welcome to hollywood! where an epic party is getting started. the stage at the historic greek theater will soon light up with an extraordinary list of musical talent all taking part in a global celebration for freedom. i am sara sidner. i am sitting next to my man van jones. he s here to celebrate juneteeth on cnn. we are so excited to be with you. this is america s newest federal holiday, commemorating the end, the true end of slavery in this country. folks heading to the greek theater, here in hollywood. and all of you at home are going to see an incredible concert with an amazing all-star lineup of black singers and songwriters. we re going to enjoy a show-stopping tribute to the queen of rock and roll, tina turner. we lost her this year. it was devastating for all of us. but you re going to see something you haven t seen before, y all. so stick around. actress chloe will give us her rendition of one of turner s greatest hits what s love got to do with it? she is going t
huge deal. well, any time you can be inspiring and be included in something that you feel is almost setting the precedent for things to come, definitely with this holiday and definitely just being a part of something this huge. i m curious, nelly, what is it that makes you feel free? hmm. um, i mean, you know, just being able to share the things that i ve been able to accomplish and things that i ve been able to come up with, with the ones you love. truly being free means inspiring and give hope to people and being able to provide for my family. that s all i need. that s beautiful. part of freedom, too, is being free from disease, just being free tomorrow healthy and strong. you re healthy and strong. you ve done so much work on bone marrow issues.
board member, a county commissioner, lots of others. and they gave me this send-off, because i decided if i walked from fort worth to washington, d.c. 1,400 miles, somebody would take notice. i want to bring you into this, dionne. you represent a different generation than your grandmother. what does juneteeth mean to you as the next generation coming up? so, for me, juneteeth means unity. and it s an opportunity to be able to talk about the real issues that are facing our country. i think one of the things that we have to understand is that now that juneteeth is on the calendar, we can now ask freedom from what, we re celebrating freedom, but freedom from what. that then poses the freedom from slavery. and today the effects of that slavery are still happening. a couple days ago you were able to celebrate juneteeth and
blockbuster concert that gets underway very soon. stay right here for the performances and the moving messages about why today s holiday matters so much for the black community, and really for all americans. there might not be a federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the u.s. if it were not for miss opal lee. van, you had the honor of speaking with her. she is known as the grandmother of juneteeth. she s 86 years old? she s actually i think 96. and she basically, she spent her entire life focused on making this holiday happen, making sure that this moment of black freedom and human freedom is recognized by everybody and she s actually brought her family into this fight. opal lee joins me now along with her granddaughter. miss opal lee, happy juneteeth! we are celebrating it now as a federal holiday for the third year in a row. have you gotten used to that yet? not really.
and it s given the freedom to grow wild. how we can come together to overcome life s greatest challenges. and when people develop new skills, it can develop a whole community. that s why we re here, to help make it happen. welcome friends, to the middle of everything! friends that bike together. hike together! -with goats. -with goats! come on in. it s the middle things that count. you just can t beat this view, or this crew. can t wait to see what tomorrow brings, here in the middle of everything! relapsing ms isn t the only thing i have going on.