Essential Reading: Celebrating Juneteenth

She led the movement to gain federal recognition of the holiday. This June 19, she’ll again walk 2.5 miles, marking the 2.5 years it took for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas.

Juneteenth must be a national and inclusive holiday with a narrative to match.

The holiday has long flourished in local spaces of Black life in America.

How a Texan holiday became a national tradition.

The flag’s designer shares the story and inspiration for his design.

For Juneteenth, a celebration of the liberation and escape that Black Americans found on horses.

It was black Americans who delivered on Lincoln’s promise of “a new birth of freedom.”

Colorful children’s picture books, gripping historical fiction and more are on our must-read list this Juneteenth.

Women were long in charge of our family celebrations. But in 1984, a group of men stepped up to organize the community and recover the early traditions.

Companies and governments are finally recognizing Emancipation Day as an official holiday, but black Americans have honored its significance all along.

More than a declaration, Juneteenth was a day that America’s dishonesty unraveled.

Communal barbecues, concerts, prayer services, parades, as well as baseball games, fishing, and rodeos, all featured in the festivities.

The red foods traditionally served at Juneteenth celebrations symbolize sacrifice, fortitude, and power. They are also indicative of the food traditions Africans brought with them from their homeland and how those traditions evolved in America.