Juneteenth, while only recently established as a federal holiday, has long celebrated the June 19th, 1865 proclamation that informed the last enslaved Americans in the United States of their freedom.
While the emancipation proclamation was passed in 1863, it did not immediately take effect in all Confederate states. In Galveston Bay, Texas, the last holdout of slavery, it would take another two years. Juneteenth commemorates the arrival of 2,000 Union troops that arrived in Texas to enforce emancipation, and the 250,0000 enslaved African Americans who were freed thereafter.
Black communities began celebrating Juneteenth as a second independence day in the Reconstruction period that followed Emancipation. In many ways, it is an even more legitimate independence day than the 4th of July, because while today is a day of celebration, it is also an opportunity for reflection. The enslavement of African Americans is not only part of our collective history, it continues to inform our present.
In commemoration of Juneteenth, we turn to the rich literary tradition of Black authors, who provide us with joyous, heartbreaking, and poignant insights through the diverse stories of African Americans in the United States.
Here are ten classic novels by Black authors to read today, and every day!
