Hello Parents,  Happy Saturday! A day late, but still relevant, here are some resources to learn about and commemorate Juneteenth:

In the United States, Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19th, as it commemorates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers sailed into Galveston, Texas, announcing the end of the Civil War, and read aloud a general order freeing the quarter-million slaves residing in the state. It’s likely that none of them had any idea that they had actually been freed more than two years before by the Emancipation Proclamation. Since then, African Americans have built traditions to observe this historic day: to celebrate, people gather to sing, dance and eat together. New Victory Theater has put together an amazing compilation of videos for kids to learn more about this historic day, and to celebrate it, including writing your own song, collage, rhyme, poem and more. It also includes links to other resources. Target ages 7-15.

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Here is a 3.5 minute video from The Root explaining the holiday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu6ntwHws5g

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And here is one from Global News: 3 minutes video Black History Month: The Meaning of Juneteenth, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He0dxbINs7M

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Cool Mom Picks

Here is a link to a list of children’s books about Juneteenth: https://coolmompicks.com/blog/2019/06/18/childrens-books-about-juneteenth/