The celebration of Juneteenth marks the anniversary of the day enslaved Black people living in the south were freed, more than two years after slavery had been abolished. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863, it wasn’t implemented in places still under Confederate control. On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas to take control of the state and guarantee all enslaved people were freed. More than 250,000 enslaved Black people were freed by executive decree. June 19th commemorates the day when the last of the enslaved people were finally freed in the U.S.
On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed a bill to recognize Juneteenth as a federal holiday. The day is typically celebrated with music, food, and prayer services. Food is an important component of the Juneteenth celebration, which typically includes foods in hues of red, like hibiscus tea, red velvet cake, and barbecue ribs. Here are some recommendations for cookbooks by Black authors who feature traditional dishes:
- I Heart Soul Food: 100 Southern Comfort Food Favorites by Rosie Mays
- Sweetie Pie’s Cookbook: Soulful Southern Recipes. From My Family to yours by Robbie Montgomery
- Recipes for the Good Life by Pattie LaBelle
For further education, Child Care Resource Center is sharing a recorded excerpt of Dear Child… People May Hate You by Savannah Walker. Additionally, here is a reading list of child-appropriate books for families.
Sesame Street also created a kid friendly video explaining Juneteenth, which can be viewed here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQMji4agFAe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Here are additional resources:
Places to visit:
Allensworth, CA (Thank you to I’cha Pacheco for the suggestion): https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/history-allensworth-california-1908/ or https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=583
California African American Museum: https://caamuseum.org/
The Museum of African American Art: https://www.maaala.org/
Websites:
The Smithsonian: https://nmaahc.si.edu/juneteenth
Teaching resources: https://guides.lib.purdue.edu/juneteenth/online-resources
National Organization for Women Foundation: https://now.org/juneteenth-resources-and-celebration/
Medium website: https://medium.com/@illstorian/5-african-american-museums-galleries-you-should-visit-in-la-915226249e4b
Books:
Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah Jones
Videos:
Why Do We Celebrate Juneteenth?
Juneteenth: What you Need to Know by History Channel
