June 19th marks the historic holiday known as Juneteenth when in 1865 a Union general spread news in Texas of that enslaved Africans were free. North Carolina recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday in 2007, but the holiday was not federally recognized until President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 17, 2021.

Did you know the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources offers a Juneteenth website? It offers comprehensive historical resources on African American history in NC, including historical photographs, a map of the historic places, and more.

Want a quick history lesson from Black North Carolinians on the significance of Juneteenth?
Check out this quick facts video below on Juneteenth, presented by Historically Black College and University (HBCUs) students from across the state of North Carolina:

After you finish the video, click to read more to see the excellent historical resources available on Juneteeth from Durham Tech Library!

In addition to the books below, don’t forget the library offers streaming video resources for history, such as the great Henry Louis Gates’ Making Black America video series. We also recommend checking out the recent talk from the North Carolina State Library, “Untangling Our Roots: Experiences with African American Genealogy.”

To explore these great books on African-American freedom and emancipation, click on the book cover and you will be taken to our catalog where you can request the title to be held for you at one of our library locations.

For eBook readers, we’ve got you covered! Check out our Juneteenth reads over at our Dogwood Digital ebook library.

As always, you can also ask us to locate materials by email (library@durhamtech.edu), by phone at 919-536-7211, or through our online chat. We look forward to checking these out for you!