Research Guides: Juneteenth: Home

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Introduction

Welcome to the JCCC LibGuide for Juneteenth! In the following pages, you'll find a variety of historical sources and current information about this important holiday.

Overview

Juneteenth, or June 19th, has become the most popular annual celebration of the end of enslavement in the United States. It harkens back to June 19, 1865, when the Union Army, at the end of the Civil War (1861-1865), asserted its authority over Galveston, Texas, thus applying President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation to the people enslaved in that state. Nevertheless, not all enslavers (sometimes called "masters") heeded the proclamation and it wasn't until December 1865 that enough states ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, officially ending enslavement nationally.

Helpful Information

Some brief primers on Juneteenth:

What is Juneteenth?
Written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research and Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University, for The Root.
Juneteenth: Our Other Independence Day
A brief history of the Juneteenth holiday from the Smithsonian Magazine.
Juneteenth: The Growth of an African American Holiday (1865-)
A brief history of Juneteenth from Quintard Taylor, the Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Video Overview

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Searching Tips

Use the search box above to explore the books, articles, films and cds that discuss Juneteenth!

Suggested Search Terms

Juneteenth

"African American" AND history

Emancipation

"Emancipation Day"

Slavery

Abolition

Freedmen/Freedwomen