Library staff Brianna and Miranda gave recommendations for Juneteenth on Instagram! Below is what they recommended. All titles can be found in our catalog, on Libby, or on Kanopy.
A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette
This cozy mystery is set in Chagrin Falls, Ohio! Bronwyn (Win) Crews has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop. On her first day, she has no customers, so to cheer herself up, she decides to make one of her grandmother’s long-thought lost ice cream recipes. While she’s getting fresh snow, she stumbles on the body of a man who wronged her family years before. He conned her grandma out of the family ice cream shop. The family had to fight in court to get it back. In order to prove her father didn’t kill the man, Win teams up with friends and family to solve the murder herself. All while trying to renovate and revitalize her family’s ice cream shop.
This is such a good cozy mystery set right here in Northeast Ohio that will make you want a scoop- or two- of ice cream.
What does this have to do with Juneteenth though? In the days of slavery through the Jim Crow Era, Black people were not allowed to eat vanilla ice cream. Only on special occasions like the Fourth of July could Black people enjoy vanilla ice cream. So Black people adapted and innovated, adding butter and pecans to vanilla ice cream to make Butter Pecan ice cream. In A Deadly Inside Scoop, Win experiments with different flavors and flavor combinations in a similar manner that brought about the creation of Butter Pecan ice cream. In thinking about the books, she wanted to recommend, Miranda wanted to include some unconventional recommendations that highlighted lesser thought of aspects of history and its continued impact on life today. If you want to read about Butter Pecan ice cream, check out this article from America’s Black Holocaust Museum.
Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
The abolition of slavery in the aftermath of the Civil War is a familiar story, as is the Civil Rights revolution that transformed the nation after World War II. But the century in between remains a mystery: if emancipation sparked “a new birth of freedom” in Lincoln’s America, why was it necessary to march in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s America? In this book, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores how pivotal the Reconstruction Era– broadly considered 1865-1877– is to understanding the current sociopolitical landscape in America. While dense, this is an engaging book that pushes readers to think critically about an era in United States history that doesn’t often receive as much attention, especially considering how its significance is far outweighed by its twelve-year span. Brianna particularly enjoyed the large collections of contemporary political cartoons and other art that contextualizes some of the sentiments Gates mentions.
The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon
This next recommendation is given with a few caveats. It is a middle grade novel that Miranda recommends should be read with a grown up and an explanation will be given a bit later.
Dally is 12 and still struggling with the loss of her grandfather. She and her mother have a very strained relationship mainly stemming from the fact that even at 12, Dally is being trained to take over her family’s massive company. Dally’s grandpa left her instructions to visit The Secret Library. The Secret Library is a library made up of secrets. A person can enter and revisit/relive someone else’s secrets. In exploring secrets, Dally is transported back through her family lineage, getting to meet her ancestors including her grandfather as a child. She spends much of the book with her ancestors as they are enslaved/trying to escape slavery and precarious times and places for Black people throughout history. She learns countless family secrets and gets to spend time with a younger version of her grandfather.
The reason Miranda recommends reading this with a grown up is that this book covers a lot of ground- it could have been split into multiple parts to be a bit more manageable. With some guidance, middle graders would be able to follow the whole story.
We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy by Natalie Baszile
In this anthology, Natalie Baszile brings together essays, poems, photographs, quotes, conversations, and first-person stories to examine Black peoples’ connection to the American land from Emancipation to today. In the 1920s, there were over one million Black farmers. Today, there are just 45,000. Baszile explores this crisis through the farmers’ personal experiences. In their own words, middle aged and elderly Black farmers explain why they continue to farm despite systemic discrimination and land loss. The Returning Generation–young farmers, who are building upon the legacy of their ancestors, talk about the challenges they face as they seek to redress issues of food justice, food sovereignty, and reparations. This was an insightful read about a facet of American agriculture that a lot of people don’t know about. Brianna particularly appreciated getting to know individual farmers and their journey through an often volatile career path.
Companion documentary: The Cost of Inheritance
This documentary explores the complex issue of reparations in the United States using a thoughtful approach to history, historical injustices, systemic inequities, and the critical dialogue on racial conciliation. Through personal narratives, community inquiries, and scholarly insights, it aims to inspire understanding of the scope and rationale of the reparations debate. While many people have heard of the concept of reparations, this documentary offers a comprehensive discussion that leaves the viewer feeling better educated on the topic– both the emotional toll such work causes as well as the legal intricacies required for successful reparations.
Brianna choose to pair this documentary with Baszile’s book because a portion of it features John Boyd, the founder of the National Black Farmers Association, his quest fair and equitable practices, and how protections for Black farmers and their families can- and does- fall under the umbrella of reparations, even if that’s not the word people use when describing it.
