Trigger warning: This article and the books recommended within it contain discussions of racism, slavery, incarceration, and addiction. Please exercise personal care while reading.
On June 19th, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, liberating thousands of Black Americans from enslavement. Juneteenth has since become an important holiday for Black American communities throughout the country, commemorating this important milestone. It provides an opportunity to not only celebrate the achievements of Black Americans but to honor centuries of resilience and survival amid oppression.
Our memoir selections for this week’s Three to Read speak to the power of family connections. They’re about reclaiming your roots, taking pride in your history, and forging a hopeful future through love. In our opinion, they embody the spirit of Juneteenth.
HOT PICK
From These Roots: My Fight with Harvard to Reclaim My Legacy by Tamara Lanier
SUMMARY:
Growing up, Tamara Lanier learned about her enslaved ancestors from her mother, who urged Lanier to investigate her history. One ancestor held particular significance: Papa Renty, an African-born man who taught himself and others to read English. Shortly after her mother’s death, Lanier discovered a 19th-century photograph of an enslaved man named Renty, held at the Harvard University Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. The image, an old-fashioned print known as a daguerreotype, is one of the oldest known photographs of an enslaved person.
Determined to prove her connection to Renty — and her claim to his photos — Lanier embarked on a journey through time. As she butted heads with Harvard and their lawyers, she realized her fight was bigger than herself. From These Roots documents Lanier’s extensive research into her past, her legal battles with Harvard, and ultimately, her pursuit of justice.
WHY:
Lanier’s battle with Harvard represents Black Americans’ long, ongoing fight to reclaim ownership of their own histories. No repatriation system currently exists to reunite descendants of enslaved Americans with artifacts of their ancestors. As a result, many of these artifacts — sometimes including human remains — continue to be gatekept by largely white-led institutions.
From These Roots showcases the emotional, deeply personal task of recovering a history that has become fragmented and muddled through decades of forced displacement and separation. “So many people like me are out there trying to piece their families back together,” Lanier told ProPublica in 2023. “There is always this yearning. You’re driven to keep digging and keep searching.”
BEACH READS
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson
SUMMARY:
For poet Crystal Wilkinson, cooking is not a solitary act. Every time she steps into her kitchen, she carries the history, techniques, and presence of the Appalachian women in her family who came before her. In a combination memoir-cookbook featuring 40 of her family’s recipes, Wilkinson pays homage to these kitchen ghosts. Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts provides a delectable taste of family history, from corn pudding and chicken and dumplings to jam cake and biscuits. Each dish is a testament to five generations’ worth of hard labor, survival, and most importantly, joy.
WHY:
Wilkinson’s book spotlights the overlooked community of Black Appalachia, or Affrilachia, and their contributions to US cuisine. Her lyrical, lushly detailed narration seamlessly interweaves each dish with the stories behind it, combining Wilkinson and her family’s memories with research into their ancestors. And if her descriptions aren’t tantalizing enough, the full-color photos accompanying each recipe are sure to do the trick. You’ll want to race to your kitchen to recreate them — and, perhaps, to bond with your own kitchen ghosts.
DARK HORSE
Mama: A Queer Black Woman’s Story of a Family Lost and Found by Nikkya Hargrove
SUMMARY:
When Nikkya Hargrove’s mother, who was addicted to cocaine and spent much of her life in and out of prison, passed away, she left behind a newborn son. Hargrove, fresh out of college and still grieving, made a life-changing decision: She would raise him herself. In this moving memoir, she chronicles her journey to build a better life for herself and her half-brother, Jonathan.
Over the years, Hargrove witnesses the dehumanization her mother experiences during her incarceration, empathizing with her even as she wrestles with her absence. She fights tirelessly for Jonathan, clashing with his birth father and advocating for his education needs as a neurodivergent student. But through it all, she also finds love, both in caring for Jonathan and in meeting her eventual wife, Dinushka.
WHY:
It is difficult to process the colossal impact that mass incarceration and the war on drugs have had on families. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, over 1.25 million children have a parent in state prison. Hargrove provides an emotional personal account of how the US carceral justice system impacts families, particularly those whose loved ones struggle with addiction. An unflinching and at times challenging read, Mama demonstrates Hargrove’s remarkable determination to break the cycle. Ultimately, it’s a story of healing and a testament to the power of love.
That’s it for this week’s Three to Read! We’ll be back next week with more awesome new reads for your TBR.
Want to learn more about Juneteenth and Black history? Click here for our recommended reads.
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