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Juneteenth is a celebratory holiday that many of us didn't learn about in school. New books are shedding light on the origins and importance of the day, so in addition to those titles, we've pulled together a list of books that celebrate Black freedom and joy. You'll also find fiction and non-fiction that addresses the history of Black struggle in America as well as present day realities of Black struggle. Although Juneteenth is a celebration, we cannot ignore the ongoing struggles of Black people in America.

Books: 
On Juneteenth By Annette Gordon-Reed Cover Image
$15.95
ISBN: 9781631498831
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Published: Liveright - May 4th, 2021

NEW YORK TIMES • 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2021
New York Times • Times Critics Top Books of 2021
New York Times Bestseller


Juneteenth (Revised) (Vintage International) By Ralph Ellison, Charles Johnson (Preface by) Cover Image
By Ralph Ellison, Charles Johnson (Preface by)
$17.00
ISBN: 9780593314616
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Published: Vintage - May 18th, 2021

“Ellison sought no less than to create a Book of Blackness, a literary composition of the tradition at its most sublime and fundamental." —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., TIME


Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 By Ibram X. Kendi (Editor), Keisha N. Blain (Editor) Cover Image
By Ibram X. Kendi (Editor), Keisha N. Blain (Editor)
$32.00
ISBN: 9780593134047
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Published: One World - February 2nd, 2021

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A chorus of extraordinary voices tells the epic story of the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present—edited by Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire.


Living While Black: Using Joy, Beauty, and Connection to Heal Racial Trauma By Guilaine Kinouani Cover Image
$24.95
ISBN: 9780807054581
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Published: Beacon Press - January 25th, 2022

A Guardian “Best Book of 2021” Selection

A powerful look at the impacts of anti-Black racism and a practical guide for overcoming racial trauma through radical self-care as a form of resistance


Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations By Nicole A. Taylor Cover Image
$29.99
ISBN: 9781982176211
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Published: Simon & Schuster - May 31st, 2022

The very first cookbook to celebrate Juneteenth, from food writer and cookbook author Nicole A.


We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy By Ta-Nehisi Coates Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780399590573
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Published: One World - October 30th, 2018

In this “urgently relevant”* collection featuring the landmark essay “The Case for Reparations,” the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me “reflects on race, Barack Obama’s presidency and its jarring aftermath”*—including the election of Donald Trump.


The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country By Amanda Gorman, Oprah Winfrey (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Amanda Gorman, Oprah Winfrey (Foreword by)
$15.99
ISBN: 9780593465271
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Published: Viking Books - March 30th, 2021

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller and #1 USA Today bestseller

Amanda Gorman’s electrifying and historic poem “The Hill We Climb,” read at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, is now available as a collectible gift edition.

“Stunning.” —CNN
“Dynamic.” —NPR


The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration By Isabel Wilkerson Cover Image
$18.95
ISBN: 9780679763888
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Published: Vintage - October 4th, 2011

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this beautifully written masterwork, the Pulitzer Prize–winnner and bestselling author of Caste chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a


The Fire Next Time (Vintage International) By James Baldwin Cover Image
$13.95
ISBN: 9780679744726
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Published: Vintage - December 1st, 1992

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The book that galvanized the nation, gave voice to the emerging civil rights movementin the 1960s—and still lights the way to understanding race in America today. • "The finest essay I’ve ever read.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates


Washington Black By Esi Edugyan Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9780525563242
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Published: Vintage - April 9th, 2019

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • “A gripping historical narrative exploring both the bounds of slavery and what it means to be truly free.” —Vanity Fair


The Underground Railroad: A Novel By Colson Whitehead Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9780345804327
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Published: Anchor - January 30th, 2018

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • "An American masterpiece" (NPR) that chronicles a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. The basis for the acclaimed original Amazon Prime Video series directed by Barry Jenkins.


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Beloved (Vintage International) By Toni Morrison Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781400033416
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Published: Vintage - June 8th, 2004

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A spellbinding novel that transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. With a new afterword by the author. 


