Recognizing and celebrating Juneteenth

Long celebrated by the African American community, Juneteenth, finally federally recognized, marks our country’s second independence day.  Unknown to many Americans, "on June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day." [https://nmaahc.si.edu/juneteenth].  President Biden signed a Proclamation on Juneteenth Day of Observance on June 17th of 2022.  He called "upon the people of the United States to acknowledge and condemn the history of slavery in our Nation and recognize how the impact of America’s original sin remains." [https://www.whitehouse.gov/]

Through the collection in Ebooks Minnesota, we can investigate and take a closer look at the history around ending slavery, as well as get first-hand information on this "original sin" in hopes of learning important lessons surrounding the birth of America.  This "freedom" brought along with it a new list of problems for African Americans.  Beyond Slavery: African Americans from Emancipation to today, looks at the blight of freedom for many.  From sharecropping to the racist mindset of the South to intimidation and terror, African Americans still had to fight for their civil rights.  To learn more about Emancipation, freedom, and the causes and effects associated with this shift, be sure to check out, and share, the Ebooks Minnesota Featured Group: Juneteenth.