Juneteenth—the commemoration of the day the last enslaved people were freed, albeit two years after the Emancipation Proclamation—is a day to honor stories of emancipation.Through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry these authors share hope and heartbreak and, most of all, a commitment to truth as a path toward freedom.Clockwise from the bottom left:

Crystal Wilkinson | author of Perfect Black
Donna Hemans | author of Tea by the Sea
Frank X Walker | author of Masked Man, Black
Jeffrey Blount | author of The Emancipation of Evan Wells
Victoria Christopher Murray | co-author of Personal Librarian
Bernice McFadden | author of The Book of Harlan