Some people call Juneteenth our nation’s second Independence Day.  

It marks the date on June 19, 1865, when enslaved Black Americans in Texas finally learned of their freedom, after the Civil War and Emancipation Proclamation.  

The day became a federal holiday in 2021, but Americans are still grappling with how to commemorate it.  

MPR News guest host Nina Moini talks with Kevin Lindsey, CEO of the Minnesota Humanities Center, about what the nonprofit organization is doing to mark Juneteenth and how better understanding the past can help address injustice today.  

Guests:  

• Kevin Lindsey was hired as CEO of the Minnesota Humanities Center in 2019 after serving almost eight years as commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. He’s also worked as an attorney in private practice and in the Ramsey County attorney’s office. 

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