Skokie Public Library: Celebrating And Reflecting On Juneteenth

Press release from Skokie Public Library:

June 7, 2021

We join the community and Skokie United, Skokie Park District, and the Village of Skokie in Skokie’s first Juneteenth community celebration: 

View more information at skokieunited.com. 

We also have ways to read, watch, listen, and discuss this month, such as the Zoom into the Movies discussion of Miss Juneteenth, which was included in our Black Joy on Screen movie list. Take a look at our reading lists for adults:

For more background on Juneteenth, read The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth from the National Museum of African American History and Culture and Growing Up with Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed for The New Yorker. Or watch This Is Why Juneteenth Is Important for America by The Root.

Examine the history behind the Skokie’s 1967 Fair Housing ordinance in our online exhibit, Fair Housing in Skokie, 1961-1971. There are many potential stories to tell about Skokie’s Fair Housing ordinance and the history of Black families in the community; this exhibit is structured around the materials in the library’s digital collection, Fair Housing in Skokie, 1961-1971 Digital Archive. This collection includes the unpublished memoir of the late Gwen Fortune, submitted to our archives with her son’s blessing by her editor, Barbara Clearbridge. This archive also includes records from the collections of both Don Perille and the Skokie Historical Society.

This press release was produced by Skokie Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.