Rhonda McBride

Where have all the tree swallows gone? In North America, their population is about half of what it was twenty years ago. On this Friday's Juneau Afternoon, we’ll get an update on the Juneau Audubon Society’s research into saving tree swallows, as well as a plan to repopulate areas that have seen the most drastic…

Juneteenth will be celebrated this Sunday. It marks the day in 1865 that Texas slaves learned they were free. Even though President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier, slaves in Texas didn’t know that until an Army general arrived to bring them the news.

For the Juneau Black Awareness Association, it is a reminder that Juneteenth is a work in progress — a celebration that has been slow to be embraced, even among the Black community.

“I’m embarrassed to say it’s not something I grew up learning about,” said Kelli Patterson, a member of the Juneau Black Awareness Association.

“I had heard of the holiday. I knew it was in June, but I didn’t know why,” Patterson said. “It probably wasn’t until Joe Biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday that I really started looking into it.”

That was last year.

Patterson also believes the social upheaval over the murder of George Floyd has sparked more interest in Juneteenth.

“I love that people are becoming more aware of our history outside of the Black community,” Patterson said. “When you think about 1865, that was not that long ago.”

She says that’s only five generations between her and ancestors who were slaves.

Although Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery after the Civil War, Patterson says, it’s become much more — a day dedicated to the dream of equality and justice for all, one that deserves recognition as a national holiday.

“Whether you’re Black, white, no matter your race, that’s the day America decided to do the right thing. And I think that’s a beautiful thing,” she said.

Patterson hopes Juneteenth will become like a second Independence Day for the nation. She says Juneteenth is also about recognizing the contributions of African American to the country and helping the next generation continue to achieve.

People in Juneau are invited to the Black Awareness Association’s Juneteenth celebration at Twin Lakes Park on Sunday. There will be speeches and entertainment, as well as hot dogs, ice cream and sweet potato pies. The event is a fundraiser for the association’s scholarship program.

Black soul food and barbecue. Live music. Prayers and speeches. These are some of the common threads in Juneteenth celebrations across the country, to be held this year on Sunday, June 19. The federal holiday is on Monday. In this week’s Culture Rich Conversations, Kelli and Sherry Patterson explore the history of Juneteenth, originally a…

Stories that were shocking in their day, now long faded from Juneau memory – stories that Betsy Longenbaugh unearths is her new book, “Forgotten Murders from the Capital.” On this Wednesday's Juneau Afternoon, Longenbaugh and her husband, Ed Schoenfeld, talk about the book and some of their research into local murders of yesteryear. Also in…

  As we look towards Father’s Day this Sunday, time out on Juneau Afternoon this Tuesday for a conversation about fatherhood and Alaska Native culture. Lyle and Kolene James share their favorite memories about their fathers and Lingít traditions aimed at bringing out the father in all men. They also talk about how other family…

A documentary premieres this Saturday, that looks back on 40 years of Celebration – and how this biennial gathering of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples helped to launch a cultural renaissance in Southeast Alaska. On Friday's Juneau Afternoon, Sarah Betcher talks about the making of this documentary, a collaboration between Sealaska Heritage Institute and Farthest…