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Today is Juneteenth—also known as Emancipation Day or Jubilee Day—the holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved Black people in the United States. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, but actual emancipation happened in fits and starts, especially in the Confederate states then at war with the Union. The holiday takes its name from the date on which US (Union) Army General Gordon Granger declared that all enslaved peoples in Confederate Texas were free: June 19, 1865.

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To mark this day of resilience, we’ve collected some of our best stories related to Juneteenth and emancipation—how they’ve been experienced, examined, and celebrated over the years. As always, links to free JSTOR scholarship are included with each story.

Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, Texas by Mrs. Charles Stephenson

Juneteenth and the Emancipation Proclamation

The Editors
June 18, 2020
The emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S. took place over a protracted period. The articles in this curated list dig into the complicated history.
Attendees sing during the 48th Annual Juneteenth Day Festival on June 19, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Juneteenth in the Alternative Press

The Editors
June 18, 2020
Reports in the underground press demonstrate how Juneteenth has been celebrated as both a social and political gathering in the twentieth century.
From Sunfighter, Volume 3, Issue 2, 07-01-1975

Juneteenth: A Freedom Celebration Behind Bars

Morgan Godvin
June 18, 2022
Juneteenth is commemorated by an incarcerated Black woman in a 1975 issue of Sunfighter. What does it mean to celebrate freedom when you have none?
A Juneteenth celebration from 1900

The Story of Juneteenth

Lynn Brown
June 17, 2016
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863. It took over two years for the news to reach some enslaved people.
Texas flag

Enslaved People in Texas and the Mexican Border

Erin Blakemore
June 10, 2015
How the nearness of the Mexican border influenced formerly enslaved people in the state of Texas.
George Floyd's image is projected on the Robert E. Lee Monument as people gather around on June 18, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia.

The Sorry State of Apologies

Chi Luu
July 1, 2020
"Sorry" can be more than a mere word when it has real-world consequences.
Frederick Douglass

“What to the Slave is The Fourth of July?”: Annotated

Liz Tracey
July 4, 2023
On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a Fourth of July speech that became his most famous public oration.
1866 Johnson Map of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware

Emancipation Comes to West Virginia

Matthew Wills
February 14, 2023
The Emancipation Proclamation exempted border states from the demand to free enslaved people. But what about West Virginia, which wasn’t yet a state?
A print based on David Gilmour Blythe's fanciful painting of Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation: Annotated

Liz Tracey
January 1, 2022
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in America on January 1, 1863. Today, we've annotated the Emancipation Proclamation for readers.
Grandchildren of slaves.

A Formerly Enslaved Woman Successfully Won a Case for Reparations in 1783

Matthew Wills
February 9, 2016
In one of the earliest examples of reparations, an ex-slave named Belinda petitioned the government and was granted an annuity.
Juneteenthslavery