Celebrate and Honor Juneteenth with These Important Listens

Historian Dr. Rebecca Hall originally published Wake as a graphic novel and memoir, chronicling her journey to uncover the hidden and untold stories of women-led slave revolts. For this Audible exclusive, the book has been adapted into an audio dramatization by playwright and television writer Tyler English-Beckwith. It's performed by a full cast, including DeWanda Wise, Chanté Adams, and Bahni Turpin among the notable voices, and features music and sound effects by Jace Clayton. A unique and immersive listening experience, Wake skillfully transitions between Dr. Hall’s story of discovery and vivid historical vignettes of the women warriors she celebrates.

Malcolm X was one of the most prominent and powerful figures of the civil rights movement. A Muslim minister, he was extremely vocal in advocating for equality and opportunity for Black people in America. The autobiography chronicles the life of Malcolm X, as told to journalist Alex Haley by the civil rights leader and activist himself, over the course of a number of interviews from 1963 until his assassination in 1965. This particular edition, available exclusively on Audible, is performed with a powerful and dignified presence by actor Laurence Fishburne.

Ralph Ellison's Juneteenth begins with the shooting of Adam Sunraider—a senator known for race-baiting—in an assassination attempt during a speech at the US Capitol. While clinging to life in the hospital, Sunraider allows only one visitor: Reverend Alonzo Hickman who, as it turns out, raised Sunraider, an orphan then known as Bliss, like a son. How did Bliss, the chosen child of a Black preacher, grow up to become a politician spouting racist views? Through the two men’s conversations, various truths of their complex, intertwined pasts are slowly revealed. In audio, narrator Joe Morton provides a beautifully rich performance of this stunning novel.

The racial history of Texas, the birthplace of Juneteenth, is explored in this Pulitzer Prize–winning title. A Texas native and descendant of enslaved people, historian Annette Gordon-Reed reflects on her personal experiences growing up in the state to highlight society’s continued fallibility in regards to race. Both sweeping and concise, On Juneteenth is an accessible yet profound listen, narrated by Karen Chilton.

Between 1915 and 1970, more than six million African Americans moved from the South into northern and western cities across the USA. In The Warmth of Other Suns, acclaimed journalist Isabel Wilkerson provides a definitive, in-depth account of the Great Migration. Wilkerson interviewed more than a thousand people and accessed countless official records for her landmark work, which follows three individuals in particular to tell the story of this mass exodus and its role in changing and shaping this country. Though this audiobook closes in at nearly 23 hours, listeners will remain mesmerized, thanks to the talented voice of Hall of Fame narrator Robin Miles.

Originally published in 1903, The Souls of Black Folk is an essay collection from sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois that has become a seminal work on both race and sociology. It is here wherein Du Bois coined the term “double consciousness” as well as his metaphor of the veil that Black Americans wear, both ideas that illustrate how the racist, white-centering society of the United States has forced Black people to view both themselves and the world with a unique hyperawareness. Walter Covell narrates this edition, bringing life and spirit to Du Bois’s wise and still relevant words.

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, Olio is a collection that reinterprets the real experiences of a number of first-generation freed enslaved Africans who lived into the early 20th century. The Audible Original Olio Live is a beautiful recording of a special live performance of select poems from the collection, focusing on Black musicians. The performance, which took place at the Minetta Lane Theater in New York City in February 2019, features a wonderful cast of actors accompanied by the pianist Jeremy Gill, embodying the tradition of music as fundamental to Black history and culture.

In 1864, Ebenezer Creek, located in Georgia, was the site of a horrific incident: the drowning of many newly freed enslaved people who had joined Sherman’s March to the Sea, hoping to make it to safety. Tonya Bolden's historical YA novel sheds light on this event through the story of Mariah and Caleb, two young people who meet on the march and begin daring to dream of a bright future and happy life. However, the reality of their circumstances proves to be harsh and even tragic, as the perilous march continues toward Ebenezer Creek. Narrator Robin Eller beautifully captures the complex tone of this story, in all its hope and hardship.

Narrated by the excellent J.D. Jackson, Be Free or Die by Cate Lineberry tells the incredible true story of Robert Smalls, an enslaved man who escaped to freedom with his wife, children, and a small crew by commandeering a Confederate ship and turning it over to Union forces. Smalls later served in a number of naval campaigns as a civilian ship captain, and his actions eventually led to the acceptance of Black soldiers in the Union Army, where he served as the first ever Black captain of an Army ship.

Four Hundred Souls, to quote its subtitle, is an epic “community history of African America.” Editors Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain gathered 90 different writers, each of whom wrote on a specific five-year period within the timespan of 1619 to 2019. What results is an incredibly diverse and kaleidoscopic look at these 400 years, with each voice approaching their piece of history in a unique and personal way. Reflecting the varied nature of the writing, the audiobook is performed by a huge cast, including talents as renowned as Phylicia Rashad and Samira Wiley.

