Juneteenth is coming up, and CSUN librarian Nery Alcivar-Estrella has put together a standout collection of materials to help everyone dive into the history, meaning and spirit of the holiday.
CSUN Newsroom reached out to Alcivar-Estrella for recommendations to learn more about the events around June 19, 1865. That’s when freedom finally reached the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and just a few months after the end of the Civil War.
Her list includes a variety of media that is part of the University Library collection, including a video documenting Juneteenth celebrations around the United States, an article about the significance of Juneteenth for the scientific community, a novel and a variety of other works. You can find her recommendations at the end of this article.
Alcivar-Estrella is the Ethnic Studies Librarian in the University Library and currently covers Africana Studies, Chicana/o Studies and Central American and Transborder Studies, while her colleagues handle Asian American Studies and American Indian Studies.
Alcivar-Estrella spoke with CSUN Newsroom about her recommendations for Juneteenth and her role.
(The conversation has been edited for length and clarity)
CSUN Newsroom: You provided a variety of materials. Do you have a favorite?
Alcivar-Estrella: I’ve recommended a few to faculty members in Africana studies, but one of my favorite ones is an ebook, “Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration”.
It’s technically considered to be the first scholarly book that delves into the history and the celebrations of Juneteenth. And that’s kind of mind blowing, because it was recently published in 2021. This coincided at the time when Biden made the holiday official. The book really breaks down how the Civil War, emancipation, and African American history is all intersected and connected, and it showcases how the celebrations and the history itself is an expression of equality and an Independence Day in its own right. So, it’s a really empowering text. It’s not filled with academic jargon that would cause any barriers for people to really get through it. So that’s why I think it’s my favorite one.
CN: What’s your criteria for creating reading lists? What are the things you have to consider when you are curating material for a wide audience?
A-E: Sometimes I make physical book displays, for Black History Month, for instance, and other times I have to make blogs with virtual reading lists. I think most academic libraries are kind of pushing towards ebooks right now. So, if I want relevant or contemporary texts for a physical book display, I have some challenges there.
Ethnic Studies is inherently interdisciplinary, meaning that it draws from and integrates different forms of knowledge from different academic fields. So, as I curate a book display, or a virtual reading list, I try to integrate a wide span of academic disciplines, as well as a little bit of fiction or nonfiction. So, this can be really challenging, since a book list, or book display is not supposed to be exhaustive, but concise.
CN: Tell us more about your role as the Ethnic Studies Librarian.
A-E: Well, in some ways, being the Ethnic Studies Librarian is not so different than a traditional librarian. Some librarians are specialists in certain subjects [such as] social science or humanities or STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). So, like other librarians, my responsibilities are centered on reference work, instruction, and outreach. Librarians within the RIOS department (Research, Instruction and Outreach Services) are like liaisons to specific departments. So, mine would be Africana Studies, Chicana/o Studies and Central American and Trans-Border studies.
Alcivar-Estrella’s complete list for Juneteenth:
“Juneteenth Celebrations Across America” (video)
“Why Juneteenth Matters for Science” (article)
“Digital Juneteenth: Territorializing the Freedom Colony Diaspora” (article)
“Encountering Juneteenth: Cultivating Homeplace in the Face of Spectacular Violence” (article)
“Juneteenth : The Story Behind the Celebration” (ebook)
“Juneteenth Texas: Essays in African-American Folklore” (ebook)