Cane By Jean Toomer, George B. Hutchinson (Introduction by), Zinzi Clemmons (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Jean Toomer, George B. Hutchinson (Introduction by), Zinzi Clemmons (Foreword by)
$15.00
ISBN: 9780143133674
Availability: Backordered
Published: Penguin Classics - January 8th, 2019

The Harlem Renaissance writer's innovative and groundbreaking novel depicting African American life in the South and North, with a foreword by National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree Zinzi Clemmons


Invisible Man (Vintage International) By Ralph Ellison Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780679732761
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Published: Vintage - March 14th, 1995

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this deeply compelling novel and epic milestone of American literature, a nameless narrator tells his story from the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be. 


Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance By Jessamyn Stanley Cover Image
$15.95
ISBN: 9781523505210
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Published: Workman Publishing Company - June 22nd, 2021

Finding self-acceptance both on and off the mat.
In Sanskrit, yoga means to “yoke.” To yoke mind and body, movement and breath, light and dark, the good and the bad.


The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation By Anna Malaika Tubbs Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781250756121
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Published: Flatiron Books - February 2nd, 2021

New York Times Bestseller

“This dynamic blend of biography and manifesto centers on Louise Little, Alberta King, and Berdis Baldwin . . . Tubbs’s book stands against the women’s erasure, a monument to their historical importance.
The New Yorker


Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own By Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. Cover Image
$27.00
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ISBN: 9780525575320
Published: Crown - June 30th, 2020

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A powerful study of how to bear witness in a moment when America is being called to do the same.”—Time

James Baldwin grew disillusioned by the failure of the civil rights movement to force America to confront its lies about race. What can we learn from his struggle in our own moment?
 


Nothing Personal By James Baldwin, Imani Perry (Foreword by), Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (Afterword by) Cover Image
By James Baldwin, Imani Perry (Foreword by), Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (Afterword by)
$18.00
ISBN: 9780807006429
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Published: Beacon Press - May 4th, 2021

James Baldwin’s critique of American society at the height of the civil rights movement brings his prescient thoughts on social isolation, race, and police brutality to a new generation of readers.


Rodney Scott's World of BBQ: Every Day Is a Good Day: A Cookbook By Rodney Scott, Lolis Eric Elie Cover Image
$29.99
ISBN: 9781984826930
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Published: Clarkson Potter - March 16th, 2021

IACP COOKBOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER • In the first cookbook by a Black pitmaster, James Beard Award–winning chef Rodney Scott celebrates an incredible culinary legacy through his life story, family traditions, and unmatched dedication to his craft.


Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue By Adrian Miller Cover Image
$30.00
ISBN: 9781469662800
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Published: University of North Carolina Press - April 27th, 2021

Across America, the pure love and popularity of barbecue cookery have gone through the roof. Prepared in one regional style or another, in the South and beyond, barbecue is one of the nation's most distinctive culinary arts. And people aren't just eating it; they're also reading books and articles and watching TV shows about it.


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Blackout: A Novel By Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780063088092
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Published: Quill Tree Books - June 22nd, 2021

Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teens in love to this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming novel that shines a bright light through the dark.

A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks…


All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom By Angela Johnson, E.B. Lewis (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Angela Johnson, E.B. Lewis (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9780689873768
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Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers - May 6th, 2014

Experience the joy of Juneteenth in this celebration of freedom from the award-winning team of Angela Johnson and E.B. Lewis.

Through the eyes of one little girl, All Different Now tells the story of the first Juneteenth, the day freedom finally came to the last of the slaves in the South.


Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America. A selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List.


From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century By William A. Darity, A. Kirsten Mullen Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9781469654973
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Published: University of North Carolina Press - April 20th, 2020

Racism and discrimination have choked economic opportunity for African Americans at nearly every turn. At several historic moments, the trajectory of racial inequality could have been altered dramatically. Perhaps no moment was more opportune than the early days of Reconstruction, when the U.S.


