June 19th is celebrated as Black Independence Day--the day that Black residents of Galveston, Texas learned of their freedom in 1865.  The day has come to be known as Juneteenth, and is celebrated throughout the United States.

The Root, Henry Louis Gates' web site, has a good Primer on Black Independence Day.  You can also come to the library and check out and read Ralph Ellison's novel, Juneteenth.

You might also find the following titles interesting--they approach the issues of slavery and freedom from unique perspectives: Rebels, Reformers, & Revolutionaries: Collected Essays and Second Thoughts;  Wounds of Returning: Race, Memory, and Property on the Postslavery Plantation; and Stolen Childhood: Slave Youth in Nineteenth-Century America.  These are just some of the many resources our library offers on slavery and emancipation.  Find more using GULLiver.