Library: Juneteenth: Home

News and Articles

Ms. Opal Lee, affectionately referred to as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, recalls her visit with President Biden and being on hand for the Juneteenth ceremony that made it a national holiday. Lee had long pushed for Juneteenth to be recognized as a national holiday.

In 2016, she walked 1,400 miles from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to bring attention to the holiday, often referred to as Black Independence Day. Juneteenth marks the day freedom was declared for slaves in Texas, the last state in the Confederacy to have institutional slavery.

Juneteenth---The 155-Year-Old Holiday's History Explained
CNBC news article
What is Juneteenth?
A history of Juneteenth written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Local Voices Juneteenth
The South Seattle Emerald and Crosscut have published a great series of articles written by Black Seattleites about their experiences of Juneteenth.

Legacy of Slavery

The 1619 Project : a new origin story by Hannah-Jones, Nikole
ISBN: 9780593230589
The 1619 Project tells this new origin story, placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are as a country. Orchestrated by the editors of The New York Times Magazine, led by MacArthur "genius" and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, this collection of essays and historical vignettes includes some of the most outstanding journalists, thinkers, and scholars of American history and culture.
The color of law : a forgotten history of how our government segregated America by Richard Rothstein
ISBN: 9781631494536
Publication Date: 2017
The author explodes the myth that America's cities came to be racially divided through de facto segregation - that is, through individual prejudices, income differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather, this book incontrovertibly makes it clear that it was de jure segregation - the laws and policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments - that actually promoted the discriminatory patterns that have continued into the twenty-first century. -- Jacket.
New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander; Cornel West (Introduction by)
ISBN: 9781595586438
Publication Date: 2012-01-16
Legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues vigorously and persuasively that “[w]e have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.” Jim Crow and legal racial segregation has been replaced by mass incarceration as “a system of social control” (“More African Americans are under correctional control today... than were enslaved in 1850”). Alexander reviews American racial history from the colonies to the Clinton administration, delineating its transformation into the “war on drugs.”
Rock My Soul by Bell Hooks
Call Number: E185.625 .H66 2004
ISBN: 0743456068
Publication Date: 2004-01-06
In Rock My Soul, world-renowned scholar and visionary bell hooks takes an in-depth look at one of the most critical issues facing African Americans: a collective wounded self-esteem that has prevailed from slavery to the present day.
The school-to-prison pipeline : education, discipline, and racialized double standards by Nancy A. Heitzeg
ISBN: 9781440831119
Publication Date: 2016-04-11
Nancy Heitzeg describes the hardships that African American adolescents endure through their schooling as they are discriminated and treated unfairly through discipline according to their race. Heitzeg introduces readers to the idea of the school-to-prison pipeline by providing research on what the pipeline is, how it was created, and how it continues to be an issue for adolescents.
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
ISBN: 9781568584638
Publication Date: 2016-04-12
Historian Ibram X. Kendi argues racist ideas in this country have a long and lingering history, one in which nearly every great American thinker is complicit. Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history.
Beyond Slavery : The Multilayered Legacy of Africans in Latin America and the Caribbean by Darién J. Davis (Editor)
ISBN: 9780742541313
Publication Date: 2006-12-21
Beyond Slavery traces the enduring impact and legacy of the African diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean in the modern era.

Remembering and Honoring Elders

African American Genealogy
African American U.S. Records
Black Past
BlackPast.org is an online reference center makes available a wealth of materials on African American history in one central location on the Internet.
Explore Black Ancestry, Race and Identity with PBS
Unlock history and explore ancestral pasts with this special collection of videos and web-exclusive features by trusted producers across PBS.
GirlTrek's Black History Bootcamp
GirlTrek celebrates Black stories and the lessons of the ancestors.
Slave Societies Digital Archive
The spirits of our ancestors
Featuring a solid cast of veteran players (Pharoah Sanders, Idris Muhammad, Dewey Redman, and a guest appearance by Dizzy Gillespie on "African Sunrise"), Weston and arranger Melba Liston put together music with great breadth, influenced by Thelonious Monk.