The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness By Michelle Alexander Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781620971932
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Published: New Press - January 7th, 2020

Named one of the most important nonfiction books of the 21st century by Entertainment Weekly' Slate' Chronicle of Higher Education' Literary Hub, Book Riot' and Zora


Why Didn't We Riot?: A Black Man in Trumpland By Issac J. Bailey Cover Image
$21.99
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ISBN: 9781635420289
Published: Other Press - October 6th, 2020

In these impassioned, powerful essays, an award-winning journalist deals forthrightly with what it means to be Black in an America that still supports Trump.


Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning By Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780316453691
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Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - March 10th, 2020

The crucial, empowering, #1 New York Times bestselling exploration of racism—and antiracism—in America.
This is NOT a history book.
This is a book about the here and now.
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.


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The Hate U Give: A Printz Honor Winner By Angie Thomas, Amandla Stenberg (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Angie Thomas, Amandla Stenberg (Foreword by)
$18.99
ISBN: 9780062498533
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Published: Balzer + Bray - February 28th, 2017

8 starred reviews · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best  ·  William C. Morris Award Winner · National Book Award Longlist · Printz Honor Book · Coretta Scott King Honor Book · #1 New York Times Bestseller!

"Absolutely riveting!" —Jason Reynolds


Dear Martin By Nic Stone Cover Image
$10.99
ISBN: 9781101939529
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Published: Ember - September 4th, 2018

"Powerful, wrenching.” –JOHN GREEN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down

"Raw and gripping." –JASON REYNOLDS, New York Times bestselling coauthor of All American Boys


Punching the Air By Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780062996480
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Published: Balzer + Bray - September 1st, 2020

New York Times and USA Today bestseller * Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor * Walter Award Winner * Goodreads Finalist for Best Teen Book of the Year * Time Magazine Best Book of the Year * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year * School Library Journal 


The Black Kids By Christina Hammonds Reed Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781534462724
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Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers - August 4th, 2020

A New York Times bestseller
A William C.


Rick Riordan Presents: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky-A Tristan Strong Novel, Book 1 By Kwame Mbalia Cover Image
$8.99
ISBN: 9781368042413
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Published: Rick Riordan Presents - September 22nd, 2020

Rick Riordan Presents: Tristan Strong Destroys the World-A Tristan Strong Novel, Book 2 By Kwame Mbalia Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781368042383
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Published: Rick Riordan Presents - October 6th, 2020

Miles Morales: Shock Waves (Original Spider-Man Graphic Novel) By Justin A. Reynolds, Pablo Leon (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Justin A. Reynolds, Pablo Leon (Illustrator)
$12.99
ISBN: 9781338648034
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Published: Graphix - June 1st, 2021

An original middle-grade graphic novel from Graphix starring Brooklyn's Spider-Man, Miles Morales, by bestselling author Justin A. Reynolds and Eisner nominee Pablo Leon!

Miles Morales is a normal kid who happens to juggle school at Brooklyn Visions Academy while swinging through the streets of Brooklyn as Spider-Man.


Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen? (Who Was?) By Sherri L. Smith, Who HQ, Jake Murray (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Sherri L. Smith, Who HQ, Jake Murray (Illustrator)
$5.99
ISBN: 9780399541940
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Published: Penguin Workshop - August 7th, 2018

It's up, up, and away with the Tuskegee Airmen, a heroic group of African American military pilots who helped the United States win World War II.


What Were the Negro Leagues? (What Was?) By Varian Johnson, Who HQ, Stephen Marchesi (Illustrator) Cover Image
$5.99
ISBN: 9781524789985
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Published: Penguin Workshop - December 24th, 2019

This baseball league that was made up of African American players and run by African American owners ushered in the biggest change in the history of baseball.


