It's true! The history of African Americans is hurtful and ugly. Yet, there is no American history without the history of African Americans. Our history has specific purposes. African-Americans commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States every June 19th for Juneteenth. Slavery did not end with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The 13th Amendment officially ended slavery in the United States in 1865. It took two additional years for African-Americans to learn about their freedom in Texas. From the front cover to the end cover, you will learn about the history of African-Americans leaving their native land of Africa to journey to the New World. Black people spent years coping with unfavorable situations and conditions. Reading about our history requires one to infer due to sensory language. Conversation can begin with history and be extended using comprehension questions, thought clouds, and vocabulary from the book.