Eddie Glaude Jr. on Race, the 250th USA Anniversary, and What Black America Is Owed

Jun. 3, 2026 – 23:04 – On the eve of America’s 250th birthday, Princeton professor, public intellectual, and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Eddie S. Glaude Jr. sits down with theGrio’s Natasha S. Alford for a wide-ranging conversation about his powerful new book, “America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation’s Anniversaries.” From the erasure of Reconstruction to the assault on DEI, from Frederick Douglass’s warnings at the 1876 Centennial to the marches happening in the South right now, Glaude makes the case that America has been trapped in a cycle of racial progress and violent backlash for 250 years. In this conversation, Glaude also addresses his critics directly, reflects on what he got wrong about 2016, and lays out what he believes the Democratic Party must do to earn Black voters and not take them for granted.