What's going on, everybody?
It's me, Twitch.
I am your guest host for today.
Appreciate you all being here.
And like a good host, I want to thank you all for coming.
Your presence is a gift.
But I will also accept real gifts as well.
[LAUGHTER]
I'm a big fan of candy and money, which
I will use to buy more candy.
Anyway.
All right.
So.
You all, I'm so excited for today, and today's episode.
Tomorrow is June 19th, also known
as the holiday Juneteenth.
Now you may or may not be aware of Juneteenth.
But that's OK.
So in general, Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the freeing
of enslaved people in Texas.
Now I say in general because even now,
we as Black people in America, are still
trying to piece together the intricate details
of our own history.
So I'll start from here.
Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation
to outlaw slavery in 1862.
And it took until 1865 for that news to reach Texas.
So on June 19th, 1865, the federal troops
arrived in Galveston, Texas and took control of the state
to ensure that all enslaved people were free.
Now that's major, right?
Because around 250,000 newly freed people
began to celebrate.
And Juneteenth was born, all right?
So, now if you're thinking like, well, I
wasn't taught about Juneteenth as a kid in school,
you're not by yourself.
Because neither was I. And I grew up in Alabama,
which is just two states away from Texas.
And it was definitely not part of my history
lesson at the time.
I didn't learn about Juneteenth until I was an adult, actually.
And truthfully, I learned it on the internet.
So for some of you, this monologue right
now might be the first time that you've ever
heard of Juneteenth.
Our nation's history and the events
surrounding the birth of June 19th,
and even what we experienced last summer,
can all be very, very heavy subjects.
But with these events, it becomes an awareness,
and potentials for allies to be willing to learn and listen,
understand, and take action.
But I want to be clear that these actions won't
solve everything.
But they are steps in the right direction of progress.
So--
[APPLAUSE]
With that, Juneteenth to be seen as a celebration and a reminder
of our freedom.
And you all, we can all celebrate that, all right?
The more that we're open to learning about each other,
the closer we come to unity.
And get this.
This is major too.
The fact that I, a Black man born and raised in Alabama,
now have a platform given on national television
to share the spirit in the history of Juneteenth is huge.
And I'm so, so grateful to be here
to share that with you all.
And for those of you who are just now learning
about Juneteenth for the first time,
I'm glad I can introduce it to you.
Now, we have an incredible show today
to help celebrate Juneteenth.
So let's kick off this celebration
and welcome the D9 Unity Steppers.
[CHEERING]
We are Unity Step!
Break it down!
[INAUDIBLE]
1, 9, 0, 8.
[INAUDIBLE] Yo baby, you baby.
D-E-L-T-A That's what my [INAUDIBLE]..
[INAUDIBLE] 1 9 2 0.
[INAUDIBLE] All right, all right [INAUDIBLE]..
D 9 Unity Step!
[CHEERING]
Yes.
You all keep giving it up for that.
That was incredible.
That was historical, man.
I just-- you all, I really wanted you all
to be here today.
I'm so honored that you all are here today.
Because, I mean, some of us, we've
actually worked together for a really long time together.
But this is just the perfect way to show and to highlight HBCUs.
And now for those of you that don't know,
HBCU stands for Historically Black Colleges
and Universities.
And I literally cannot think of a better way to kick off this
celebration than to watch you all do your all's thing
and share you all with the world as well.
So please, if you don't mind, please introduce yourself,
what fraternity, sorority and your establishment.
Greetings.
My name is Joe Brown, graduate of MIT.
And I'm a distinguished brother of the [INAUDIBLE] chapter
of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc founded December 4, 1950.
Hello my name is Mickey Jackson.
I went to Spelman College and I'm
a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Inc founded January 15, 1908.
Yes ma'am.
My name is Chuck Maldonado.
And I am a proud graduate of North Carolina A&T State
University, and a member of Kappa Alpha Si Fraternity Inc,
founded on January 5th, 1911.
[APPLAUSE]
My name is Cara [INAUDIBLE].
I'm currently a Masters student at UCLA.
And I'm a proud member of the Inglewood Alumni Chapter
of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc founded on January 13th,
1913.
[APPLAUSE]
Greetings.
I am [INAUDIBLE] of Florida Agricultural
& Mechanical University, [INAUDIBLE]
chapter of Omega Si Phi Fraternity Inc, established
November 17th, 1911.
[APPLAUSE]
Hi, everybody.
My name is Stephanie [INAUDIBLE] Whitfield.
I'm a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority
Inc, the glorious Gamma Kappa Chapter at Rutgers University,
founded January 16th, 1920.
[APPLAUSE]
Woo-hoo!
Now, this is really incredible.
And for those that are witnessing
this for the first time, can you tell us
a little bit about why these organizations were
put together?
Well the Black Greek organizations
were all put together to uplift and protect
the African-American community through academia and community
service.
Now with academia and community service.
So when did the stepping actually come in?
Well stepping also originates from Black Greek letter
organizations, starting from campuses all across the nation.
It's heavily influenced by percussive African dance forms,
including gumboot dance from South
Africa, military precision, and popular social dances.
We can give it up for that.
Please, make some noise for that.
Now listen.
There's someone special backstage
who also went to an HBCU, and is also part of the Divine Nine.
Wanda Sykes, can you come on out here real quick?
[CHEERING]
[INAUDIBLE] Can we touch?
I don't know.
Hey!
How you all doing?
What's up, Twitch?
Hey everybody, what's up?
How you all doing?
What's up, frat?
Hey.
[INAUDIBLE] Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you all.
We had a spot for you.
We were ready.
You had a spot?
Oh, OK.
Cause, you know, you all--
I'm going to tell you right now, the people who shoot
"Lucifer" downstairs, they mad.
Oh.
They're like, the hell you all doing up there?
This is great, man.
This is-- and thanks, Twitch, for bringing them on.
This is--
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Isn't this amazing?
It's amazing, man.
It is.
It's beautiful.
You know, HBCUs.
Divine.
Although, we missing part of the Divine Nine.
Where's the Sigmas?
Where's the Iotas?
Where's--
[INAUDIBLE]
Sigma Gamma Ro?
We had to keep it COVID compliant, you know?
There we go.
Oh.
OK.
Divine Nine.
You can only have six.
Let's make it a sexy six.
[INAUDIBLE] for the organizations
that aren't here today.
Absolutely.
Well I just wanted to stop by, say hi,
give Twitch some love, give you all some love.
And I'm going step on out--
Hey!
Let's, let's, let's go.
Thank you all.
Wanda Sykes, everybody.
Wanda Sykes.
[CHEERING]
Hey, once again, thank you all so much for being here.
I'm so excited you're going to be here throughout the show.
We'll see you all a little later, all right?
Give it up one more time to D9 Steppers, you all.
[INAUDIBLE]