High on the Hog : a culinary journey from Africa to America by Jessica B. Harris
ISBN: 9781596913950
Publication Date: 2011-01-11
Out of Africa : foods, techniques, and ceremonies of the mother continent -- Sea changes : enslavement, the middle passage, and the migrating tastes of Africa -- The power of three : arrivals, encounters, and culinary connections -- The tightening vice : indenture to enslavement and the African hand in the food of Colonial America
The Forging of a Black Community by Quintard Taylor; Norm Rice (Foreword by)
Call Number: F899.S49 N475 1994
ISBN: 0295973153
Publication Date: 1994-05-01
Through much of the twentieth century, black Seattle was synonymous with the Central District - a four-square-mile section near the geographic center of the city. Quintard Taylor explores the evolution of this community from its first few residents in the 1870s to a population of nearly forty thousand in 1970.
Seattle's Black Victorians, 1852 to 1901 by Esther H. Mumford
Call Number: F899.S49 N45
ISBN: 0960567003
Publication Date: 1980-10-01
Mumford’s landmark history provides a window into the lives of some of Seattle’s earliest African American citizens. Mumford is a leading authority on the history of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest and one of the founders of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State.
Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston
ISBN: 9780062748201
Publication Date: 2018-05-08
"...Barracoon — the word comes from the Spanish word for "barracks" — came about in 1927... Zora [Neale Hurston] was assigned a task by famed anthropologist Franz Boas: interviewing an 86-year-old former slave living in the tiny town of Plateau, Ala. Oluale Kossula — also known by the slave name of Cudjo Lewis — had a remarkable past. Raised to the age of 19 in West Africa, he was captured and brought to the United States as a captive on Clotilda, the fabled last ship... of the transatlantic slave trade." -- npr.org

Learning through Fiction

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Call Number: PS3607.Y37 H66 2016
ISBN: 9781101971062
Publication Date: 2017-05-02
Homegoing follows the parallel paths of two sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi's extraordinary novel illuminates slavery's troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed--and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.
How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin
Call Number: PS3610.E46 A6 2018
ISBN: 9780316491341
Publication Date: 2018-11-27
In these stories, N.K. Jemisin (a four-time Hugo Award winner) sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A Black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Call Number: PS3573.H4768 U53 2016b
ISBN: 9781524736309
Publication Date: 2016-08-02
As Whitehead re-creates the unique terrors for Black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative weaves the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day.

Writing on Freedom

How We Get Free by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Editor)
Call Number: HQ1426 .H689 2017
ISBN: 9781608468553
Publication Date: 2017-12-05
In the last several years, Black feminism has reemerged as the analytical framework for the activist response to the oppression of trans women of color, the fight for reproductive rights, and, of course, the movement against police abuse and violence. The most visible organizations and activists connected to the Black Lives Matter movement speak openly about how Black feminism shapes their politics and strategies today.
The Meaning of Freedom by Angela Y. Davis; Robin D. G. Kelley (Introduction by)
Call Number: HN59.2 .D37 2012
ISBN: 9780872865808
Publication Date: 2012-08-14
What is the meaning of freedom? Angela Y. Davis' life and work have been dedicated to examining this fundamental question and to ending all forms of oppression that deny people their political, cultural, and sexual freedom. In this collection of twelve searing, previously unpublished speeches, Davis confronts the interconnected issues of power, race, gender, class, incarceration, conservatism, and the ongoing need for social change in the United States.
On the Other Side of Freedom by DeRay Mckesson
Call Number: E185.615 .M3535 2018
ISBN: 9780525560326
Publication Date: 2018-09-04
Continuing a conversation about activism, resistance, and justice that embraces our nation's complex history, he dissects how deliberate oppression persists, how racial injustice strips our lives of promise, and how technology has added a new dimension to mass action and social change

History of Slavery

The U.S. slavery and the United States' wealth and structure development were intertwined and depended upon free labor; this shared history was created by edicts and constitutions, as well as by the actions and reactions of individuals.

Learn more about the history of slavery with this interactive timeline by THIRTEEN Media (PBS).

1619: The Legacy of Slavery in America Full Video (03:05)
Full Video (03:05)
1619 was a significant year in the history of America for better and for worse. In Jamestown, Virginia the first slaves were imported and sold. Meet Nikole Hannah-Jones; author of New York Times' "1619 Project" who will examine the impact of that year on American History, culture and development.

