It is staggering that there is no date commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. -Annette Gordon-Reed. The essential, sweeping story of Juneteenth's integral importance to American history, as told by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Texas native. Interweaving American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed, the descendant of enslaved people brought to Texas in the 1850s, recounts...

"I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves...are, and henceforward shall be free...." No other words in American history changed the lives of so many Americans as this declaration from Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Born in

Introduces young children to the historical significance of the Juneteenth holiday, signed into law as the newest national holiday in 2021--

A commemorative introduction to the Emancipation Proclamation provides excerpts from historical sources, reproductions of archival images, and lesser-known facts that challenge popular beliefs.

Learn more about Juneteenth, a holiday that celebrates the end of chattel slavery in the United States in this Step 3 History Reader--

On June 19, 1865, a group of enslaved men, women, and children in Texas gathered around a Union soldier and listened as he read the most remarkable words they would ever hear. They were no longer enslaved: they were free. The inhumane practice of forced labor with no pay was now illegal in all of the United States. This news was cause for celebration, so the group of people jumped in excitement, danced, and wept tears of joy. They did not know it...

Little Mazie wants the freedom to stay up late, but her father explains what freedom really means in the story of Juneteenth, and how her ancestors celebrated their true freedom.

On June 19, 1865--more than two years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation--the enslaved people of Texas first learned of their freedom. That day became a day of remembrance and celebration that changed and grew from year to year. Learn about the events that led to emancipation and why it took so long for the enslaved people in Texas to hear the news. The first Juneteenth began as Jubilee Day, where families celebrated and learned of...

Opal Lee was born October 7, 1926 in Marshall, Texas. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953 from Wiley College (now Wiley University). She returned to school and obtained her Master's degree in counseling and guidance from North Texas State University and served as home/school counselor for Fort Worth Independent School District until she retired in 1977. Her greatest passion has been help to ensure her city remembers Juneteenth by hosting...

Drawn from personal correspondence of people located in the Great Valley Counties of Augusta, Virginia, and Franklin, Pennsylvania, a ground level perspective of how the war and emancipation affected those living there.