Book Club: Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Emancipation

About the Book Club and Event

On June 18th at 2 PM in the library, author Edward T. Cotham, Jr. will join the Bryan Museum Book Club for a discussion of his book, Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration.  In this book,  Ed Cotham leads the reader through the lengthy and complicated process that led from slavery to celebration. Mr. Cotham is a former President of the Houston Civil War Round Table and is active in the Civil War preservation movement.  He is also a member of the Company of Military Historians, the Society of Civil War Historians, the Southern Historical Association, and the Author's Guild. The author will sign books following the discussion. 

About the Book
Juneteenth has been touted as a national day celebrating the end of slavery. Observances from coast to coast have turned this event into part of the national conversation about race, slavery, and how Americans understand, acknowledge, and explain what has been called the national “original sin.”  But, why Juneteenth? Where did this celebration—which promises to become a national holiday—come from? What is the origin story? What are the facts, and myths, around this important day in the nation’s history?

This is the first scholarly book to delve into the history behind Juneteenth. Using decades of research in archives around the nation, this book helps separate myth from reality and tells the story behind the celebration in a way that provides new understanding and appreciation for the event.

As the United States continues to have a national conversation about race relations and the meaning of full equality, Juneteenth promises to become an important expression of equality—an Independence Day celebration in its own right, a couple of weeks in advance of the traditional July 4th Holiday. This book will be a welcome addition to classrooms, book clubs and general readers interested in this once obscure regional event now destined for the national spotlight.