As the tears of white fragility are flooding newsfeeds, taking a close look at the origins of our institutions, and customs is more important than ever.
Deliberate attempts to obscure the ugliness of American history have hidden Juneteenth just out of “mainstream” culture’s frame since the holiday’s inception. Also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, or Liberation Day, the Galveston-bred cause for celebration marks the freeing of the final enslaved persons on American soil.
Parts of the country, especially its birthplace of Texas, have honored Juneteenth with cookouts, parades and other community events for years, but with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others whose names we haven’t yet heard forcing America to take a look at itself, there have been increased attempts to raise the profile of the occasion. As awareness spreads, however, concerns have been raised about sanitizing the legacy of this important day in Black American history.
While you could scour the internet for information, there’s no better resource on Juneteenth than printed text. The books listed below shed light on the history of Juneteenth through research and personal narratives, the racist systems erected in the aftermath of abolition and some of the art the holiday inspired.
01
On Juneteenth – Annete Gordon Reed
The Texas native behind 2009’s Pulitzer Prize-winning work The Hemingses of Monticello, turns her talents to sharing the facts behind the holiday.
Published on the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, this book uses rarely seen images to illuminate what the road to freedom actually looked like.
This winner of the 2020 Max Ritvo Poetry Prize looks at how America has systemically failed the Black community while encouraging its readers to aspire for better.
Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain come together to carefully present the takes of ninety writers on five consecutive years of the 400 year time span between the fateful year of 1619 and 2019.
