Juneteenth

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Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is an annual observance of June 19, 1865. On this day, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that all enslaved persons in the southern states were freed two and half years ago by the Emancipation Proclamation. The fact that it took this long for news to reach the South is indicative of the complex and oppressive nature of slavery. Nonetheless, June 19 soon became a day of celebration in Texas, and as the years went on, the rest of the United States joined in the jubilation. It has become a nationwide opportunity to honor African American heritage and freedom and was finally made a federal holiday by President Biden in 2021.


Commemorate Juneteenth with us! Listed below are a number of reading recommendations for children, teens, and adults that teach you more about Juneteenth and the experiences of African Americans as a whole. Check out Hoopla’s Juneteenth Collection with your Grayslake library card. Or, join us on the day itself, Monday, June 19, at 5:00 pm for A Walk to Celebrate Freedom, walking from the library to the Grayslake Heritage Center, where there will be live performances, arts and crafts, and a map detailing the Union troops’ journey to Galveston.


Children:


Free at Last: A Juneteenth Poem by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle


The Night Before Freedom: A Juneteenth Story by Glenda Armand


Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper (also available as a read along and DVD)


Let's Celebrate Emancipation Day & Juneteenth by Barbara DeRubertis


Teen:


Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron


A Sitting In St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia

Adult:


On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed


How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith


Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates


The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson


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