The date June 19, 1865, has been celebrated by Black Texans since Reconstruction. Known today as “Juneteenth,” the holiday commemorates the arrival of Union soldiers to Galveston, Texas, and the liberation of the enslaved population. Professor Tyina Steptoe will discuss the history of Juneteenth celebrations – including the recent adoption of June 19 as a federal holiday – and common misconceptions regarding the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Tyina (pronounced Ta-wa-na) Steptoe hails from Houston, Texas. She holds a Ph.D. in History and an M.A. in Afro-American Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also earned a B.S. in Radio-Television-Film and a B.A. in History from the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, she is an associate professor of history at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
Her work focuses on race, gender, and culture in the United States. Her award-winning book, Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City (University of California Press, 2016), examines how the migration of Creoles of color, ethnic Mexicans, and black East Texans complicated notions of race in Houston between the 1920s and 1960s. Her latest book is Jim Crow: Voices from a Century of Struggle. Dr. Steptoe also hosts a weekly radio program called “Soul Stories” on 91.3 KXCI Tucson. The show explores the roots and branches of rhythm and blues music.