Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of all enslaved African-Americans in the United States on June 19, 1863. While many things have changed since 1863, Juneteenth still provides us all with an opportunity to reflect on how we can eliminate structural racism at local, state, and federal levels, and champion equity within our communities.
President Lyndon B. Johnson wrote that “Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men’s skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact.” It is our responsibility to educate ourselves to ensure that we can make emancipation a fact and guarantee equity for African-Americans in all aspects of life.
Our partners at the Smithsonian Institute have curated a list of key texts (both fiction and non fiction) about Juneteenth, its impact on society, and the continuing fight for equity.
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