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knod78's review against another edition
4.0
I grew up in Texas and have known about Juneteenth most of my life. It's always been funny to me when people didn't know about Juneteenth. Like the author, I also got defensive of people outside of Texas claiming like they knew about Juneteenth and that it was there's too after George Floyd's death. As a white person growing up in Houston, we received a filtered version of what this holiday was to African Americans; we knew just the basic facts. Companies wouldn't allow most of us to take this as a holiday, which was fine with me, because I didn't feel it was right for me to intrude. But it also gave way for comments from other people that it was a made up holiday. I didn't think so, because I knew the importance and just carried on with my life. However, I wanted to read more about Juneteenth; I wanted to dive into everything surrounding before, during, and after. And I would only read from a Texas born author who grew up celebrating this holiday.
I will say that this is a very short book and only two chapters really talk about Juneteenth. This is why the book got four stars from me. Otherwise, I would have given it five stars. Annette Gordan-Reed is a really great writer and the stories of her personal life mixed so perfectlly with the history that she told. She was spot on about how we learned Texas History; it wasn't about slavery. Even with the short amount of pages, I did learn quite a lot. I only wished either the book was longer or it just focused on Juneteenth, because I still didn't feel like I was there if that makes sense. I did learn more about the Freedom Bureau and I didn't realize General Howard was the creator of Howard University.
With that, I highly recommend this book, especially about Texas history when it comes to well, everything. It's a quick read, but you get enough to burst the bubble. And you will learn some more about Juneteenth that you haven't before.
I will say that this is a very short book and only two chapters really talk about Juneteenth. This is why the book got four stars from me. Otherwise, I would have given it five stars. Annette Gordan-Reed is a really great writer and the stories of her personal life mixed so perfectlly with the history that she told. She was spot on about how we learned Texas History; it wasn't about slavery. Even with the short amount of pages, I did learn quite a lot. I only wished either the book was longer or it just focused on Juneteenth, because I still didn't feel like I was there if that makes sense. I did learn more about the Freedom Bureau and I didn't realize General Howard was the creator of Howard University.
With that, I highly recommend this book, especially about Texas history when it comes to well, everything. It's a quick read, but you get enough to burst the bubble. And you will learn some more about Juneteenth that you haven't before.
adammuly's review against another edition
3.0
It’s not that this book was bad, poorly written, or void of any interesting historical narratives. The main problem for me was that it seemed a bit disjointed. Also, it may have been a fault of my own for not looking into the content more thoroughly beforehand, but it turned out to be more of a brief history of Texas than a history of Juneteenth. It did cover Juneteenth some, but minimally, especially for such a short book. Not a bad read, but not a fantastic one either.
bexduck's review against another edition
5.0
This is a quick but powerful read. I listened to it I one sitting. The author supplies the reader with vignettes of her life that relate to the complicated history of the formation of Texas with reviews of Blackness and indigeneity. It's packed with history and then guidance on how to love a place with a complicated history. I recommend for everyone!
amh007's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Well-written and informative. Wish there had been even more about the history of African Americans in 19th c Texas.
omegabeth's review against another edition
5.0
Such a great writer, combining memoir and history and bringing to light history that I feel like I should have known…
lsparrow's review against another edition
3.0
A historical look at Juneteenth from a black texan perspective. I do not know a lot of details of more southern history - just wide brush strokes so this book held a lot of details critical look at how history has been presented.
slichto3's review against another edition
4.0
On Juneteenth is insightful, engaging, and fascinating. It blends personal stories and historical stories in way that strengthens both. It includes essays about the author and their experience in Texas and around Juneteenth, and then about the history of Texas, Juneteenth, and America in general. I'd recommend it.