A New Day Begun

The UConn Library is proud to join the State of Connecticut and the nation in recognizing Juneteenth, a holiday celebrated in African American communities for over 150 years. On May 5, 2022, lawmakers in the State of Connecticut voted to make Juneteenth an official state holiday. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.

In this guide, you'll find recommends for ways you can celebrate Juneteenth, honor the memories of those who endured enslavement, and support Black communities in Connecticut.

For questions about this guide or to suggest content, please contact:

Fyansia Nsilo-Swai, Sociology & Anthropology Librarian, fnsiloswai@uconn.edu

June 19, 1865

Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed and took effect in 1863, liberation from enslavement was not implemented in placed under Confederate control until the passage of the 13th Amendment. Enslaved people in Confederate-controlled regions waited up to two more years for liberation.

Emancipation Day celebration, June 19, 1900 held in "East Woods" on East 24th Street in Austin. Credit: Austin History Center.

"Freedom finally came on June 19th, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free by executive decree. This came to be known as 'Juneteenth' by newly freed people in Texas." -- National Museum of African American History and Culture

Video: The Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing", by J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson.

Ways to Celebrate

Share a Meal

Cooking together and sharing meals is an important part of any Juneteenth celebration. The UConn Libraries maintains a selection of print and eBooks on African American culinary history and foodways. This is an excellent place to start learning about the significance of Black culinary traditions in American society.

Black food: stories, art, & recipes from across the African diaspora by Bryant Terry (2021). Print.
Building houses out of chicken legs: Black women, food, and power by Psyche Williams-Forson (2006). Print.
High on the hog: a culinary journey from Africa to America by Jessica B. Harris (2011). Print & eBook.
Jubilee: recipes from two centuries of African American cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin (2019). eBook.
Recipes for respect: African American meals and meaning by Rafia Zafar (2019). eBook.
Soul food: the surprising story of an American cuisine one plate at a time by Adrian Miller (2013). eBook.
Vibration Cooking or, The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl by Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor (2011). eBook.

Online Resources

Afroculinaria -- food blog by author Michael Twitty exploring culinary traditions of Africa, African America and the African Diaspora.
Fire & Freedom: Food and Enslavement in Early America -- Virtual exhibition by the National Library of Medicine.

Video : Explore the history of barbeque with Black culinary historian, Michael Twitty, author of The Cooking Gene: A Journal through African American Culinary History in the Old South

Support Black-Owned Businesses

In the years following emancipation, known as Reconstruction (1865-1877), newly freed people established self-sustaining communities. They built neighborhoods, founded churches and schools, and formed social clubs. They also began to accumulate economic power by becoming business owners. Celebrate and honor the resilience of the Black entrepreneurial spirit by supporting local Black-owned businesses. By doing so, you can challenge structural racism and support economic and social equity in your community.

To find local Black-owned businesses in your area, visit ShopBlackCT -- CT's Black-Owned Business Guide.

Learn Something New

Set aside time and create the intention to learn about the history of Juneteenth and Black people in America and Connecticut. There are many ways to learn -- books, articles, films, podcasts, heritage tours, and more.

Juneteenth & Emancipation

Envisioning emancipation: Black Americans and the end of slavery by Deborah Willis and Barbara Krauthamer (2013). Print.
Juneteenth: A Novel by Ralph Ellison (1999). Print
Juneteenth: the story behind the celebration by Edward T. Cotham (2021). Print.
Laws of slavery in Texas historical documents and essays by multiple authors (2010). eBook.
On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed (2021). Print.

Books for Kids

All different now: Juneteenth, the first day of freedom by Angela Johnson and Earl B. Lewis (2014). Print.
Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper (2015). Print.

Black History in the U.S.

1619 by Nikole Hannah Jones (2020). Podcast.
1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones (2021). Print and eBook.
Black women's history of the United States by Daina Ramsey Berry and Kali N. Gross (2020). eBook.
Color of law: a forgotten history of how our government segregated America by Richard Rothstein (2017). Print.
Four hundred souls: a community history of African America, 1619-2019 by eds. Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain (2021). eBook.
Stony the road: Reconstruction, white supremacy, and the rise of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (2019). Print.

Books for Kids

1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Renée Watson, and Nikkolas Smith (2021). Print.
Stamped (for kids): racism, antiracism, and you by Sonja Cherry-Paul, Rachelle Baker, Jason Reynolds, and Ibram X. Kendi (2021). Print.

Films

13th (2016) streaming on Netflix
Beloved (1998) on DVD at UConn Library
Daughters of the Dust (1991) on DVD at UConn Library
Harriet (2019) streaming on Amazon Prime
Sankofa (1993) on DVD at UConn Library and streaming on Netflix
Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005) on DVD at UConn Library

Click here to browse Africana Studies library resources

Black History in Connecticut

African American Connecticut explored by Elizabeth J. Normen and Katherine B. Kimball (2013). Print and eBook.
African American experience in nineteenth-century Connecticut: benevolence and bitterness by Theresa Vara-Dannen (2014). eBook.
Life of James Mars: a slave born and sold in Connecticut by James Mars (2000). eBook.
Life of William Grimes: the runaway slave: brought down to the present time by William Grimes (2000). eBook.
Uncle Tom's cabin or, Life among the lowly by Harriet Beecher Stowe (2009). eBook.
Venture Smith and the business of slavery and freedom by eds. James Brewer Stewart and James O. Horton (2010). eBook.

Films

African Americans in Connecticut: the Colonial era to the Civil War (1998) on DVD at UConn Library
Amistad (1999) on DVD at UConn Library
Glory (1989) on DVD at UConn Library

Heritage Tours

Click here for more resources on Black history in Connecticut and New England

Be in Community

More than anything, Juneteenth is about being in community. Across the US and throughout the state of Connecticut, communities will gather during the month of June to honor the millions of enslaved children, women, and men. It is a day of memorial for those who died dreaming of liberation for themselves and future generations. It is a day of celebration for those who lived to see emancipation. It is a day of hope for Black communities still fighting for liberation.

Find a Juneteenth & Black cultural events near you: