Juneteenth celebrates freedom and the end of chattel slavery in the United States. It specifically commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union forces arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed the last group of enslaved Black people that they were emancipated. Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 (issued in September 1862) declared that anyone enslaved by Confederate states were freed on January 1, 1863. Since the Confederacy was no longer a part of the United States, the proclamation was mostly symbolic except in areas the Union had taken back under its control – which is why it took so long for people in Texas to be freed. On December 6, 1865, Congress ratified the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, which abolished slavery in the entire US and its territories, except as punishment for a crime.
In 1980, Texas recognized June 19th as Emancipation Day, but it wasn’t until 2021 that Juneteenth became a national holiday.
Children’s Books
Middle Grade Books
Adult Books
Black AF History 
An African American and Latinx History of the United States 
A Black Queer History of the United States 
How Black History Can Save Your Life 
US Civil Rights Trail 
Why Does Everything Have to Be About Race? 
Black Fatigue 
The Color of Crime 
The Color of Law 
The 1619 Project 
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 
Harriet Tubman 
Sojourner Truth
Additional Resources
The Griot Museum of Black History in St. Louis, MO
National Museum of African American History & Culture
Library of Congress: African-American History
Library of Congress: Emancipation Proclamation Research Guide
National Archives: Emancipation Proclamation
National Archives: The 13th Amendment
History.com: What is Juneteenth
History.com: Slavery in America
History.com: Emancipation Proclamation
History.com: 13th Amendment
Underground History: The Peculiar Institution of Chattel Slavery
You can also check out our page for Black History Month, if you’re looking for more!
Library of Congress: African American History Online: A Resource Guide
Related Pages
TBR Books 