JMC
The Long Road to Juneteenth
Join us on Wednesday, June 18 at 3:00 p.m. ET for a conversation with Robert K.D. Colby about his award-winning book, An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South. Colby reveals how and why the domestic slave trade endured through the Civil War—and how its eventual collapse paved the way for emancipatory celebrations like Juneteenth. JMC’s own resident historian and manager of network engagement, Elliott Drago, will moderate.
As the oldest nationally recognized holiday commemorating emancipation, Juneteenth reflects America’s long and often difficult pursuit of its founding ideals—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet how well do we as Americans understand the Civil War roots and historical origins of this day?
We’ll ask: who were some of these slave traders, and how did the slave trade function during the war? What effects did the slave trade have on major Southern cities? How did Black Americans resist the slave trade during the war, and how did their efforts impact the overall Confederate war effort? Which primary sources help us contextualize the end of the slave trade and the fraught realities Black Americans faced after the war?
Professor Colby’s insights shed light on the turbulent realities of the slave trade, deepening our understanding of Juneteenth’s significance and enduring power as a national holiday.