You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron
Camp Mirror Lake is a horror movie lover’s dream. Participants get to pretend they are in a horror movie and try to survive the night. Charity gets to play the ‘final girl’ this summer. The ‘final girl’ being the girl who survives to the end of the horror movie. One weekend, Charity’s girlfriend joins the group in preparation for a party later. But people start going missing and bodies start dropping. Charity must become a real ‘final girl’ to survive through the night. This book is a slasher with some paranormal spookiness mixed in. The end of the book has received mixed reviews for how it lands. If you are looking for a queer, Black girl power slasher, this book is for you.
Okay, but what does this have to do with Junesteenth? This may be a loose connection but during slavery and even after for a long time, Black people were seen not as people but property, not able to have their stories told, much less be the main character or a ‘final girl’. You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight flips that notion on its head. Not only is the Black girl the main character, but she is also the ‘final girl’ and not even The Avengers can stop her.
Black Food edited by Terry Bryant
In this stunning and deeply heartfelt tribute to Black culinary ingenuity, Bryant Terry captures the broad and divergent voices of the African Diaspora through the prism of food. With contributions from more than 100 Black cultural luminaires from around the globe, the book moves through chapters exploring parts of the Black experience, from Homeland to Migration, Spirituality to Black Future, offering delicious recipes, moving essays, and arresting artwork. As much a joyful celebration of Black culture as a cookbook, Black Food explores the interweaving of food, experience, and community through original poetry and essays. This is a great book for anyone looking for both delicious recipes and the heartfelt stories that created them. The photography is gorgeous and there are a variety of dishes that offer something for any reader that picks this book up!
Briarcliff Prep by Brianna Peppins
14-year-old Avi is off to Briarcliff Prep- a Historically Black High School- for her freshman year! She will be joining her older sister, Belle, on campus. Belle is very popular, especially now that she is dating the golden boy of the sibling school. Avi is settling into life at Briarcliff- with a few bumps along the way- when she notices some sketchy behavior from Belle’s boyfriend. This trigger warning is a necessary spoiler, but Avi finds out her sister’s boyfriend is abusive- both physically and verbally on page. When Avie tries to talk to Belle about it, she is dismissive and basically tells Avie to mind her own business. Avi is very conflicted and understandably worried about her sister. She is also worried about ruining her relationship with her sister.
Something Miranda really appreciated was the way Black culture was portrayed. Blackness was front and center and woven into the fabric of campus life. Students could get products for their hair in the student center store. So many things that are important in Black culture that aren’t necessarily seen at PWIs were just part of campus culture at Briarcliff. Schools like this represent an example of the dreams of those who were enslaved. There was a time when Black people could- and would- have been killed for even knowing how to read so institutions like the fictional Briarcliff Prep are so important. Briarcliff is a fictional Historically Black High School, but these high schools do exist in the real world.
Before picking up this book, check trigger warnings. Although it is a YA book, Briarcliff Prep could also be enjoyed by adults.
Making Black America: Through the Grapevine
This four-episode series, hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. chronicles the vast social networks and organizations created by and for Black people- beyond the reach of the white gaze. Gates takes viewers into an extraordinary world that showcases Black people’s ability to collectively prosper, defy white supremacy and define Blackness in ways that transformed America itself. This PBS docuseries is engaging and educational! Brianna appreciated both the way Henry Louis Gates, Jr. moderates the group discussion and how well it’s paired with the historical narrative that goes back to Colonial Era America. This is a worthwhile watch for people looking for ways to interact with history through a nontraditional but still extremely impactful lens. Brianna especially appreciated this docuseries after reading Stony the Road because while that book is a dense read, it was a pleasure to see glimpses of Gates’ personality and humor on film.
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora
This story follows three women both during and after the Civil War. We follow a healing woman and her daughter and the daughter of the slave owner who owned them. The story kicks off when a cursed baby is born that threatens the newly won freedom of those who had previously been enslaved.
This book has elements of Magical Realism and discusses Conjure. Conjure wasn’t something Miranda read a lot about growing up even though it is an important piece of many cultures, so it was nice to see it in this story.
This book is set during and after slavery so there are disturbing things on page. It is strongly recommended that you check trigger warnings before picking it up.
They Built Me for Freedom: The Story of Juneteenth and Houston’s Emancipation Park by Tonya Duncan Ellis and Illustrated by Jenin Mohammed
On June 19, 1865, the 250,000 enslaved people of Texas learned they were free, truly bringing an end to slavery in the United States. This day was soon to be memorialized with the dedication of a park in Houston. The park was called Emancipation Park, and the day it honored would come to be known as Juneteenth.
In the voice and memory of the park itself—its fields and pools, its protests and cookouts, and, most of all, its people—the 150-year story of Emancipation Park is brought to life. Through lyrical text and vibrant artwork, Tonya Duncan Ellis and Jenin Mohammed have crafted an ode to the struggle, triumph, courage, and joy of Black America—and the promise of a people to remember.
This picture book is beautifully drawn and tells a triumphant story in a way that’s accessible and interesting for its age group!
