Weaving together American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed's On Juneteenth provides a historian's view of the country's long road to Juneteenth, recounting both its origins in Texas and the enormous hardships that African-Americans have endured in the century since, from Reconstruction through Jim Crow and beyond. All too aware of the stories of cowboys, ranchers, and oilmen that have long...
June 19 marks the day in 1865 when Union Troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, the last stop on their tour to liberate enslaved persons in the US—a day of hope. But the history, both before and after this day, has been fraught. Here we present a reading list for a range of ages shedding light on this complex subject.