Here’s How TV News Is Honoring Juneteenth

Juneteenth is a relatively new federal holiday that marks the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States.

TV news outlets are commemorating the historic day by producing and broadcasting special programming dedicated to the Black experience.

Here’s what each network has in store for Juneteenth 2023 — Monday, June 19.

ABC News:

• ABC News Studios’ Emmy and GLAAD Award-winning series Soul of a Nation will celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with a one-hour special, Hip-Hop @ 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections, featuring conversations with artists, producers, executives and changemakers in the industry. Honoring Juneteenth and Black Music Month, the primetime special, airing Monday, June 19, will detail the history of hip-hop, providing insight into its origins, growth and evolution over the last 50 years and where things stand today.
• Good Morning America spotlights the Black community during its Monday, June 19, broadcast, with a special preview of ABC News’ Hip-Hop @ 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections – A Soul of a Nation Presentation as well as a segment on sunscreen safety within the community. Plus, a live interview and performance with music artist Toosii.
• The View honors Juneteenth with a special hour welcoming guests Keke Palmer (digital network KeyTV; visual album, Big Boss), chef and restaurateur Melba Wilson with a special Juneteenth menu and a performance from CeCe Peniston, Robin S. and Deborah Cox.
• GMA3: What You Need to Know will profile the founders of Color Compton, a museum in Compton, Calif., showcasing and preserving the history of artists past, present, and future; ABC News’ Ike Ejiochi will follow the removal of a Confederate statue in Virginia, NBA all-star and author Chris Paul will discuss his new memoir, and the show will preview ABC’s latest Soul of a Nation special Hip-Hop @ 50: Rhythms, Rhymes & Reflections.
• Nightline will feature stories and profiles to celebrate Juneteenth.
• This Week will preview ABC News’ Soul of a Nation special, airing Monday
• ABC News Live will feature content throughout the day in honor of Juneteenth, including interviews with guests to commemorate the holiday.
• Senior Washington reporter Devin Dwyer will take an exclusive look inside the courtroom where the 1957 desegregation case was heard in Little Rock with one of the Little Rock Nine, the case that eventually led to the Supreme Court’s first enforcement of its Brown v. Board decision.
• Reporter Morgan Norwood looks at the history and important of Black owned banks and financial institutions in the decades since the Tulsa Race Massacre decimated Black Wall Street, and the crucial role mid-size regional banks play for minatory communities in the wake of recent failures.

CBS News:

• Juneteenth coverage will be featured across all broadcasts and platforms, leading up to and on Juneteenth, including  a five-hour marathon of America In Black, primetime newsmagazine produced by CBS News and BET, Monday, June 19 on CBS News Streaming, the network’s 24/7 news service.
• Additionally, a half-hour CBS Reports, the CBS News documentary franchise,  explores how a history of broken promises preventing Black farmers from owning land has contributed to the racial wealth gap and inspired new efforts to build and protect generational wealth.

“CBS News will illuminate the significance of Juneteenth and tell stories that weave together the threads of African American history and resilience,” said Alvin Patrick, executive producer of the CBS News Race & Culture Unit and head of streaming originals. “Our in-depth coverage and feature reporting across the division will examine the struggles, triumphs, and aspirations of generations of Black people in the past, present and future.”

• The CBS News Streaming marathon of America In Black, the first-of-its-kind monthly primetime newsmagazine, begins at 6 p.m. ET on June 19.
• America In Black first premiered in February and features a mix of long-form investigative reports, one-on-one newsmaker interviews, human interest stories, and exclusive in-depth celebrity profiles all exploring the Black experience in America.
  • CBS News’ Jericka Duncan will host the five-hour marathon and sit down with America In Black correspondents James Brown, Ed Gordon, Michelle Miller, Skyler Henry and Danya Bacchus to get additional perspective on the stories they reported for the series including topics like reparations, rap lyrics on trial, the Crown Act, celebrity and influencer interviews and more.

