Teaching Juneteenth: How to Present a New Holiday
Books That Bring the Spirit and Story of Juneteenth to Life for All Ages. Lovely Children's Book Illustration.
Happy Juneteenth! Since Juneteenth is a new holiday, I wanted to recommend two insightful books that offer rich and meaningful perspectives on the history and significance of the day.
For Adults
On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed is an essential read. A native Texan and descendant of enslaved people brought to Texas as early as the 1820s, Gordon-Reed brings a historian’s lens to the country’s long and often painful journey toward Juneteenth.
Her book traces the origins of the holiday in Texas and chronicles the challenges faced since emancipation. What makes the book especially powerful is Gordon-Reed’s ability to blend historical scholarship with personal narrative, creating a moving, multidimensional account of Black life in Texas.
While the mythology of Texas has long centered on cowboys, oilmen, and ranchers, Gordon-Reed has created a compelling book that you will richly enjoy as you gain a good foundation for teaching about the history of the day.
For Children
Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth
This timeline is very helpful, but you can simply explain to your child that you’ll be making a healthier version of red punch. Try a simple blend of red berries, freshly squeezed organic lemons, a bit of honey or raw sugar to taste, a pinch of sea salt, and water.
Written by acclaimed children’s author Alice Faye Duncan, this beautifully illustrated picture book is meant to be read aloud and shared. Duncan, a National Board Library Media Specialist and long-time Memphis school librarian, has been writing for young readers since 1995. She is celebrated for her vivid imagery and lyrical, musical language, with 14 picture books to her name—many of them nationally recognized.
Her award-winning titles include:
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop (Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustration, 2019)
Yellow Dog Blues (New York Times and New York Public Library Best Illustrated Picture Book, 2022)
Evicted! (Bank Street Best Book, 2022)
Coretta’s Journey (Horn Book Fanfare Selection, 2023)
It’s important to recognize that she served as a school librarian in Memphis for 30 years. Her deep, hard-earned expertise in history and children’s literature stands in sharp contrast to the wave of illustrators-turned-authors producing attractive books for major publishers—often without a comparable grasp of historical accuracy or a genuine commitment to the developmental needs of young readers.
The illustrations are the icing on the cake, as Keturah A. Bobo brings the story to life with graceful, appealing depictions of Black characters—offering a refreshing contrast to the relatively unattractive illustrations found in many similar books. Adults often overlook the importance of visually appealing characters, but children definitely notice and respond to them.
I'm pretty sure red soda began as a fermented fruit drink, which would have provided lots of nutrients and probiotics. Since the beneficial microbes used the sugar, these original sodas would have been naturally low in sugar. The nutrients in traditional sugars are often overlooked, too. In many native medicine traditions, whole sugars have played an important role for hundreds of years.
Decades ago, the media pushed the Black community to eliminate "fermented fruits" as a category of drink. I remember seeing one article from the early 1900s that focused on the "evils of fermented fruits," so I suppose it was partly an anti-alcohol spin. At the same time, commercial alcohols and sodas were launched into the community, replacing the nutrient and probiotic-rich beverages.