Juneteenth, the commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, is a special day for anyone who believes in freedom and equality for all people.
SANTA CRUZ JUNETEENTH 2023:
Come out and celebrate with us June 17th, 12:00–5:00, at Laurel Park (at the London Nelson Center) in Santa Cruz. This year's theme is ART! Find further details HERE.
More activities:
June 18th (12:00–4:00)—Liberation Paddle Out with Black Surf Santa Cruz. Further details HERE.
BOOKS TO CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH:
Watermelon and Red Birds, the first cookbook to celebrate Juneteenth, exudes joy and festivity. Through her wonderful stories and recipes, Nicole Taylor tells the history of the holiday and of the all-day cookouts and gatherings surrounding it, from its earliest years to the present day.
— S.B.
This slim volume packs a large punch as you trace the history of Juneteenth, a holiday to mark the end of slavery in Texas, through the lens of historian Annette Gordon-Reed's family and her integration of her local public school.
— Casey
The unforgettable saga of one enslaved woman's fight for justice--and reparations
There is no way to truly deal with racism without first comprehending the history of systematic racial discrimination and anti-Blackness in America and just how entrenched it is in our society. Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning book lays that history bare. Using the life stories of Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Angela Davis, he shows how racists ideas were created to justify and protect power.
— S.B.
A comprehensive book that brings to light what some have tried to erase from our history. This is a must-read for all ages, powerfully honest and compelling from start to finish.
— Shannon
Barracoon would be a significant document were it only about Cudjo (Kossola) Lewis, the last survivor of the last recorded slave ship to the US. His memories, recounted orally, preserve a trans-atlantic history that has long-been suppressed.
— Clara
June 19th, 1865, is the date slaves in Texas learned of their emancipation. In this picture book families are in the blistering fields picking cotton when “word spread/from the port,/to town,/through the countryside,/and into the fields/that a Union general had read from a balcony that we were all/now and forever free/and things/would be/all different now.”
— Ga
Mazie is ready to celebrate liberty. She is ready to celebrate freedom. She is ready to celebrate a great day in American history. The day her ancestors were no longer slaves. Mazie remembers the struggles and the triumph, as she gets ready to celebrate Juneteenth.
Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. Across the country, people observe the day with speeches, poetry readings, festivals, picnics, street fairs, and family reunions. It is a day for people to come together and continue working toward equality. Readers will discover how a shared holiday can have multiple traditions and be celebrated in all sorts of ways.
Discover more about Juneteenth, the important holiday that celebrates the end of chattel slavery in the United States.
Black activist Opal Lee had a vision of Juneteenth as a holiday for everyone. This true story celebrates Black joy and inspires children to see their dreams blossom. Growing up in Texas, Opal knew the history of Juneteenth, but she soon discovered that many Americans had never heard of the holiday. Join Opal on her historic journey to recognize and celebrate freedom for all.
Introduce little learners to the Juneteenth holiday with this 250-word board book about its origins and traditions.
A profound new rendering of the struggle by African-Americans for equality after the Civil War and the violent counter-revolution that resubjugated them, by the bestselling author of The Black Church.
A groundbreaking history demonstrating that America's economic supremacy was built on the backs of enslaved people
From the renowned author of the classic novel Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison’s Juneteenth is brilliantly crafted, moving, and wise. With a new introduction by National Book Award-winning author and scholar Charles R. Johnson.
Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, Ashley Bryan offers a moving and powerful picture book that contrasts the monetary value of a person with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away.
Groundbreaking look at slaves as commodities through every phase of life, from birth to death and beyond, in early America