Source for Photo: -Danielle Smith, Keystone News Service, Caption for Photo: Abstract colorful background of Juneteenth National Independence Day: Credit for Photo: (reham/Adobe Stock)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Philadelphia, PA) A Pennsylvania literacy organization is commemorating the Juneteenth holiday by highlighting the history and contributions of Black people in the United States through literacy and artistic freedom. Books are vital to communities of color, according to Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, founder of the African American Children’s Book Project. She explains that before the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, it was against the law in some states for enslaved people and freed Black people to be educated. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a national holiday, which means federal and some local offices are closed, as well as banks and the U.S. Postal Service.