Ben Waber reviewed On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed
A Deeply Personal History of Texas
5 stars
Gordon-Reed poignantly covers Texas history, starting with her own experience growing up in the state and drawing from the territory's history and that of the US from its founding until the modern day to paint a picture of its relationship with race. While Juneteenth is ironically only covered briefly, this book instead provides a rich historic backdrop to contextualize that moment and more recent Texan history, particularly around the oppression and marginalization of Black people. Highly recommend
Gordon-Reed poignantly covers Texas history, starting with her own experience growing up in the state and drawing from the territory's history and that of the US from its founding until the modern day to paint a picture of its relationship with race. While Juneteenth is ironically only covered briefly, this book instead provides a rich historic backdrop to contextualize that moment and more recent Texan history, particularly around the oppression and marginalization of Black people. Highly recommend