Juneteenth

On this page...
  1. Overview
  2. Events, Exhibitions, and Places to Visit
  3. Reading  List
  4. Video and Audio Resources
  5. Resources for Educators

Overview

Juneteenth—also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day—is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States, and has been celebrated every year since June 19, 1865.

It was on that day—over two months after General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, ending the U.S. Civil War—that 2,000 Union troops led by General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to deliver General Order Number 3, announcing that “in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

For the 250,000 enslaved people across Texas, freedom had been long-delayed; it had been two and a half years since President Abraham Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which stated declaring at that time that “all persons held as slaves within any State…in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” However, as the Civil War raged on, the law could not be enforced  in states under Confederate control. While it would take several more months for slavery to become completely abolished within the United States—which happened when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in December 1865—Juneteenth marks the day that the intent behind the Emancipation Proclamation was finally realized and hundreds of thousands of enslaved people finally became free. 

Early Juneteenth celebrations featured music, dancing, storytelling, and food, while often also serving as voter registration events where “freedmen” could learn more about their new rights as citizens. Juneteenth festivities were not just a way to celebrate an anniversary, but were also acts of resistance throughout the South, where many people remained fiercely opposed to emancipation after it was granted. Celebrations also spread across the country as people moved north and west during the Great Migration.

Since 2021, Juneteenth has been recognized as a  federal holiday, and the annual celebrations continue to provide an opportunity for Black Americans to tell positive stories about their history, create an enduring cultural legacy, and chart a path forward. Learning about Juneteenth is part of a broader education of the practice, impact, and legacy of slavery that speaks to Black history in this country—and therefore American history at large.

Below, we offer resources for teaching and learning about Juneteenth for families, students, and educators. They include exhibits and materials created by museums, news organizations, and educators, live events, and more. While these materials are particularly applicable to June 19, we hope you continue to use them today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Events, Exhibitions, and Places to Visit

Join in on the celebrations happening on and around Juneteenth all across New York City:

Reading  List

Frederick Douglass once said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Celebrate the spirit of Juneteenth with book suggestions for students of all ages about the history of the holiday, the Reconstruction era in the United States, and more. We hope you will enjoy and learn from them today, and all year long.

  • All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom, by Angela Johnson; illustrated by E.B. Lewis
  • A Flag for Juneteenth, by Kim Taylor
  • Juneteenth for Mazie, by Floyd Cooper
  • Juneteenth Jamboree, by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Yvonne Buchanan
  • The Night Before Freedom: A Juneteenth Story, by Glenda Armand; illustrated by Corey Barksdale 
  • Freedom Bird, by Jerdine Nolen; illustrated by James E. Ransome
  • The History of Juneteenth, by Arlisha Norwood
  • Juneteenth, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and Drew Nelson; illustrated by Mark Schroder 
  • Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth, by Alice Faye Duncan; illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo
  • The Juneteenth Cookbook: Recipes and Activities for Kids and Families to Celebrate, by Alliah L. Agostini with Taffy Elrod; illustrated by Sawyer Cloud
  • Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow, by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. with Tonya Bolden 
  • Freedom Over Me, by Ashley Bryan
  • Hidden Black History: From Juneteenth to Redlining, by Amanda Jackson Green
  • The Juneteenth Story: Celebrating the End of Slavery in the United States, by Alliah L. Agostini; illustrated by Sawyer Cloud
  • The Story of Juneteenth: An Interactive History Adventure, by Steven Otfinoski
  • Black Was the Ink, by Michelle Coles
  • Crossing Ebenezer Creek, by Tonya Bolden
  • Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland
  • My Name is Not Friday, by Jon Walter
  • We Are Not Yet Equal, by Carol Anderson with Tonya Bolden 

Many of these books are readily available via New York’s public libraries, as well as through the Citywide Digital Library available on Sora, where you can also find even more great suggestions for students of all ages in the “Commemorate Juneteenth” collection, which features dozens of titles to choose from.

Video and Audio Resources

Resources for Educators