Juneteenth Resources

Juneteenth flag

June 19th, or Juneteenth as it is widely known, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Many companies celebrate the day by recognizing it as a paid holiday, supporting community organizations focused on racial justice, holding company-wide events to promote conversations on race, or by providing resources for employees to learn more about social justice issues.

Thank you to our members, especially Akamai Technologies, CarGurus, FranklinCovey, and Facing History and Ourselves, for sharing their collected resources below.

Books

Many of the books listed below can be purchased locally from Frugal Bookstore, a black-owned community bookstore in Roxbury.

  • “The New Jim Crow- Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander
  • “Raising Our Hands” by Jenna Arnold
  • “Between the World and Me” by Ta Nehisi Coates
  • “Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower” by Dr. Brittany Cooper
  • “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
  • “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge
  • “On Juneteenth” by Annette Gordon-Reed
  • “How To Be An Antiracist” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi 
  • “So You Want to Talk about Race” by Ijeoma Oluo
  • “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations about Race” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD
  • “The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism” by Edward E. Baptist
  • “Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America” by W. Caleb McDaniel
  • “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
  • “They Were Her Property” by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
  • “Stony the Road” by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
  • “The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead
  • “My Vanishing Country” by Bakari Sellers
  • “We Were Eight Years in Power” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • “Black Pain” by Terrie Williams
  • “The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin
  • “Here I Stand” by Paul Robeson
  • “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson
  • “The Strange Career of Jim Crow” by C. Vann Woodward
  • “Mirror to America” by John Hope Franklin
  • “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” by Bryan Stevenson
  • “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America”
    by Clint Smith
  • “How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America” by Heather Cox Richardson
  • “Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019” eds. Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
  • “You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience” eds. Tarana Burke and Brene Brown
  • “Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination” by Robin D.G. Kelley
  • “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own” by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

For Kids and Teenagers

  • “All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom” by Angela Johnson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
  • “Juneteenth for Mazie” written and illustrated by Floyd Cooper
  • “The Story of Juneteenth: An Interactive History Adventure” by Steven Otfinoski
  • “Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life” by Ashley Bryan
  • “Juneteenth Jamboree” by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Yvonne Buchanan
  • “Black History for Beginners” by Denise Dennis, illustrated by Susan Willmarth
  • “Wagon Wheels” by Barbara Brenner, illustrated by Don Bolognese
  • “Freedom’s a-Callin Me” by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Rod Brown
  • “Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave” by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier
  • “Escape From Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom” by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Charles Lilly
  • “Sulwe” by Lupita Nyong’o
  • “Brown Girl Dreaming” by Jacqueline Woodson
  • Black Heroes: A Black History Book for Kids: 51 Inspiring People from Ancient Africa to Modern-Day U.S.A. (book)
  • Books, authors and illustrators that won Coretta Scott King awards for excellence in Black children’s literature.
  • The Conscious Kid’s collection of books about black boyhood
  • Books about black girlhood on A Mighty Girl
  • Free reading guides for Black children’s and young adult books on Teaching Books

TV Series, Movies, and Documentaries

  • 13th, Directed by Ava DuVernay – Netflix
  • When They See Us, Directed by Ava DuVernay – Netflix
  • The Hate U Give, Directed by George Tillman Jr.
  • American Son, Directed by Kenny Leon – Netflix
  • High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America, Directed by Roger Ross Williams – Netflix
  • If Beale Street Could Talk, Directed by Barry Jenkins
  • Fruitvale Station, Directed by Ryan Coogler 
  • I Am Not Your Negro, Directed by Raoul Peck 
  • Just Mercy, Directed by Daniel Cretton
  • John Lewis: Good Trouble, Directed by Dawn Porter
  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, Created by Emmanuel Acho 
  • Rodney King, Spoken Word, Directed by Spike Lee
  • Loving, Directed by Jeff Nichols
  • Cops and Robbers, Directed by Arnon Manor and Timothy Ware-Hill
  • Whose Streets, Directed by Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis
  • Trial 4, Directed by Rémy Burkel
  • Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992, Directed by John Ridley
  • Strong Island, Directed by Yance Ford
  • The Two Killings of Sam Cooke, Directed by Kelly Duane de la Vega
  • What Happened Miss Simone?, Directed by Liz Garbus

For Kids and Teenagers

Other Resources

  • Nerdy Diva – Nerdy Diva was created to fill a gap for inclusive design resources, training, and coaching for designers, developers, and tech founders building the technology of tomorrow.