THE NIGHT BEFORE FREEDOM

A Black family gathers on Juneteenth.

David’s family has joined relatives to celebrate the holiday in Galveston, Texas. After the parades, speeches, food, and music, the culminating activity is David’s grandmother’s telling the story of her grandmother Mom Bess and the events that came to be known as Juneteenth. The rumors that freedom was coming for enslaved people finally came true with the arrival of a White soldier on horseback who read the Emancipation Proclamation. Bess, who was 6 at the time, did not understand until her mother explained what freedom meant. The newly freed began to plan what they would do next. Bess’ parents started to work for wages, eventually purchasing land and providing an opportunity for Bess to get an education. The afterword explains that although President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to take effect Jan. 1, 1863, enslaved people in Texas did not learn of the change in their status until June 19, 1865. For years some states celebrated the holiday. In June 2021, President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday. Armand uses the same meter as Clement C. Moore’s “ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” evoking the same anticipation—in this case for freedom. Infused with movement, Barksdale’s lively, fluid colorful, acrylic, oil, and pastel watercolor pencil illustrations complement the rhythmic text that centers family and story. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A jubilant combination of verse and illustration that captures this momentous historical event.