June 19, otherwise known as Juneteenth or Emancipation Day, is a holiday commemorating the freedom of enslaved people in the United States in 1865. Here are several resources at Grand Forks Public to learn more about Juneteenth.

Adult Books:

• Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coats
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
• I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
• Stony the Road by Henry Louis Gates, Jr
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone (our copy is lost, though)
• Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
• The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Conjure Women by Afia Atakora
• Beloved by Toni Morrison

Children’s Books:

• The Story of Juneteenth: An Interactive History Adventure by Steven Otfinoski
• All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson

Stop by the library or request these materials for Curbside Pickup. Or, check out our vast digital collection for Juneteenth on OverDrive (available via the Libby app). PBS Books will also be hosting a special Facebook event on June 17, Juneteenth: Lift Every Voice and Song.

Kanopy: Kanopy, a video-streaming service freely available with your GFP_ library card, offers a curated collection of films that commemorate Juneteenth. Kanopy shares:

We know that discussions around slavery in the United States are not easy ones, but are critical to have to ensure we learn from the past.

See the Juneteenth collection of Kanopy films.

Many people often celebrate Juneteenth by having a barbecue and drinking red strawberry soda. When the slaves were freed, they celebrated by drinking red soda, a luxury that they hadn’t been able to experience. How will you celebrate freedom and continue to be a catalyst for change?