Juneteenth: Books for Adults

Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863, Juneteenth recognizes the date when enslaved African Americans in Texas finally learned the Civil War was over and they were free. Minnesota has observed Juneteenth since 1996, and it was designated as a federal holiday in 2021. Learn more in these recommended reads for adults!

Updated May 26, 2026
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Juneteenth: Books for Adults

Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863, Juneteenth recognizes the date when enslaved African Americans in Texas finally learned the Civil War was over and they were free. Minnesota has observed Juneteenth since 1996, and it was designated as a federal holiday in 2021. Learn more in these recommended reads for adults!

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On Juneteenth
Gordon-Reed, Annette
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The essential, sweeping story of Juneteenth's integral importance to American history, as told by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Texas native. Weaving together American history, dramatic family chronicle, and searing episodes of...
Juneteenth : a novel
Ellison, Ralph.
Paper Book
Shot on the Senate floor by a young Black man, a dying racist senator summons an elderly Black Baptist minister from Oklahoma to his side for a remarkable dialogue that reveals the deeply buried secrets of their shared past and the tragedy that reunites them.
12 Years a Slave (Movie Tie-In)
Paper Book
The official movie tie-in edition to the winner of the 2014 Academy Award for Best Picture, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, and Lupita Nyong'o, and directed by Steve McQueen   New York Times bestseller "I could not believe that I...
The Black church : this is our story, this is our song
Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.
Paper Book
The instant New York Times bestseller and companion book to the PBS series. "Absolutely brilliant . . . A necessary and moving work." --Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of Begin Again "Engaging. . . . In Gates's telling, the Black church shines bright...
Chasing the North Star : a novel
Morgan, Robert
Paper Book
In his latest historical novel, bestselling author Robert Morgan brings to full and vivid life the story of Jonah Williams, who, in 1850, on his eighteenth birthday, flees the South Carolina plantation on which he was born a slave. He takes with him only a few stolen coins, a knife, and the...
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