to better understand the current moment.

The History Of Juneteenth, And Why It Is Relevant Today

3:00pm June 20, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with poet and lawyer CeLillianne Green about the history behind Juneteenth and what it means at this moment.

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A statue commemorating Confederate Gen. Albert Pike sits on the ground moments after protesters toppled it late Friday night in Washington, D.C.

National

Protesters Fell Confederate Monument In D.C., Provoking Trump's Fury

12:15pm June 20, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

The statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike was long a unique sight in the nation's capital. But it met the same inglorious fate Friday as a host of other controversial monuments across the U.S.

Politics & Government

Senator Shelley Moore Capito Breaks Down Republican Police Reform Bill

8:09am June 20, 2020

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito about the Republican policing reform bill, a response to nationwide protests over police shootings of Black people.

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A statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson stands tall on the grounds of the West Virginia Capitol building in Charleston.

West Virginia, Born Out Of The Civil War, Grapples With Confederate Monuments

7:48am June 20, 2020

by Dave Mistich

On June 20, 1863, West Virginia seceded from Virginia to align with the Union during the Civil War. It rejected the Confederacy then, but the state hasn't taken down any Confederate statues in 2020.

National

U.S. National Archives Unearths Original Juneteenth Order

7:57pm June 19, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free," states General Order No. 3.

Mayor Quinton Lucas talks to demonstrators during a rally in Kansas City, Mo., on June 5, to protest the death of George Floyd.

National

Mayor Of Kansas City, Mo., Wants To Eliminate Marijuana Offenses

6:32pm June 19, 2020

Quinton Lucas says marijuana is often a pretext for police stops that disproportionately affect Black people. While pushing for local reforms, he doubts the possibility of larger, lasting change.

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A statue in Galveston, Texas, honors state lawmaker Al Edwards, who authored a bill that made the date an official state holiday. City leaders gathered in the statue's shadow Friday for a ceremony remembering both Edwards and the emancipation.

National

Across The U.S., A Juneteenth 'Tinted With Sorrow' And Buoyed By Hope

3:42pm June 19, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

Rallies are happening from Atlanta to Los Angeles — including in Galveston, Texas, where the holiday was born. Amid a reckoning around race, this year's Juneteenth has an even more urgent meaning.