... if this book is a departure for [Gordon-Reed], it’s still guided by the humane skepticism that has animated her previous work.

... she offers a thoughtful and affectionate meditation on the state in which, despite its dualities, she still feels most at home. Where others might see a simple picture of unreconstructed racism, Gordon-Reed sees — and dissects — complexities that largely defy stereotypes. In so doing, she makes On Juneteenth an important part of the discussion about who and what we are as 21st-century Americans.

... written on a smaller and more personal scale than [Gordon-Reed's] previous work, but it is no less powerful. Gordon-Reed’s essays seamlessly merge history and memoir into a complex portrait of her beloved, turbulent Texas, revealing new truths about a state that, more than any other, embodies all the virtues and faults of America..

Like the story of Juneteenth itself, the history she tells is one of yarns woven, dark truths glossed over and freedom delayed.

...  a perfectly quilted work of American history framed by the stories of Black Americans in Texas. Through a mix of memoir, analysis, and seldom-shared stories, historian and Harvard law professor Annette Gordon-Reed stitches a clear image of the economic and political reality of slavery in the Lone Star State.

As Juneteenth morphs from a primarily Texan celebration of African American freedom to a proposed national holiday, Gordon-Reed urges Texans and all Americans to reflect critically on this tangled history. A remarkable meditation on the history and folk mythology of Texas from an African American perspective..

This beautifully written memoir makes the case that the history of Black Texas is central to the history of the United States. Gordon-Reed’s writing will move all readers of U.S. history..

As Gordon-Reed amply shows in this smooth combination of memoir, essay, and history, such racism is by no means a thing of the past, even as Juneteenth has come to be celebrated by all of Texas and throughout the U.S..

... immersive and well-informed.