Who Was Frederick Douglass? (Who Was?) By April Jones Prince, Who HQ, Robert Squier (Illustrator) Cover Image
$5.99
ISBN: 9780448479118
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Published: Penguin Workshop - December 26th, 2014

Born into slavery in Maryland in 1818, Frederick Douglass was determined to gain freedom--and once he realized that knowledge was power, he secretly learned to read and write to give himself an advantage. After escaping to the North in 1838, as a free man he gave powerful speeches about his experience as a slave.


What Was the Underground Railroad? (What Was?) By Yona Zeldis McDonough, Who HQ, Lauren Mortimer (Illustrator) Cover Image
$5.99
ISBN: 9780448467122
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Published: Penguin Workshop - December 26th, 2013

No one knows where the term Underground Railroad came from--there were no trains or tracks, only "conductors" who helped escaping slaves to freedom. Including real stories about "passengers" on the "Railroad," this book chronicles slaves' close calls with bounty hunters, exhausting struggles on the road, and what they sacrificed for freedom.


The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth By Wade Hudson (Editor), Cheryl Willis Hudson (Editor) Cover Image
By Wade Hudson (Editor), Cheryl Willis Hudson (Editor)
$7.99
ISBN: 9780593121641
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Published: Yearling - June 1st, 2021

Thirty diverse, award-winning authors and illustrators invite you into their homes to witness the conversations they have with their children about race in America today in this powerful call-to-action that invites all families to be anti-racists and advocates for change.

"Project[s] love and support." --The New York Times


What Is the Civil Rights Movement? (What Was?) By Sherri L. Smith, Who HQ, Tim Foley (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Sherri L. Smith, Who HQ, Tim Foley (Illustrator)
$5.99
ISBN: 9781524792305
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Published: Penguin Workshop - December 29th, 2020

Relive the moments when African Americans fought for equal rights, and made history.


Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter By Shani King, Bobby C. Martin, Jr (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Shani King, Bobby C. Martin, Jr (Illustrator)
$17.95
ISBN: 9780884488897
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Published: Tilbury House Publishers - January 19th, 2021

Booklist Star

A tender and powerful affirmation that Black lives have always mattered.

Black lives matter. That message would be self-evident in a just world, but in this world and this America, all children need to hear it again and again, and not just to hear it but to feel and know it.


Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race (First Conversations) By Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, Isabel Roxas (Illustrator) Cover Image
$14.99
ISBN: 9780593519394
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Published: Rise x Penguin Workshop - May 25th, 2021

Based on the research that race, gender, consent, and body positivity should be discussed with toddlers on up, this read-aloud series offers adults the opportunity to begin important conversations with young children in an informed, safe, and supported way. Now available as a hardcover picture book! 


Antiracist Baby Picture Book By Ibram X. Kendi, Ashley Lukashevsky (Illustrator) Cover Image
$8.99
ISBN: 9780593110508
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Published: Kokila - July 14th, 2020

A #1 New York Times Bestseller!


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I Am Every Good Thing By Derrick Barnes, Gordon C. James (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Derrick Barnes, Gordon C. James (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9780525518778
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Published: Nancy Paulsen Books - September 1st, 2020

An upbeat, empowering, important picture book from the team that created the award-winning Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut. A perfect gift for any special occasion!

I am
a nonstop ball of energy.
Powerful and full of light.
I am a go-getter. A difference maker. A leader.


I, Too, Am America By Langston Hughes, Bryan Collier (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Langston Hughes, Bryan Collier (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781442420083
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Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers - May 22nd, 2012

Winner of the Coretta Scott King illustrator award, I, Too, Am America blends the poetic wisdom of Langston Hughes with visionary illustrations from Bryan Collier in this inspirational picture book that carries the promise of equality.


I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And ea


Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration By Samara Cole Doyon, Kaylani Juanita (Illustrator) Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9780884487975
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Published: Tilbury House Publishers - January 7th, 2020

Coretta Scott King 2021 Honoree

A winner of the ILA 2021 Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Awards in the fiction category.

NCSS 2021 Notable Social Studies Book

Maine Lupine Award Winner