Efforts to educate on the importance of Juneteenth continue at the youngest ages.

Congressmember Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-37th) hosted a Juneteenth Book Reading for kids at the Julian Dixon Library in Culver City on Thursday. She was joined by Culver City Unified School District Board Member Triston Ezidore and Los Angeles County Library Director Skye Patrick to read books to young children in attendance.

Juneteenth is a very young holiday having only been recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, but its roots trace back to Civil War America. Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, the day that Union troops arrived in Texas — the westernmost state in the Confederacy — and ordered the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation signed into law two and a half years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln. Many enslaved Americans were unaware they had been freed.

Kamlager-Dove read “A Flag for Juneteenth” by Kim Taylor to kids seated on a colorful mat in the library. The book tells the story of a young girl named Huldah and the community of slaves she lives with on a plantation in Texas the day before soldiers arrived. Huldah and her community get to celebrate freedom and her birthday on the same day, culminating with the young girl receiving her own freedom flag knitted by the community she had been tied to.

Along the way, she was sure to ask questions and engage the kids — many of whom were still too young to read themselves — to ensure they could explain why they felt Juneteenth was important to recognize. 

“Juneteenth is a very important holiday,” Kamlager-Dove told the kids in attendance. “It’s a very important day for Black people.”

Ezidore was the next to engage the kids in attendance, reading “Juneteenth for Mazie” by Floyd Cooper. Juneteenth for Mazie brings us back to the present day, set in the perspective of a young girl named Mazie learning about Juneteenth and why kids like her need to understand what the holiday is about.

Before reading the story, Ezidore made a few comments explaining the importance of Juneteenth and educating the youth about the holiday. He pointed out that differing political views in other states have prevented kids from finding resources like the books being read that could educate them about Juneteenth.

“We are here to talk about American history, we are here to talk about Black history, and we are here to talk about all the stuff that other kids across the country may not have access to,” Ezidore said. “Here in Culver City, in Los Angeles County, and in California, we are doing that work.”

Director Patrick brought her daughter up to read the final book of the event: “They Built Me For Freedom” by Tonya Duncan Ellis. It tells the story of Juneteenth not from the perspective of a young girl or former, but through the evolution of Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas, and the people who visit it.

As the representative of the library, Patrick professed the importance of the act of reading, and that even the attempt to put the information together in a book was beneficial for the kids in the audience.

“Reading is so important, and it almost doesn’t matter the subject,” Patrick said. “As long as you are reading by yourself, reading with your children…it’s not so important that they are understanding what they are reading as it is that they are trying to read.”

Photo by the author.