The actions taken by countries and various peoples (present, past, and ancient times) are presented and scrutinized. In a preface, six chapters and a coda, Gordon-Reed speaks to us, not only as a historian, but as a native Texan, a Black woman with familial roots going back to the 1820s and 1860s, and writes compellingly about people's behavior, their motivations for initiatives, the cause and effect of actions taken, what this meant to Black Americans and others over the centuries, and provides historical analysis for why Juneteenth is an important day to be celebrated. This day came to be known as Juneteenth and since has been widely celebrated in Texas. January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which according to the United States National Archives states, “The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free.” In Texas this was disregarded until two years later on June 19, 1985, African Americans owned as slaves were told that slavery had ended. If anything, this distillation of history should send many of us to do further research and reading. No reader should be misled to think that this book will provide a quick overview of what is now a federal holiday.
Annette Gordon-Reed (historian, lawyer, law professor, multi-award-winning writer and native-born Texan) has written a collection of essays based on personal remembrances and history. In size and length, this relatively small book encompasses a major historical event, Juneteenth.
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