• CBS News Streaming Network:  In addition to the America In Black marathon on June 19, CBS Reports will premiere, 40 Acres in a Mule at 8 p.m. ET on June 22. Today, the phrase “40 acres and a mule” represents the broken promises the U.S. government has made with Black American farmers that has contributed to a vast racial wealth gap. CBS Reports explores the ways in which Black Americans are trying to reclaim their land, connect to their ancestry, and generate wealth that can be passed on for generations to come.
• CBS News Radio – On the Kaleidoscope segment for the CBS News Weekend Roundup, CBS News Radio’s Allison speaks with a scholar about the importance of Juneteenth. They discuss not only the celebration of the day, but also what this means at a time when states across the nation are trying to ban Black history. How will this affect students of color who aren’t learning where they came from and how will this bode for their futures?
• CBS News Social  –  To complement the America In Black marathon on June 19, CBS Saturday Morning co-host Michelle Miller will be moderating a Facebook Live discussion on the CBS News account with CBS News correspondents Jericka Duncan and Skyler Henry.
• CBS Newspath – CBS Newspath Correspondent Danya Bacchus interviews USC’s Keck School of Medicine’s Dr. Joyce Richey, about Juneteenth, the emancipation of her great grandmother, her family hist and her incredible spirit to forgive. This Juneteenth is more than just a holiday for Dr Joyce Richey. It’s her family history.
• CBS News Sunday Morning  – For the broadcast on Sunday, June 18 Mark Whitaker reports on the life and legacy of pioneering Black architect Paul Revere Williams, who designed the homes of celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Lon Chaney as well as major public and private buildings.
• To commemorate Juneteenth, CBS Mornings and CBS Saturday Morning  will highlight individuals making an impact on their communities through their culinary skills.
• On Juneteenth, the CBS Evening News With Norah O’Donnell will mark the day with coverage highlighting celebrations around the country.
• The CBS Local News Innovation Lab will produce several stories for CBS-owned stations across the country. The coverage will include an interview with Samuel Collins, the co-chair of the Juneteenth Legacy Project, who talks about how the holiday came to be. In addition, the Innovation Lab is producing profiles of artist Reginald Charles Adams,  the force behind the Absolute Equality Project, and Opal Lee, who is known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth.

BET Media:

• The Power of Juneteenth airs on Monday, June 19 at 12 p.m. ET/PT on BET, BET Her, and premiering for the first time on BET+.
  • In this BET News special featuring Opal Lee and Henry Louis Gates Jr., CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan honors the history and significance of Juneteenth through food and music.
• America in Black airs Monday, June 19 from 6-11 p.m. ET on CBS News Streaming
  • The CBS News Streaming Network will broadcast a Juneteenth Marathon of the BET, CBS News original primetime newsmagazine Series America In Black, hosted by the aforementioned Jericka Duncan.
    • During the episodes, Duncan will interview correspondents Ed Gordon, James Brown, Michelle Miller, Skyler Henry and Danya Bacchus to get additional perspective on the stories they reported for the series.
    • Viewers can watch the America In Black Juneteenth Marathon on CBSNews.com, Paramount+ or by downloading the free CBS News App.

CNN:

• Juneteenth: A Global Celebration for Freedom will air live worldwide on CNN on Sunday, June 19 at 7 p.m. ET and stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com and CNN OTT. CNN International will simulcast from 7 p.m.-12 a.m. ET, and OWN will simulcast from 8 p.m.-12 a.m. ET.
• CNN’s exclusive pre-show coverage will be hosted by CNN’s Sara Sidner and political commentator Van Jones. Correspondent Stephanie Elam highlighting African-American advocates, trailblazers, and creators.
• The Situation Room ep Emily Atkinson will executive produce the pre-show and post-show programming.
• Produced by a team of Black creators from Live Nation Urban and Jesse Collins Entertainment, the show’s line-up of performing artists includes Charlie Wilson, Miguel, Kirk Franklin, Nelly, Davido, Jodeci, SWV, Coi Leray, and Chlöe Bailey, who will honor Tina Turner, the late Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
• Vice President Kamala Harris will also join the concert in Los Angeles to deliver special remarks live.
• Additionally, CNN This Morning Weekend co-anchor Victor Blackwell takes a journey to the opening of the International African American Museum in Charleston. Constructed on the site of Gadsden’s Wharf, the destination for generations of enslaved Africans, Blackwell reports on the history inside the new museum, as well as the powerful stories of the humans stolen from Africa, and bought and sold in America.  Along the way, Blackwell speaks with Dr Tonya Matthews, president and CEO of the museum, brings viewers along to see key exhibits, and speaks with researchers about the extraordinary collections.  Blackwell also speaks with genealogist Dr Shelley Murphy, and learns, for the very first time, his own family’s path.  Blackwell ’meets’ his great-grandfather’s great-grandfather, as his ancestors’ stories are revealed.

