Celebrating Juneteenth Through Literature
On January 1st of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in the United States by signing The Emancipation Proclamation. However, many Confederate slaveholders refused to relinquish their supposed ownership of African American people for nearly two-and-a-half years. On June 19th, 1865, the federal government sent troops to Galveston, Texas to inform the last of the enslaved African Americans that they were free. Today, Juneteenth marks the full spread of emancipation across America, and is a day that celebrates Black people, culture, and history.
One of the best ways to get involved and learn more is by reading the stories of Black Americans. To celebrate now, enjoy our selection of relevant titles from the Goodshelf catalog:
I Cannot Write My Life: Islam, Arabic, and Slavery in Omar Ibn Said’s America. Omar Ibn Said was a Muslim scholar from West Africa who spent more than fifty years enslaved in North Carolina. In 1831, his brief autobiography became the only known narrative written in Arabic by an enslaved person in North America. Suppressed for two centuries, Omar’s voice has been freshly translated to provide the fullest possible account of his life and significance.
The Lady Imam: How amina wadud’s Life and Faith Changed the World. A new release (June 16th, 2026!) chronicles the life of amina wadud, a feminist scholar-activist, single mother of five, and queer advocate. Her work exists at the intersection of Islam, feminism, Black history, and gender studies.
Afterlives. A novel following Ilyas, his sister Afiya, and Hamza. As these young people live, work, and fall in love, their fates are increasingly intertwined, but the shadow of a new war threatens to carry them away from each other.
Far Away From Here. A novel about three young Black American Muslims on the cusp of adulthood, confronting faith, tradition, and the impact of their personal decisions in New Orleans, five years after Hurricane Katrina.
If you have a recommendation that isn’t in our catalog, don’t hesitate to go to https://www.goodshelf.org/recommend and make a submission!