The acclaimed ReVisioning History series is an ongoing collection of books by eminent scholars that reinterpret US history from diverse, intersectional perspectives. In this installment, award-winning historians Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross focus on the stories of a diversity of Black women, from colonial times to today, to demonstrate the complexities of their lives, their remarkable strength and spirit, and their significant impact on shaping communities across the country. Janina Edwards lends her voice to this rich exploration of Black womanhood and America.

The Wanjiru are the water-breathing, ocean-dwelling descendants of pregnant African women thrown overboard over the course of the transatlantic slave trade. Their historian, Yetu carries all the traumatic memories of her people alone, while everyone else in the community lives peacefully with no knowledge of their past. When the weight of all the pain grows to be too much for Yetu, she eventually swims up to the surface to escape—and finds a whole new world with challenges and promises of its own. Strikingly original and affecting, The Deep draws its inspiration from a song of the same name by the rap group Clipping, led by Daveed Diggs—who narrates the audiobook.

At 19, Amanda Gorman was named the first ever National Youth Poet Laureate; at 22, she became the youngest inaugural poet. Gorman’s powerful and radiant poetry captures moments of grief and crisis and remolds them to convey a message of unity, hope, and healing. This collection, read by Gorman herself, includes “The Hill We Climb,” the poem she memorably recited at the January 2021 inauguration of President Biden, alongside many other innovative and compelling pieces.

I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too, famously said Josephine Baker, at the 1963 March on Washington. Inspired by these words, MacArthur Genius Hanif Abdurraqib has put together this collection of brilliant and profound essays about Black performance. Abdurraqib explores performances of all types, from the songs of Patti LaBelle and the Wu-Tan Clan to the comedy of Dave Chappelle to schoolyard fistfights, to reveal the ways in which such acts of expression resonate in American politics and culture. J.D. Jackson lends his exceptional narrative voice to A Little Devil in America, enriching the author's acute insights and personal reflections.

After escaping from slavery, Frederick Douglass became a leader of the abolitionist movement. Famed as a skilled orator (he visited Lincoln’s White House three times, once unannounced), Douglass spoke widely, not only throughout the United States but also in Ireland and Great Britain, and wrote three autobiographies. In the second of these, My Bondage and My Freedom, he recounts the inhumane treatment and oppression he endured while enslaved. Douglass ultimately demands for the unconditional emancipation of all African Americans, examining the toll of such injustice on society in general. The weight and vigor of Douglass’s words come to life in this audio edition, skillfully performed by the always excellent J.D. Jackson.

In one of the latest kid-friendly offerings in Who HQ’s What Was? series, author Kirsti Jewel introduces our newest federal holiday in a way that young listeners will easily understand and connect with. Read by Adenrele Ojo, What Is Juneteenth? provides an overview of the American history that led to the creation of Juneteenth and shares stories of how the long-awaited news of freedom has been celebrated by African Americans over the decades.

Opal Lee, known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” is an activist who worked in the movement to get Juneteenth recognized as a federal holiday. This gorgeous audiobook, written by Alice Faye Duncan and read by Hall of Fame narrator Bahni Turpin, celebrates Opal’s life and legacy while telling the inspiring true story of her fight for recognition and justice.

When assigned a family tree project, a young student is unable to trace back her family beyond three generations. Her grandmother gathers the family and tells the story of how their ancestors, 400 years ago, were stolen from their homes and stripped of their heritage by white slave traders. Part of the 1619 Project, Born on the Water is a lyrical and thoughtful book about the long-term consequences of slavery and the little-known triumphs of Black resistance. Written by Newberry Honor winner Renée Watson and Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, who also narrates, this story asks young listeners to reflect on the importance of personal history and identity within the context of history.

Juneteenth for Mazie by Floyd Cooper is a short, celebratory overview of Juneteenth that would be an excellent introductory pick, especially for younger children. The audio version, narrated by Rhett Samuel Price and Tyla Collier, is read at a deliberate, unhurried pace, allowing the listener to really savor each word, and also includes a wonderful, breezy musical score underneath.

Addy Walker is a nine-year-old growing up enslaved during the Civil War. After her father and brother are sold to a different plantation, Addy and her mother decide to take the daunting risk of escaping to freedom in the North—and make the agonizing sacrifice of leaving Addy's baby sister behind. In Philadelphia, Addy and Momma try to make a new life for themselves, as well as bring their splintered family back together any way they can. Addy learns that though she may have finally gained freedom, it doesn’t come without a cost. Cynthia Adams narrates this classic American Girl tale, written by Connie Porter, with heart and warmth.