Guides: Juneteenth: Home

Newspapers and Periodicals

African American newspapers and journals are a rich source of information about daily life and culture in Black communities, especially for the period before the Internet and other forms of mass media provided local and national news coverage.

Proquest Black Studies: includes extensive historical coverage of select African American newspapers such as the Chicago Defender, New York Amsterdam News and Pittsburgh Courier.
Ethnic NewsWatch: Broad coverage of regional ethnic newspapers starting in the 1970s and frequently extending to the present.
Black Studies Periodicals: Thirty years of academic and popular periodicals oriented towards African Americans

Oral Histories

Oral histories record the memories and insights of individuals talking about ther lives, often in a very informal manner. By perusing the scope of an oral history archive that transverses many members of a single group, ethnic or otherwise, one can gain insight to the role of events and traditions in the lived experiences of members of the group.

One such archive available to members of the Penn community is The HistoryMakers archive of nearly 3000 interviews of African Americans including 96 in which people discuss Juneteenth in their own lives.

Check it out

Juneteenth Texas by Francis Edward Abernethy; Alan B. Govenar; Patrick B. Mullen; Carolyn Fiedler Satterwhite
ISBN: 0585269777
Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Juneteenth Texas reflects the many dimensions of African-American folklore. The personal essays are reminiscences about the past and are written from both black and white perspectives. They are followed by essays which classify and describe different aspects of African-American folk culture in Texas; studies of specific genres of folklore, such as songs and stories; studies of specific performers, such as Lightnin' Hopkins and Manse Lipscomb and of particular folklorists.
Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison; John F. Callahan (Editor)
ISBN: 0394464575
Publication Date: 1999-05-29
Shot on the Senate floor by a young Black man, a dying racist senator summons an elderly Black Baptist minister from Oklahoma to his side for a remarkable dialogue that reveals the deeply buried secrets of their shared past and the tragedy that reunites them.
Juneteenth by Edward T. Cotham; Edward T. Cotham
ISBN: 9781649670007
Publication Date: 2021-05-25
Juneteenth has been touted as a national day celebrating the end of slavery. Observances from coast to coast have turned this event into part of the national conversation about race, slavery, and how Americans understand, acknowledge, and explain what has been called the national "original sin." But, why Juneteenth? Where did this celebration--which promises to become a national holiday--come from? What is the origin story? What are the facts, and legends, around this important day in the nation's history? This is the first scholarly book to delve into the history behind Juneteenth. Using decades of research in archives around the nation, this book helps separate myth from reality and tells the story behind the celebration in a way that provides new understanding and appreciation for the event. This book will captivate people interested in the history of emancipation and African American history but also those interested in Civil War and Texas history. As the United States continues to wrestle with race relations and the meaning of full equality, Juneteenth promises to become an important expression of that equality--an Independence Day celebration in its own right, a couple of weeks in advance of the traditional July 4th Holiday. This book will be a welcome addition to classrooms, book clubs and general readers interested in this once obscure regional event now destined for the national spotlight.
On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed
ISBN: 9781631498848
Publication Date: 2021-05-04
The essential, sweeping story of Juneteenth's integral importance to American history, as told by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Texas native. Weaving together American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed's On Juneteenth provides a historian's view of the country's long road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and the enormous hardships that African-Americans have endured in the century since, from Reconstruction through Jim Crow and beyond. All too aware of the stories of cowboys, ranchers, and oilmen that have long dominated the lore of the Lone Star State, Gordon-Reed--herself a Texas native and the descendant of enslaved people brought to Texas as early as the 1820s--forges a new and profoundly truthful narrative of her home state, with implications for us all. Combining personal anecdotes with poignant facts gleaned from the annals of American history, Gordon-Reed shows how, from the earliest presence of Black people in Texas to the day in Galveston on June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of legalized slavery in the state, African-Americans played an integral role in the Texas story. Reworking the traditional "Alamo" framework, she powerfully demonstrates, among other things, that the slave- and race-based economy not only defined the fractious era of Texas independence but precipitated the Mexican-American War and, indeed, the Civil War itself. In its concision, eloquence, and clear presentation of history, On Juneteenth vitally revises conventional renderings of Texas and national history. As our nation verges on recognizing June 19 as a national holiday, On Juneteenth is both an essential account and a stark reminder that the fight for equality is exigent and ongoing.
O Freedom by William H. Wiggins
ISBN: 9780870496653
Publication Date: 1990-11-08
Essential treatment of African American freedom celebrations, the numerous annual observance to commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation that include historical pageants, parade, barbecues, and baseball games. However, Juneteenth may be the Freedom Day holiday of interest to most. When it is the subject, Wiggins will be the expert whose work is consulted.
Watermelon and Red Birds by Nicole A. Taylor
ISBN: 9781982176211
Publication Date: 2022-05-31
The very first cookbook to celebrate Juneteenth, from food writer and cookbook author Nicole A. Taylor--who draws on her decade of experiences observing the holiday. On June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order Number 3, informing the people of Texas that all enslaved people were now free. A year later, in 1866, Black Texans congregated with music, dance, and BBQs--Juneteenth celebrations. All-day cook-outs with artful salads, bounteous dessert spreads, and raised glasses of "red drink" are essential to Juneteenth gatherings. In Watermelon and Red Birds, Nicole puts jubilation on the main stage. As a master storyteller and cook, she bridges the traditional African-American table and 21st-century flavors in stories and recipes. Nicole synthesizes all the places we've been, all the people we have come from, all the people we have become, and all the culinary ideas we have embraced. Watermelon and Red Birds contains over 75 recipes, including drinks like Afro Egg Cream and Marigold Gin Sour, dishes like Beef Ribs with Fermented Harissa Sauce, Peach Jam and Molasses Glazed Chicken Thighs, Southern-ish Potato Salad and Cantaloupe and Feta Salad, and desserts like Roasted Nectarine Sundae, and Radish and Ginger Pound Cake. Taylor also provides a resource to guide readers to BIPOC-owned hot sauces, jams, spice, and waffle mixes companies and lists fun gadgets to make your Juneteenth special. These recipes and essays will inspire parties to salute one of the most important American holidays, and moments to savor joy all year round.

Juneteenth Fact Sheet: CRS report

This document from the Libraries' government document collection provides a brief overview of Juneteenth along with links to Congressional and Presidential speeches, historical documents, and futher information

Special Collections

The Penn Libraries hold collections that are uniquely valuable because of their rarity or distinctive representation of an event, time, or group. Notable among these for their coverage of Juneteenth and African American culture more generally are the Joanna Banks Collection and the Libraries' culinary collections. These items can only be used in the Reading Room on the sixth floor of Van Pelt Library.

The Joanna Banks Collection of African American Literature includes over 10,000 published works, primarily from the 1970s to the present. Particular strengths include women's writing, children's literature, cookery, and African American periodicals. Selections from the collection directly related to Juneteenth are listed here. Material more generally about African American emancipation and celebrations are listed here.
The Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts has assembled an outstanding and varied collection of special materials on culinary arts and food studies in general acquired through purchases and generous gifts and donations. Selections from the collection directly related to Juneteenth are listed here. Material more generally about African American emancipation and celebrations are listed here