June 19th, known as Juneteenth and declared a national holiday in 2021, celebrates the end of slavery. To mark the occasion, here are sources for more information and accessible books on the topic:
Learning Ally’s website highlights history related to Juneteenth and some sources for reading. Their reading list contains such titles as Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper; Juneteenth a novel by Ralph Ellison; and All Different Now written by Angela Johnson and illustrated by E.B. Lewis. For more information, visit Learning Ally’s webpage on Audiobooks Celebrating Juneteenth. To check out their reading list on the topic, go to the Juneteenth Reading List.
The South Carolina State Library Talking Book Service has issued a list of titles that “focus on commemorating one of the highest of American ideals, values, and freedom.” The books and articles cited, covering all ages, explain the background for this observance and related modern history. The writings noted include Freedom’s gifts: a Juneteenth story by Valerie Wilson Wesley; Osceola: memories of a sharecropper’s daughter by Osceola Mays and Alan B. Govenar; and Juneteenth by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, Drew Nelson, Daevan Mangalmurti, and Piper Walsh. For more titles and information, visit webpage: Celebrate Juneteenth with Talking Books
Special Juneteenth Audio Program
A commemorative NPR (National Public Radio) program on Juneteenth, originally broadcast earlier this week, features “outstanding young Black musicians performing works by Florence Price, Coleridge-Taylor, Sam Cooke and more.” To listen to this one-hour program, co-hosted by special guest, musician Kevin Olusola, visit the NPR webpage on From the Top: Juneteenth Special.
