Black-Owned Bookstores’ Picks for Juneteenth

“Recommended by our in-house young adult expert (i.e. my 14-year-old son) this YA romance is about love and friendship and trying to balance all of it through life. This book provides a witty and humorous exploration into the mind of a teen boy, and how he recognizes and works through his flaws.”

“As we are all entering back into a world of existence, many are left navigating their new world holding the unbearable weight of grief. Not only did the pandemic take away so much from so many, but for those left to live with the burden of guilt…or fear…or anger….or denial, their lives are forever transformed. This book will stir emotions, but it will also sooth your heart through the process of grieving the loss of a loved one.”

“This book was engaging from start to finish. The story was beautifully written. Omari Hardwick’s narrating was the icing on the cake. If you love fashion and hip hop this is a must-read! Free game!”

“Pure expression and transparency.  A look behind the curtain of Hollywood and how to navigate while managing mental health.”

“A view of America that needs to be understood for the country to continue to grow and prosper. Not enough work is done to address the history of racism in the country.”

“A great classic. One of the best books I’ve ever read. A book about understanding the world from different point of view and one that was lost to African brought to America.”

“[Recommending] because of the depth and range of stories, because of its Philly roots, because it made me laugh and cry more than once, because there are so many writing styles, because the essays are short accessible and palatable, because it is an anthology, because it is an ode to Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and because the editors are two dope, fly souls.”

“[Recommending] because of the depth and range of stories, because of its Philly roots, because it made me laugh and because it is a compilation of creative voices, because it has Philly narratives all up and through it, because it is many things at once from essays to poetry to testimonies, because it celebrates activists, and because the curators are two dope, fly souls.”

“Perhaps the most obvious selection? But one I read for the first time this year and could not stop gasping at. So many of Ellison’s sentences are bathed in light and others in storm, but they’re always displaying us. This tale of memory is less a historical dive into Juneteenth itself, but rather of the Black life in the south slipping out of memory. This book was published after Ellison’s death and sometimes defies traditional structure, making it an excellent listen as it washes over you.”

“Absolutely one of my all-time favorite collections, I enjoyed discovering this as an audiobook all over again. Camille Acker captures so many moments of life in Washington, DC and the Black women’s experience navigating our jobs, our streets, families, and gentrification. Nothing is ever simple, but it is always richly felt and imagined. Celebrating Juneteenth needs to be rooted not just in its origins, but in its present reality too, and by taking us through the DC Black experience in time, Acker gives us that grounding.”

“Emancipation Day (Juneteenth) can be celebrated by listening to Clint Smith’s book How the Word is Passed! In the book, Smith takes us on a tour of monuments and landmarks that show us how slavery has been central to shaping our country’s history. We delight in freedom from enslavement, but look deeply into its impact on the country and ourselves.”

“Freedom Day (Juneteenth) can be celebrated by listening to Robin D.G.Kelley’s Freedom Dreams! While emancipation was a freedom dream come true, this book shows that Black people never stopped freedom-dreaming here in America.”

“This masterful chronicle of America’s greatest exodus between 1917 and 1975, during which millions of Black Americans fled the elaborate Jim Crow laws of the Deep South for the relative freedoms of the north. I picked this book because it fills in the gaps of what we are not commonly taught about the widespread institutional neglect of generations of Black citizens post-slavery.”

“I loved listening to this collection of stories, and felt a profound connection with these incredibly finespun characters exploring loss, relationships, and the collective and personal hauntings of history. These stories humanely portray how so many of our experiences are shaped and contorted by race, and drives home how people’s choices illuminate who they really are.”