Weaving together American history, dramatic family chronicle, and
searing episodes of memoir, Annette Gordon-Reed's On Juneteenth
provides a historian's view of the country's long road to Juneteenth,
recounting both its origins in Texas and the enormous hardships that
African-Americans have endured in the century since, from
Reconstruction through Jim Crow and beyond. All too aware of the
stories of cowboys, ranchers, and oilmen that have long dominated the
lore of the Lone Star State, Gordon-Reed--herself a Texas native and
the descendant of enslaved people brought to Texas as early as the
1820s--forges a new and profoundly truthful narrative of her home
state, with implications for us all.
Combining personal
anecdotes with poignant facts gleaned from the annals of American
history, Gordon-Reed shows how, from the earliest presence of Black
people in Texas to the day in Galveston on June 19, 1865, when Major
General Gordon Granger announced the end of legalized slavery in the
state, African-Americans played an integral role in the Texas story.
Reworking the
traditional "Alamo" framework, she powerfully demonstrates,
among other things, that the slave- and race-based economy not only
defined the fractious era of Texas independence but precipitated the
Mexican-American War and, indeed, the Civil War itself.
In its concision,
eloquence, and clear presentation of history, On Juneteenth
vitally revises conventional renderings of Texas and national
history. As our nation verges on recognizing June 19 as a national
holiday, On Juneteenth is both an essential account and a
stark reminder that the fight for equality is exigent and ongoing.