We are preparing for the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence on July 4, considered to be our nation's birthday. Juneteenth is an important historic reminder that the struggle for freedom and independence did not end in the 1770s. June 19, 1865, marks the end of slavery and was later recognized as Juneteenth.
"On June 19, 1865, Texas' estimated 250,000 slaves were officially emancipated during a ceremony in Galveston, Texas. The event, coming 2[1/2] [sic] years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, led to rejoicing in the streets for the former slaves of the Gulf Coast island town and marked the start of annual observances of African-American emancipation not only in the former Confederate states but across the nation." Civil War Times, 2015. Taken from U.S. History in Context.
The Juneteenth holiday is also referred to as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, or Jubilee Day. It first became a Texas state holiday in 1980. It was then established as a federal holiday in 2021.
All County buildings are closed on June 19, including SCCLD libraries. Our digital collection at: sccld.org/online-library is available 24/7.
We have several works in our collection about Juneteenth. Here are a few worth exploring.
Hoopla has many eBooks and Audiobooks about Juneteenth for different ages, including:
- Freedom Celebration: A Juneteenth Party (2025) by Angela Dalton. A Level 3 I Can Read book about a Freedom Day barbeque.
- Ultimate Guide to: Juneteenth (2026) by Dante Fortson. A historical look at the event from a Black Studies perspective.
Kanopy has Miss Juneteenth (2020), written and directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples. A mother and daughter connect at a Juneteenth beauty pageant.
We also have several books in our physical collection to enjoy:
- First Freedom: The Story of Opal Lee and Juneteenth (2026) by Angélique Roché. A graphic novel about the founder of the holiday.
- Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations (2022) by Nicola A. Taylor. Find great recipes.
Reference
"Juneteenth 150." Civil War Times, vol. 54, no. 4, Aug. 2015, p. 17. Gale OneFile: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A417130904/PPUS?u=fcla_main&sid=bookmark-PPUS&xid=127fa40b. Accessed 9 June 2026.
