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Austin History Center's Juneteenth Tour of African-American Heritage

Filipa Rodrigues, KUT News
Cynthia Evans holds a newspaper announcing commencement at Anderson High School, Austin's first school for African-American students.

A series of Juneteenth celebrations kicked off this weekend, celebrating the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas learned they were free. To honor these celebrations, KUT News is telling a series of stories about the history of the African-American community in Austin. 

Today, we start with a tour of the Austin History Centerto view documents and artifacts that chronicle the city's African-American history. KUT's Joy Diaz spoke with the center's Cynthia Evans about what the celebration means for those in the African-American community.

"Juneteenth is approaching and it's a great way to celebrate a sense of community that is changing. It's still a great thing you see every year, where the community comes back to one place and celebrate almost the exact same way as they celebrated the first Juneteenth."

Click the player above to hear our audio tour of the museum; click below to see more with our photo slideshow. 

Texas Standard reporter Joy Diaz has amassed a lengthy and highly recognized body of work in public media reporting. Prior to joining Texas Standard, Joy was a reporter with Austin NPR station KUT on and off since 2005. There, she covered city news and politics, education, healthcare and immigration.
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