Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, each year, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865, when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas, the last Confederate state, two-and-a-half years after it came into law. In 2021, President Biden signed a bill making June 19th a federal holiday to designate that date as the official end of slavery in the United States.
Now that Juneteenth is a widespread celebration across the nation, we must be sure to discuss its significance with the nation’s youth.
Here are some FAQs to help guide you:
Did slavery really end on Juneteenth?
While Juneteenth comes as a celebratory achievement as the end of slavery on paper and in theory, it took Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to spread the news, the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery throughout the country, and the enforcement of these new laws to truly signify its end, which did not happen all at once across the U.S.
Is Juneteenth known as anything else?
Juneteenth is also called Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, or Jubilee Day.
How can I honor Juneteenth in my school district?
Talk about it - do not let it pass by in silence.
Seek the guidance of the African-American population in your school community
Invite guest speakers to discuss the history of Juneteenth
Create a series where African-American traditions are shared by spoken-word artists, storytellers, choirs, musicians, and more
Encourage your kids to share their views on ending racism, either by creating posters or other artwork, developing videos or social media posts or reels, or even by writing essays or giving orations
Plan a field trip to important cultural centers. Here are some great options in CA:
African-American Freedom Trail, San Francisco
African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO), Oakland
Biddy Mason Memorial Park, Los Angeles
The California African American Museum (CAAM), Exposition Park, Los Angeles
Colonel Allensworth Historic State Park (Visalia), Earlimart
Moses Rodger’s House, Stockton
Museum of African American Art, Los Angeles
Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), San Francisco
Sequoia National Park, home of the first black NP Superintendent & leader of the Buffalo soldiers Colonel Charles Young, Tulare County
Where can I learn more about the historical meaning of Juneteenth and the Black experience?
There are several resources providing excellent information:
Juneteenth I Blackademics - Jordan & Mia Smith
“Freedom on Juneteenth” - Karamu House, the oldest Black theater company in the U.S., created this amazing theatrical production film
How to Talk to Kids About Race - Jeremy Tisby from The Atlantic on YouTube
“Juneteenth Is Important” - The Root on TEDEd
“Juneteenth” episode of black-ish
“Meet the ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’- Opal Lee” on GMA
Videos geared towards kids include:
“Juneteenth” by PBS Kids
“The Meaning Behind Juneteenth” by Global News
Great children’s books about Juneteenth include:
All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson
Eboni’s Juneteenth Celebration by Debbie Norton & Tiye Samone
Free at Last: A Juneteenth Poem by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle
The Night Before Freedom: A Juneteenth Story by Glenda Armand & Cory Barksdale
Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
Books about Juneteenth & the black experience for middle school students include:
Addy: An American Girl by Connie Rose Porter
All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson
Come Juneteenth by Ann Rinaldi
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl by Joyce Hansen
Juneteenth: Freedom Day by Murial Miller Branch
Books great for high school students to explore racism & the Black experience include:
145th Street: Short Stories by Walter Dean Myers
Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America Edited by Ibi Zoboi
Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
The Fierce 44: Black Americans Who Shook Up the World by Robert Ball
The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks
Remembering Slavery: African Americans Talk about Their Personal Experiences of Slavery & Emancipation by Ira Berlin (ed), Marc Favreau (ed), & Steven F. Miller (ed)
Death Struggles of Slaves in Their Efforts for Freedom by William Still
We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding the Racial Divide by Carol Anderson