Celebrated on June 19 every year, Juneteenth — or Emancipation Day — tells the story of the resilience and triumph of the African American community towards their pursuit of freedom in the United States. A significant moment in American history, the date marks the day in 1865 where the last enslaved people learned that they were free, two and a half years after the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
A time for reflection and celebration, Juneteenth is also an opportunity to learn about the stories behind the effort for liberation, and how that time in history still affects the United States today. To honor the holiday, here are eight books that delve into the historical context and highlight how slavery has impacted modern experiences and its ongoing fight for equality. Through memoirs, essays and fiction work, these books offer thought-provoking, sensible perspectives.
- Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison
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Juneteenth ($14) is a posthumous novel by renowned author Ralph Ellison. Born out of a short story originally published in 1965, the book follows the release of Invisible Man (1952), an American classic — and, like its predecessor, reflects on racism, identity, American history, and politics.
The book portrays the life of Senator Sunraider, known for his racist rhetoric, and his relationship with African-American preacher Reverend Hickman. When Sunraider is close to death, it is revealed that he was an orphan named Bliss, who was raised by the Reverend within the African-American community and culture and had an indeterminate race.
Their tie poses a dilemma within the novel as Bliss seeks his role as a politician, but it also shows how there is indivisibility in American culture.
On his deathbed, Sunraider recalls a sermon that he and the Reverend used to preach in the Juneteenth celebration: “They can deny you but not your sense of life…Just keep on inching along like an old inchworm. If you put one and one and one together soon they’ll make a million too. There’s been a heap of Juneteenths before this one and I tell you there’ll be a heap more before we’re truly free.”
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ($14) is an autobiography by Maya Angelou. Considered an American classic, the debut portrays her experience growing up in a small, racially segregated Southern town and touches upon themes like childhood, loneliness, and racism.
A raw account of her experience as a Black woman, the 1969 novel embraces poetic language and honesty while narrating the events and is the first of a seven-volume series.
- On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed
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New York Law School professor and author Annette Gordon-Reed examines the history of the holiday and Texas’ past treatment of BIPOC in the book On Juneteenth ($10). The New York Times Best Seller blends personal anecdotes with American history through a series of essays that exemplify the challenges and hardships endured since emancipation.
- Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
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Through a group of more than 80 writers, Four Hundred Souls ($13) explores centuries of history of the African American community.
The anthology, curated by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain and released in 2021, counts on pieces that experiment with different genres — like poetry, memoirs and essays — all within the book. They all are organized on a chronological sequence that begins at the arrival of 20 enslaved Ndongo people on mainland America, in 1619, and ends in the modern-day U.S.
An in-depth, thought-provoking collection, Four Hundred Souls brings forward unique stories that are lesser known in the mainstream scope through a multitude of Black voices.
- All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson
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By journalist and LGTBQ+ activist George M. Johnson, the young adult nonfiction All Boys Aren’t Blue ($15) depicts an experience of growing up Black and queer in the United States.
The book narrates the author’s childhood, adolescence, and college years, while structuring them as a manifesto of resilience and Black joy. Through a recollection of personal essays, Johnson delves into their memories as a way to communicate with the Black queer youth and discuss themes like gender identity, marginalization, and brotherhood.
Considered one of the most banned works in current-day US — with over 29 school districts banning the novel because of its LGBTQ+ content — All Boys Aren’t Blue reflects the author’s purpose of writing the book they needed to read when they were younger.
“I wish I got to have [it] when I was a youth struggling with the intersections of my Blackness and my queerness, and trying to navigate a society that wasn’t built for me,” they said in a 2021 interview with Time. “[When I started writing it,] It was important that people started to learn that this world exists outside of a heterosexual bubble — so that people who aren’t like us could also learn about people who aren’t like them.”
- Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
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Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot ($10) by Mikki Kendall is a 2020 essay that dives into the principles of intersectional feminism. Focusing on the experience of marginalized groups, the novel highlights how the mainstream, modern-day movement has failed to address concerns and struggles of women of color.
Discussing poverty, gun violence, reproductive justice and violence, the author meanders delicate themes through personal accounts, analysis and research. Hood Feminism approaches gender in a more inclusive way, uplifting marginalized communities and including them in the feminist debate.
- I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
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Published in 2018, the memoir I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness ($9) follows Austin Channing Brown’s journey growing up as a Black woman and her experience navigating a society predominantly shaped by whiteness.
With personal stories and insights about racial injustice, identity, and belonging, the author highlights the importance of dismantling systemic racism. Short and hard-hitting, the collection also challenges the reader to rethink the role of institutions like schools, churches, and the workplace, which have upheld exclusive environments, and to work towards a more just society.
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
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The Underground Railroad ($10) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Colson Whitehead. Reimagining the Underground Railroad as an actual railway system, the historical fiction book depicts the life of Cora, an enslaved woman on a 19th-century plantation who decides to escape through the network of hidden tracks, tunnels and stations of the Underground Railroad.
Addressing themes of freedom and the pursuit of justice, the 2016 novel displays the horrors and impacts of slavery on American society. It also shows, through a powerful meditation, its effects on both individuals and communities throughout time — and the ongoing fight for equality.
