Read about Juneteenth in Ebooks Minnesota

Long celebrated by the African American community, Juneteenth, finally federally recognized, marks our country’s second independence day. According to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, "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." On June 17, 2022, then-President Joe Biden signed a further executive decree, proclaiming a “Juneteenth Day of Observance” - “calling 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."

Through a 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, illuminates the often-painful story that followed Lincoln's Proclamation. To learn more about African American history and culture, and about Juneteenth, explore Holiday History: Juneteenth and many other titles in Ebooks Minnesota.