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Juneteenth at Old Alabama Town - TPR's In Focus - June 17, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from Troy University's Trojan Cafe,
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  offering handcrafted Starbucks beverages and a wide assortment
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  of meal and snack options.
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  Located on Troy University's Montgomery Campus,
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  across from the Rosa Parks Library and Museum.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is In Focus,
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  and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson.
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  Juneteenth is the commemoration of the ending of slavery
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  in 1865 in the United States.
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  And in Alabama's capital city, buildings in Old Alabama Town
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  reflect the era of slavery.
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  Our guest, Tony Watkins, is a griot,
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  and we'll learn what griot means as he shares the Juneteenth
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  story and previews Saturday's events.
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  ♪♪
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  Tony, thank you so much for joining us here
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  at Troy Public Radio.
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  Hey, thank you for having me.
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  Tony Watkins, you are North Block Manager
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  at Old Alabama Town.
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  And besides being a historian, you are a griot.
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  What is a griot?
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  Well, the griot come from West Africa,
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  and those are the ones that keep the story
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  and pass down the epic histories and deep knowledge of culture,
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  of the laws and the history.
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  Most time, the griot to tell the family stories
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  or tell the tribe stories.
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  My job is to make sure I keep everyone's story alive.
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  So virtually, you're a cultural historian, it sounds like.
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  That's what it is in a nutshell.
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  Tony, coming up is Juneteenth.
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  Tell us what's on tap at Old Alabama Town
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  to observe Juneteenth.
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  Well, in recognition of Juneteenth,
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  of Old Alabama Town, we start around 10 a.m.
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  till around about maybe 3.
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  I will spotlight some of the buildings that are associated
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  with African-American heritage, such as the shotgun house
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  that was probably built in 1880 and the church from the 1890s.
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  So some of those structures that are important structure,
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  which is understanding Central Alabama history.
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  So that's what we're going to do on Juneteenth
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  to spotlight these architects.
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  So Juneteenth actually will be celebrated on the 20th.
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  However, historically, what is the terminology?
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  How does it relate to the date?
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  Well, June 19th is the federal holiday.
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  Then we just call it Juneteenth.
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  And because of President Biden signing into law
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  on maybe the 17th of 2021, that is to recognize,
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  because this is the first federal holiday
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  that Blacks got to celebrate.
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  So that's how we ended up with Juneteenth.
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  But we're celebrating on the 20th.
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  Which is, of course, Saturday.
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  Yes.
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  This goes back to April of 1865,
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  when Texas was a Confederate state at that time.
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  It was the last state to hear
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  about the Emancipation Proclamation.
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  Why do you think that was?
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  You are correct.
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  It was in Galveston, Texas in 1865.
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  But there are some things
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  that we need to know about Juneteenth.
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  And we should remember,
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  the first thing we should know about Juneteenth,
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  why it's important, is the Emancipation Proclamation.
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  It was issued in 1863.
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  But because it was issued in 1863,
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  we knew that paper was no good
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  unless there was troops on the ground.
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  And these troops had to go through the Confederate territory.
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  That's 1863.
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  Then you had to come up with what you was talking about,
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  the June 19, 1865.
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  Of course, coming through,
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  you had Gordon Granger arrive in Galveston, Texas,
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  and he issued his number three documentary,
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  declaring that they were going to enforce
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  the emancipation from slavery.
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  A lot of the Confederacy was trying to keep their slaves.
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  And they pushed it as far as they could in Texas.
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  But because of the fact that,
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  and I really do believe that slaves was knowing
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  that they was going to be free.
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  The slaves had their own communication line.
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  Juneteenth is important to us
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  because the fact is that this is something
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  that is symbolized freedom.
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  The very first African American holiday
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  that we celebrate.
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  Can you tell us about how many people
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  were enslaved at that time?
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  Yes.
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  Well, I think it was total of 500,000 enslaved,
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  but not in Texas,
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  but all together because the fact
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  that it was not for every slave to be free,
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  but it was 500,000 that was enslaved.
