. >> paul robeson, who was a mentor and a man for whom i had enormous love and admiration, was the supreme example for me of how to use your life with dignity and with courage -- not bravado, but genuine social courage, to put all that's on the line to come up against the forces of oppression. amy: we will hear harry belafonte in his own words. all that and more coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. today, a democracy now! special on this, the newly created juneteenth federal holiday, which marks the end of slavery in the united states. the juneteenth commemoration dates back to the last days of the civil war, when union soldiers landed in galveston, texas, on june 19, 1865, with news that the war had ended, and enslaved people learned they were freed. it was two-and-a-half years after the emancipation proclamation. in 2021, president biden signed legislation to make juneteenth the first new federal holiday since dr. martin luther king jr. day. on the day after biden signed the legislation, i spoke to the writer and poet clint sm