Westerly Sun Column | Learn About Juneteenth at the Library

In just a couple of weeks, we’ll get together for cookouts, beach days, and patriotic-colored treats in commemoration of the Fourth of July, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In doing so, we celebrate our founding fathers, the birth of our country, freedom, liberty, and the sacrifices of those who fought for these rights. This week, though, on Wednesday the 19th, we celebrate Juneteenth, and remember that July 4, 1776, was not a day of freedom for hundreds of thousands of enslaved people in the United States.

In 1852, abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass gave his famous “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech, in which he poignantly asserted: “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me […] This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” It was not until June 19, 1865 — over two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, and two months after the end of the Civil War — that Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to finally spread the word that the war was over, and the enslaved people were free. This is the event that inspired Juneteenth, a day that Black families have been celebrating since 1866, but which was finally declared a federal holiday in 2021. You can learn more about the origin of the holiday in “On Juneteenth” by Annette Gordon-Reed, and read the full speech by Frederick Douglass in “Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July,” by James A. Colaiaco.

The library will be closed on Wednesday in recognition of this holiday, but you can still access many of our books and resources online through Libby, hoopla, Kanopy, and the library’s website. For anyone who isn’t Black, or doesn’t typically celebrate Juneteenth, but would like to recognize the holiday or learn more about it, there are many ways to do this. Readers can check out books by and about Black authors, including some of our recommended reads on Juneteenth. If you’re a parent, share the history through children’s books like “Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free” by Alice Faye Duncan, or check out our Story Walk in Wilcox Park, which features “The Juneteenth Story” by Alliah Agostini. You can watch a film that depicts or honors Black life and culture, or go out and support Black-owned businesses. If you missed the Westerly Anti-Racism Coalition’s “Juneteenth Celebration” yesterday in Wilcox Park, you can join the group on the steps of the post office every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for discussions, engagement, and programming related to multiculturalism, and to learn how you can take action against racism. Of course, all of this can — and should — be done year-round, but Wednesday’s holiday is certainly a great time to begin!

by Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian