Washington and Lee University Library
Check-out-able Print Books
Below are a selection of books about Juneteenth and emancipation in America--non-fiction, fiction, and primary sources. To search W&L's full holdings, use the W&L library catalog.
W&L University Library is open to current W&L students and staff/faculty members only. All other library users may borrow books through our outdoor pick-up service. Send desired titles and call numbers to library@wlu.edu. Requested books will be available for pickup at Leyburn Library within two business days.
If any items are currently checked out, email library@wlu.edu to receive notification of availability.
African-American Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations
Non-fiction.
Call Number: Leyburn Library Lower Level 3: GT4803.A2 .A37 2019ISBN: 9780780816053Publication Date: 2019-09-17
An African American and Latinx History of the United States by
Non-fiction
Call Number: Leyburn Level 2: E184.S75 O79 2018ISBN: 9780807013106Publication Date: 2018-01-30
A Black Women's History of the United States by
... Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross offer an examination and celebration of Black womanhood, beginning with the first African women who arrived in what became the United States to African American women of today. A Black Women's History of the United States reaches far beyond a single narrative to showcase Black women's lives in all their fraught complexities ...
Call Number: E185.86 .B475 2020ISBN: 9780807033555Publication Date: 2020
Civil Rights Since 1787 by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E184.6 .C595 2000ISBN: 9780814782491Publication Date: 2000-06-01Collection of Primary Sources with Secondary Analysis.
The Emancipation Proclamation by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E453 .H645 2006ISBN: 9780807131442Publication Date: 2006-05-01Non-fiction
Envisioning Emancipation by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E185.2 .W68 2013ISBN: 9781439909850Publication Date: 2012-12-05Non-fiction
The Fire Next Time by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E185.61 .B195Publication Date: 1963Includes section: "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation"
Four Hundred Souls by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E185 .F625 2021ISBN: 9780593134047Publication Date: 2021-02-02Non-fiction
Freedom on My Mind by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E184.6 .F74 2003ISBN: 9780231108904Publication Date: 2003-07-10Collection of Primary Sources.
Ida: a Sword among Lions by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E185.97.W55 G53 2008ISBN: 9780060519216Publication Date: 2008-03-11Non-fiction. Biography.
Jubilee by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E185 .D63 2002ISBN: 0792269829Publication Date: 2003-02-01Non-fiction
Juneteenth by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 4: PS3555.L625 J86 1999ISBN: 9780394464572Publication Date: 1999-05-29Fiction.
Letters from Black America by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E184.6 .L49 2009ISBN: 9780374101091Publication Date: 2009-02-03Collection of Primary Sources.
On Juneteenth by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E185.93.T4 G67 2021ISBN: 9781631498848Publication Date: 2021-05-04Non-fiction
*On order: email library@wlu.edu to receive notification of availability.
Race and National Power by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E184.6 .C595 2000ISBN: 9780415802819Publication Date: 2010-07-14Collection of Primary Sources.
The Souls of Black Folk by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E185.6 .D797 1998; several editions/printings availableISBN: 1560005246Publication Date: 1998-05-31Non-fiction, collection of 14 essays.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E184.A1 R49 2020ISBN: 9780316453691Publication Date: 2020-03-10Juvenile.
Stamped from the Beginning by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E185.61 .K358 2016ISBN: 9781568584638Publication Date: 2016-04-12Non-Fiction
Stony the Road by Call Number: Leyburn Lower Level 2: E185.61 .G253 2019ISBN: 9780525559535Publication Date: 2019-04-02Non-fiction.
*On order: email library@wlu.edu to receive notification of availability.
Materials from Special Collections & Archives
Special Collections preserves local, historical primary sources as well as locally produced secondary sources, like papers authored by members of the Rockbridge Historical Society.
To research local Black history and geneology, email Tom Camden (camdent@wlu.edu) or Seth Goodhart (goodharts@wlu.edu) in Special Collections & Archives.
A Selection of Primary Sources:
- Brady Contracts.
- This is a collection of contracts between a local businessman, D.C.E. Brady and several freedmen in 1867. Each contract includes the name, position, and wage of the employee along with other details such as food rations, housing information, and allowance to keep hogs. The original copies of the contracts are part of the Brady Family Papers in the Rockbridge Historical Society Archival Collections housed in Special Collections.
- Lexington Gazette.
- Special Collections has a selection of physical copies of the Lexington Gazette from this era and the University Library has the entire run on microfilm. One specific example of content about emancipated people is the May 27, 1865 issue. To improve access to information within the newspaper, Special Collections is creating an index of content related to Black individuals in the Lexington Gazette which researchers may request to use in-house. Contact Special Collections for more information about the index and use of the physical newspapers.
- Poague Agricultural Account Book.
- Special Collections has an account book from the Poague family that includes financial information about the shift from using enslaved labor to paid labor in the aftermath of the Civil War. People may come to Special Collections to request the use of this item for research.