Honoring Juneteenth at UCLA: Exploring the Bruin archives

Technically, this year marks the 161st observance of Juneteenth.

It began on June 19, 1865, when Gordon Granger, a major general in the Union Army, issued the following order to a surprised populace: "The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free."

A federal holiday since 2021, Juneteenth is simultaneously a reflection on the history of racial injustice experienced by the Black community as well as a celebration of the community's strength, successes and spirit.

For Bruins looking to observe this important day and learn more about its history and meaning, there are many campus resources, including enduring interviews with UCLA professors and scholars like Cheryl Keyes,Eddie Cole,Brenda Stevenson and Karida Brown.

Especially fascinating, of course, are the holdings across UCLA's libraries related to this subject. A simple search for on-campus resources related to "Juneteenth" yields an intriguing mix of voices and media. Here is a curated selection of some of these options for you to explore this Friday, June 19 or any time during the year.

Bunche Center for African American Studies

The Bunche Center library and media center in Haines Hall has a wealth of materials, including reading room-use copies of two books featuring the expertise of seminal Juneteenth folklorist William H. Wiggins Jr.: "Juneteenth Texas: Essays in African-American Folklore" and "Jubilation! African-American Celebrations in the Southeast."

Chicano Studies Research Center

The center's library in Haines Hall has a reading room-use copy of both the 1932 and 1965 editions of "Tone the Bell Easy," which begins with a chapter on Juneteenth written by famed Black folklorist J. Mason Brewer.

Herb Alpert School of Music

The music school's Walter H. Rubsamen Music Library has a copy of "Jazz Country: Ralph Ellison in America," a study of the famed author after the posthumous publication of his second novel, "Juneteenth," through the lens of jazz music.

Arts Library

The Arts Library, housed in the Luskin School of Public Affairs building, has a copy of "BLK MKT Vintage: Reclaiming Objects and Curiosities that Tell Black Stories." Among the scrapbook-style photos and captions are 10 pages of highlighting Juneteenth ephemera collections. (The authors also offer Juneteenth T-shirts and prints from these collections on their website.)

Powell Library and Young Research Library

It's no surprise that between them, the Powell and Young libraries have impressively varied collections. Highlights range from "Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations," the first cookbook to celebrate the holiday, and "On Juneteenth," the sweeping and personal history by Pulitzer Prize winner Annette Gordon-Reed, to "How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America," which traces the centrality of the issue of slavery to shaping the nation.

The Young Research Library also has "Juneteenth at Comanche Crossing,""Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery" and "Festivals of Freedom: Memory and Meaning in African American Emancipation Celebrations, 1808-1915."

UCLA Lab School

The school's Gonda Family Library has two picture books for younger readers: "All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom," which tells the story of an enslaved family on that fateful day in 1865, and "Build a House," which was initially written as a song by Grammy-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens.

As the nation prepares to commemorate the 161st anniversary of Juneteenth on June 19, Newsroom revisits stories that explore the holiday's origins, evolution and enduring significance. In these pieces, UCLA scholars remind us that Juneteenth is more than a historical milestone - it is an ongoing call to confront the legacies of slavery, racism and inequality while preserving Black history, deepening our understanding of emancipation and recognizing freedom as a continuing pursuit that demands civic engagement, education and social change.