This is an archive of public readings selected for Juneteenth, (a portmanteau of June and nineteenth) – officially Juneteenth National Independence Day (also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day), a civic day in the United States celebrating the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans after the defeat of the pro-slavery Confederacy in the Civil War. The day commemorates the anniversary of the June 19, 1865 announcement of General Order No. 3 by Union Army general Gordon Granger, proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas. Originating in Galveston, Texas, since 2021 it has been recognized as a federal holiday, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.
Click here to contribute a public reading you have prepared for Juneteenth.


