6 Inspiring Books to Read and Share at Juneteenth 2026

Juneteenth is now an annual celebration affirming that American freedom extends to everyone. 

And, freedom has always been bound up with the freedom to read, learn, remember, write, and connect.

Our entire community of authors and editors is proud that we have been including true stories by and about African Americans since our founding as a publishing house two decades ago. Today, we are highlighting just a half dozen of the many books we have published that exemplify our commitment.

First, there’s more background about this holiday in our 2026 Juneteenth column, which says in part:

Even though Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was dated January 1, 1863, official news and enforcement of slavery’s end took more than two years to spread across the former Confederacy. Today, the date June 19, 1865, is regarded as the end of slavery in America. That’s when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. While Black communities and their allies have held “Juneteenth” events for more than 150 years—the first official, nationwide observance of Juneteenth was not until 2021.

Then, here are 6 Inspiring Books for Juneteenth that span memoir, historical fiction, and practical guides to cultural understanding.

Read one on your own, share a stack with friends, or bring a few to your book club, congregation or community group.

Each one opens a door.

From our many books, here are 6 Inspiring Books for Juneteenth 2026

The Black Knight by Colonel Clifford Worthy

Few stories capture the long arc from slavery to freedom quite like this one. Retired Colonel Clifford Worthy is the oldest living Black graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the great-grandson of slaves.

Born in Atlanta and raised in Hamtramck, Michigan, he defied the odds at a time when West Point’s doors were all but closed to young African American men, then went on to a distinguished 22-year military career that took him from Cold War Germany to the front lines of Vietnam.

The Black Knight is also a tender family story, including Worthy’s devotion to his son Mark, who was born with developmental disabilities. It is a powerful Juneteenth read about courage, perseverance, faith, and what it truly means to be an American.

Like most of our books, The Black Knight is available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle versions as well.

Green Street in Black and White by Dave Larsen

For readers who want to understand how racial change actually unfolded in American neighborhoods, Dave Larsen’s coming-of-age novel is a vivid place to start.

Set in the Englewood community on Chicago’s south side in the early 1960s, it follows a boy and his friends, the Green Street Boys, through a summer of social upheaval marked by integration, white flight, and the simmering fears of the adults around them.

Drawing on real events from the author’s own childhood, Green Street in Black and White poignantly examines community, courage, and the need to face what we cannot ignore. It is also ideal for group discussion, and Larsen offers a free, downloadable discussion guide to spark conversation.

The Rev. Dr. Reginald Smith, a consultant helping congregations navigate transitions and crises, is one of many recommending Larsen’s book: “Dave Larsen’s novel takes us back to a very tumultuous time in the 1960s when our neighborhoods were changing, and millions of Americans feared that things were falling apart. But in many ways Dave’s book also is the story of our nation right now as fears are rising once again. What is so powerful about this novel is the way that Dave raises up characters so realistic that I clearly recognize them from my own neighborhood back in the ’60s. So, this is my story, too. And this is our story.” 

Not Just Black and White by Dr. Anni Reinking

Juneteenth invites honest reflection on race in our own lives, and Dr. Anni Reinking offers exactly that.

Part memoir and part invitation, Not Just Black and White tells the story of a white mother raising a Black son in multiracial America. Reinking, a researcher, scholar, and educator, writes candidly about her own stumbles and discoveries across cross-racial experiences, sharing her family’s life in the hope that it will foster learning, discussion, and growth.

Writer Christine Michel Carter, who specializes in working with black families and consumers, encourages readers to embrace Reinking’s fresh perspective in this book. “For years I have researched and written for the general public, advocating for equality, uncovering the challenges of black motherhood and revealing the many cultures that reside in our country,” Carter writes. “However, Dr. Anni is doing something I cannot: using stories of her own ignorance in hopes that it will push her colleagues outside of their own comfort boundaries and foster within them a place for growth and reflection.”

It is a family story for our time, and a generous starting point for readers ready to open up their own lives.

100 Questions and Answers About African Americans by the Michigan State University School of Journalism

Sometimes the path to understanding begins with simply asking the questions everyone has but no one seems to answer.

Part of MSU’s acclaimed Bias Busters series on cultural competence, this factual, easy-to-read guide covers identity, language, religion, culture, customs, economics, politics, education, work, families, and food.

It tackles questions such as which term is preferred, Black or African American, what the Great Migration was, why slavery has a lasting effect, and what reparations are.

It is an excellent resource for anyone in business, education, government, medicine, law enforcement, or journalism who wants quick, insightful, and respectful answers.

100 Questions and Answers about the Black Church by the Michigan State University School of Journalism

As TIME magazine once put it, to understand America you need to understand the Black Church.  

Forged in the furnace of segregation, the Black Church is a pillar of African American communities and a longstanding instrument of social change. This guide in the Bias Busters series explores why Black Churches were created, the roots of gospel music, Black Liberation Theology, the Black social gospel, and the church’s role in movements from civil rights to Black Lives Matter.

It connects readers to figures such as W. E. B. Du Bois, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Aretha Franklin, and Barack Obama.

For Juneteenth, 100 Questions and Answers about the Black Church is a window into one of the most enduring sources of strength and freedom in American life.

Friendship and Faith by the women of WISDOM

Real change often begins one relationship at a time. Friendship & Faith gathers dozens of true stories by women from a wide variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds, exploring how crossing lines of religion, race, and culture can form some of life’s deepest friendships.

Making a new friend can be tricky, as these stories honestly show, but it may be one of the most important things any of us can do to make the world a better place. It is a fitting Juneteenth read for anyone who believes we really can change the world one friend at a time.

A Season for Reading Together

Whatever draws you in, whether it is the sweep of one man’s remarkable life, a boy’s changing neighborhood, a mother’s honest reflections, or a set of questions you have always wanted to ask, these books offer a meaningful way to mark the day.

Pick one up, share it with someone, and let the conversation begin.