To all of our students, staff, faculty, family, and friends, we wish you a happy Juneteenth!
For anyone unfamiliar with the celebration, June 19th, or Juneteenth, is a significant holiday marking the date when news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached the furthest corners of the confederacy in Texas, effectively ending the legality of the institution of slavery, two years after the proclamation was issued.
While we commemorate with music, parades, and cookouts, the celebration of this day is an essential reminder of the strength and courage of the African American people who have fought, and continue to fight, for freedom, justice, and equal treatment under the law.
Celebrating Juneteenth and the Emancipation Proclamation creates a landmark in the history of the struggle for racial and civil rights in America but it is important to remember that history, as it played out, is never quite so tidy.
The library has everything you need to study the history of Juneteenth and the years of struggle toward self-emancipation that the African American people were forced to endure.
While the Africana and History database lists are a great place to browse for resources, Hopkins affiliates have access to a number of great resources such as Black Abolitionist Papers, Slavery, Abolition, and Social Justice, Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive, and many more. In addition to our electronic databases, the library has a wealth of resources in our collections and our Special Collections. So whether you are hoping to find contemporary commentary, historical insights, or primary resources, the library has you covered. Need help finding something? Drop us a line at asklib@jhu.edu.
We wish you a happy and healthy Juneteenth! Let us use this day not only to look into the past but to stop and assess what can be done now to create greater equality and inclusion for all people.