NBCU News Group:

• NBC (Today show) 
  • NBC News’ Today will report on the new International African American Museum opening in Charleston, South Carolina.
  • In collaboration with Comcast’s “Voices of the Civil Rights Movement,” the 3rd Hour of Today shares the story of Jack Yates, a formerly enslaved man who transformed his Houston community and the way Juneteenth is celebrated.  His great-granddaughter Jacqueline Whiting Bostic shares his lasting impact that started with a plot of land, now known as Emancipation Park.
  • For Today Food, Today will speak with the founder of Black Restaurant Week Across America. On Today with Hoda & Jenna, the hosts will discuss a Juneteenth celebration menu with Chef Scotty Scott.
• MSNBC
  • In a special airing Friday, Symone: Journey to Juneteenth, Symone Sanders-Townsend visits the National Museum of African American History & Culture to mark the third anniversary of the Juneteenth holiday. Guided by the museum’s current director, Kevin Young, the two unpack the significant events, people and places along the journey to June 19, 1865 in a wide ranging conversation. The special is available on-demand on Peacock beginning Friday, June 16.

• CNBC
  • CNBC Dayside will report on Just Capital’s Race and Gender pay equity analysis, and Squawk Box will interview The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) President & CEO Michael Hyter after ELC rings the Nasdaq bell on Tuesday, June 20.
  • This month, CNBC will launch the inaugural “CNBC Equity & Opportunity Black Business Leadership Survey as part of Equity & Opportunity: Exec Connect, CNBC’s event that connects the leaders of today and tomorrow for an evening of networking to spark conversation around building a brighter future for the next generation of Black executives in New Orleans on June 28. The survey is done in partnership with The Executive Leadership Council (ELC).
  • CNBC.com featured Frank Holland’s story about the NFL investing in Black- and minority-owned banks in response to regional banking crisis, which also aired on Worldwide Exchange, and CNBC.com will also feature a story about the racial economic equality and how it remains elusive.

• NBC News Now:
  • Meet the Press Reports looks at the reparations debate. For Juneteenth, NBC News Correspondent Ron Allen looks at the debate in California – never a slave state – over whether African Americans should receive financial reparations for centuries of slavery, unequal housing policies, and countless ensuing injustices. The reporting comes in advance of the California Reparations Task Force’s release of its recommendations report on June 29.
  • Airs on NBC News Now on Friday at 10:30 p.m. and Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

• NBCBLK
  • Reparations for Russell City: In collaboration with Meet The Press Reports, NBCBLK reports on a fight happening over reparative justice regarding land that a group of Black residents say was stolen from their ancestors about 60 years ago in the Bay Area.
  • Juneteenth and Reclaiming the Outdoors: NBCBLK will report on several groups – including Black Girls Hike, Outdoorsy Black Women and National Brotherhood of Skiers – helping the Black community embrace nature and the outdoors.

PBS NewsHour:

• • On Monday, June 19, PBS NewsHour co-anchor Geoff Bennett will interview Opal Lee, who is known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth.”

Bloomberg:

• This June, in honor of Juneteenth and Pride Month, Bloomberg TV has a special Equality series taking a look at a range of topics highlighting what equality means for the economy, companies and investors.
• The coverage airs Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET hosted by Bloomberg TV anchors Caroline Hyde and Romaine Bostick. The program examines everything from AI bias to unequal access to capital. Guest highlights include the GLAAD CEO, Black Women in AI Founder, Family Equality CEO, and more.