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  We hear the term Freedom Day, Emancipation Day.
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  What will be happening at Old Alabama Town this Saturday?
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  So this Saturday, we're going to reflect.
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  We're going to start off with the chorus.
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  And they're going to do some singing.
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  And I think that's the river region.
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  I think it's 11 o'clock.
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  Then we're going to end up showing
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  some of the ornament house,
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  which is some slave dwelling and the mansion.
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  And then turn it over to me.
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  And I'm going to talk about some of these structures here
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  that we have at Old Alabama Town
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  and help bring the story.
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  Because I feel like this,
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  it's good to go and look at it,
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  but to understand it, it's a different thing.
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  And after I get through diving deep into artifacts,
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  then I would turn it over
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  to the Alabama State University Choir to sing.
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  So Tony, as a guide in this section of Old Alabama Town,
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  this North block section,
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  are there structures that relate directly
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  to the Emancipation Proclamation story?
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  Yes.
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  Matter of fact, I'm looking at some buildings now.
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  And one that I am so fascinated about on my side
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  is called the Lakeland House,
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  which is actually the slave quarters
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  where they turn it into a restroom.
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  And for it to stand 150 years,
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  it weathered the storm
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  it weathered the fire, it's still standing.
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  And for me to look at that
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  and look at that ancestor part of me,
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  I take joy just looking at it.
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  So yes, there are some buildings standing out there
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  that actually still standing for 150 years or more.
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  And what are they built of?
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  Out of planks, out of wood.
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  Tony, the buildings hold such stories.
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  Can you share more with us?
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  So yes, actually the Shotgun House.
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  And I look at the Shotgun House
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  and this is after reconstruction.
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  And you can see a lot of blacks was trying to move to town
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  and they was getting these simple made homes.
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  Shotgun House, simple made homes without running water.
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  And people used to call it, make jokes of it,
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  that it's a double barrel shotgun house.
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  You could lift the window up
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  and take a double barrel shotgun
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  and shoot straight through it.
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  And the pellets won't touch anything.
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  Well, to live that life,
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  I remember times that I've been into a Shotgun House
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  in my own family.
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  And their bedroom was their living room.
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  It was mainly two rooms in the house.
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  So it brings back memory
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  when I get to see this Shotgun House
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  and I see how it's built,
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  standing on blocks of bricks.
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  Someone said that it was to keep the air circulating
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  through a house.
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  That's why they put it on blocks.
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  Well, I heard another thing,
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  it was to keep the termites from eating it.
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  So there was different things,
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  but at Old Alabama Town,
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  you definitely have the Shotgun House.
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  These are fascinating stories
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  and it's great that Old Alabama Town
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  is welcoming visitors on this historic occasion.
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  Is there anything else you want your listeners to know?
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  So on the 20th,
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  purchase your ticket at oldalabamatown.com.
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  Go there, purchase your ticket
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  and help Old Alabama Town celebrate yesteryears.
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  And on the path to citizenship
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  for these freed black slaves,
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  what were the constitutional amendments that led to that?
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  You have the 13th, the 14th and then the 15th Amendment.
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  And so when Juneteenth came around,
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  when they did a ratification for 13th,
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  they had to wait on the 14th and the 15th Amendment.
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  So they just didn't get it all in one day.
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  So the 15th was ratified in 1870.
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  Correct.
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  Thank you for your visits today.
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  Thank you so much.
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  That was historian, documentarian and author,
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  Tony Watkins,
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  who joined us from Montgomery's Old Alabama Town,
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  which is hosting its Juneteenth celebration next Saturday.
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  And across town, the Troy University Rosa Parks Museum
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  also is celebrating Juneteenth Saturday
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  with complimentary tours of the museum
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  and the Cleveland Avenue Time Machine.
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  Thanks for joining us today for In Focus,
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  which is a podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson
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  and this is listener supported Troy Public Radio.