Massive New Database Will Connect Billions of Historic Records to Tell the Full Story of American Slavery
Billions of Historic Records to Tell the Full Story of American Slavery | History | Smithsonian Magazine

Africans in America America's journey through slavery
Call Number: Central Videos & DVDs E441.A37 2000 [DVD]
ISBN: 9781578075539
Publication Date: 2000
A four part series portraying the struggles of the African people in America. This series exposes the truth through surprising revelations, dramatic recreations, rare archival photography, riveting first-person accounts and defines the reality of slavery's past through insightful commentary.
Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880 by W. E. B. Du Bois; Herbert Aptheker (Introduction by)
Call Number: E668.D83 1976
ISBN: 0527252808
Publication Date: 1976-01-01
A history of the part of which Black Folk played in the attempt to reconstruct Democracy in America.
The Half Has Never Been Told by Edward E. Baptist
Call Number: E441.B337 2014
ISBN: 9780465044702
Publication Date: 2014-09-09
Historian Edward Baptist reveals how the expansion of slavery in the first eight decades after American independence drove the evolution and modernization of the United States.
The Price for Their Pound of Flesh by Daina Ramey Berry
Call Number: E443 .B446 2017
ISBN: 9780807047620
Publication Date: 2017-01-24
Groundbreaking look at slaves as commodities through every phase of life, from birth to death and beyond, in early America The Price for Their Pound of Flesh is the first book to explore the economic value of enslaved people through every phase of their lives--including from before birth to after death--in the American domestic slave trades. Analyzing the depth of this monetization of human property will change the way we think about slavery, reparations, capitalism, and nineteenth-century medical education.

Political Action

The Black Power Mixtape : 1967-1975 by Göran Olsson (Editor); Angela Y. Davis (Contribution by); Stokely Carmichel (Contribution by)
ISBN: 9781608462964
Publication Date: 2014-02-25
"Featuring images only recently discovered in the archives of Swedish television, here is the Black power movement as you've never seen it. Powerful interviews with Stokely Carmichel, Angela Davis and others who shaped the struggle of their day are mixed with the contemporary reflections of leading activists, musicians and scholars, introducing a new generation to the legacy of Black Power"-- Provided by publisher.
By Any Means Necessary by Malcolm X; Steve Clark (Introduction by)
Call Number: E185.61.L577 1992b
ISBN: 9780873487542
Publication Date: 1993-01-01
The imperialists know the only way you will voluntarily turn to the fox is to show you a wolf. In eleven speeches and interviews, Malcolm X presents a revolutionary alternative to this reformist trap, taking up political alliances, women's rights, U.S. intervention in the Congo and Vietnam, capitalism and socialism, and more.
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin; Edward P. Jones (Illustrator)
Call Number: E185.61.B2 1984
ISBN: 0807064319
Publication Date: 1984-07-09
In an age of Black Lives Matter, James Baldwin's essays on life in Harlem, the protest novel, movies, and African Americans abroad are as powerful today as when they were first written. Written during the 1940s and early 1950s, when Baldwin was only in his twenties, the essays collected in Notes of a Native Son capture a view of black life and black thought at the dawn of the civil rights movement and as the movement slowly gained strength through the words of one of the most captivating essayists and foremost intellectuals of that era. Writing as an artist, activist, and social critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America.
Stay woke : a people's guide to making all Black lives matter by Tehama Lopez Bunyasi; Candis Watts Smith
ISBN: 9781479836482
Publication Date: 2019-09-24
"When #BlackLivesMatter went viral in 2013, it shed a light on the urgent, daily struggles of Black Americans to combat racial injustice. The message resonated with millions across the country. Yet many of our political, social, and economic institutions are still embedded with racist policies and practices that devalue Black lives. Stay Woke directly addresses these stark injustices and builds on the lessons of racial inequality and intersectionality the Black Lives Matter movement has challenged its fellow citizens to learn.
When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors; asha bandele; Angela Davis (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9781250171085
Publication Date: 2018-01-16
Patrisse Cullors’ first book cowritten by ashe bandele, is a poetic memoir and reflection on humanity. Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement have been called terrorists, a threat to America. But in truth, they are loving women whose life experiences have led them to seek justice for those victimized by the powerful. In this meaningful, empowering account of survival, strength, and resilience, Patrisse Cullors and asha bandele seek to change the culture that declares innocent black life expendable.
Becoming a citizen activist : stories, strategies, & advice for changing our world
ISBN: 9781632170453
Recent waves of social activism like the Occupy movement and Black Lives Matter show that you can fight city hall--or any other powerful entity for that matter. Now comes the playbook for citizen activists wanting to improve the world around them from Nick Licata, admired Seattle city councilmember and one of the city's most effective leaders of political and social change since the 1960s. In this smart and powerful book, Licata explains how to get organized, congregate power, and master the tactics for change.

