Lessons from the Stacks: To Make Public Our Joy

Long before Juneteenth became a federal holiday, Black New Yorkers were debating how best to celebrate emancipation.

Join NYPL’s Center for Educators and Schools for a workshop that explores , a free curriculum guide focused on 19th-century emancipation celebrations in New York City. Working with primary sources, educators will examine how Black Americans celebrated hard-fought victories, including the abolition of the international trade in humans in 1808, the abolition of slavery in New York State in 1827, and eventually national emancipation in 1865. 

The workshop invites participants to consider celebration itself as a historical source—and to explore how joy, resistance, and commemoration can anchor meaningful classroom inquiry.

Eligible NY State educators can receive 1.5 CTLE credit hours for participating in this session. Light snacks will be provided.

This workshop is part of Lessons from the Stacks, a multi-part professional learning series that invites educators to explore New York City and U.S. history through NYPL’s collections. Each session explores a different resource from NYPL’s curriculum guides, which highlight various historical case studies using primary sources from the Library’s research collections.

Educators are encouraged to attend multiple sessions to build a broader picture of how archival materials can support historical thinking, research, and classroom inquiry across topics and time periods.

For more information about , visit us online and subscribe to our monthly newsletter—plus, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or X! For any questions, reach out to [email protected]

PUBLIC NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING | Programs are photographed and recorded by the New York Public Library. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS | Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to [email protected]. Please note that professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

ACCESSIBILITY | You may request ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing [email protected] at least two weeks in advance of the event.

This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher The New York Public Library