AUSTIN, Texas — As Americans continue to march for racial justice following the death of George Floyd, Black Texans say Juneteenth has taken on additional weight this year.
They're also pushing for there to be better education in schools about what the holiday means.
"My experience as a student in schools, I think I had a cursory understanding of it, but really it came from the community,” said Dr. Richard Reddick, associate dean for Equity, Community Engagement, and Outreach in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin. “I grew up in South Austin, went to school in East Austin, part of the parades for years and that's when we knew what Juneteenth was. And so this kind of reminds me of the importance of making our curriculum reflect the reality of the experiences."
Reddick also says he hopes the push by several Texas lawmakers to make it a federal holiday actually comes to fruition. He pointed to how Martin Luther King Jr. Day brought a new awareness and commitment to service and Juneteenth could and says should take on the same sense of importance nationally.
Click the video link above to watch our full interview with Reddick.