We have a new database login system! The only change occurs when signing on for the first time, either off campus or on campus using Wi-Fi. Learn more

To find more information about the services offered, visit our Library Services page

Juneteenth: Home

Juneteenth History and Celebration

We honor and celebrate Juneteenth

...all slaves are free in Texas and that there would be an absolute equality of personal rights of property between former slaves and master.- Major General Gordon Granger, Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865
(General Order No. 3)

Texans began celebrating Juneteenth in 1866. In 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday celebrating the emancipation of the generations of enslaved in the United States, also known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day.

JUNETEENTH ART QUILT
A 21st Century quilt celebrates
Emancipation Day in Texas

Seattle Colleges Community Juneteenth Celebration

On behalf of Project Baldwin, Springboard 8, Umoja, and Office of Equity. Diversity. Inclusion and Community. We extend a warm invitation to join us at the Seattle Colleges Juneteenth honoring and celebration

News and Articles

Ms. Opal Lee, affectionately referred to as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, recalls her visit with President Biden and being on hand for the Juneteenth ceremony that made it a national holiday. Lee had long pushed for Juneteenth to be recognized as a national holiday.

In 2016, she walked 1,400 miles from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to bring attention to the holiday, often referred to as Black Independence Day. Juneteenth marks the day freedom was declared for slaves in Texas, the last state in the Confederacy to have institutional slavery.

Legacy of Slavery

Remembering and Honoring Elders

Learning through Fiction

Writing on Freedom

History of Slavery

The U.S. slavery and the United States' wealth and structure development were intertwined and depended upon free labor; this shared history was created by edicts and constitutions, as well as by the actions and reactions of individuals.

Learn more about the history of slavery with this interactive timeline by THIRTEEN Media (PBS).

Political Action

We have a new database login system! The only change occurs when signing on for the first time, either off campus or on campus using Wi-Fi. Learn more

To find more information about the services offered, visit our Library Services page

Juneteenth: Home

Juneteenth History and Celebration

We honor and celebrate Juneteenth

...all slaves are free in Texas and that there would be an absolute equality of personal rights of property between former slaves and master.- Major General Gordon Granger, Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865 (General Order No. 3)

Texans began celebrating Juneteenth in 1866. In 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday celebrating the emancipation of the generations of enslaved in the United States, also known as Juneteenth National Independence Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day.

JUNETEENTH ART QUILT A 21st Century quilt celebrates Emancipation Day in Texas

Seattle Colleges Community Juneteenth Celebration

On behalf of Project Baldwin, Springboard 8, Umoja, and Office of Equity. Diversity. Inclusion and Community. We extend a warm invitation to join us at the Seattle Colleges Juneteenth honoring and celebration

News and Articles

Ms. Opal Lee, affectionately referred to as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, recalls her visit with President Biden and being on hand for the Juneteenth ceremony that made it a national holiday. Lee had long pushed for Juneteenth to be recognized as a national holiday.

In 2016, she walked 1,400 miles from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., to bring attention to the holiday, often referred to as Black Independence Day. Juneteenth marks the day freedom was declared for slaves in Texas, the last state in the Confederacy to have institutional slavery.

Legacy of Slavery

Remembering and Honoring Elders

Learning through Fiction

Writing on Freedom

History of Slavery

The U.S. slavery and the United States' wealth and structure development were intertwined and depended upon free labor; this shared history was created by edicts and constitutions, as well as by the actions and reactions of individuals.

Learn more about the history of slavery with this interactive timeline by THIRTEEN Media (PBS).

Political Action

...all slaves are free in Texas and that there would be an absolute equality of personal rights of property between former slaves and master.- Major General Gordon Granger, Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865
(General Order No. 3)

JUNETEENTH ART QUILT
A 21st Century quilt celebrates
Emancipation Day in Texas