Juneteenth, first celebrated June 19, 1866, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Now a national holiday, Juneteenth commemorates African-American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement.

National University of Health Sciences’ (NUHS’) Black Naturopathic Medical Student Association (BNMSA) is sponsoring a “Juneteenth Series Week” June 21 through June 24 to spotlight the holiday. Events include a video presentation, a trivia contest, music and games at Lake Janse and Zumba & Lunch.

NUHS’ James F. Winterstein Library (the Library) is joining in commemoration by highlighting how enslaved people contributed their medical knowledge to the greater good, advanced our use of botanical medicine, and were subjected to unethical medical experimentation that advanced modern medicine.

For educators and those wanting to learn more about Juneteenth and the medical and ethical legacy of how enslaved individuals were once treated, the Library offers a list of impactful reading and reference resources.

Well researched, yet little known topics of interest include those on the history of past medical studies and the study of eugenics, as well as compelling and inspirational information about James McCune Smith, an abolitionist, educator, and the first African-American to hold a medical degree.

A display table in the Library features hands-on titles available for check out: African-American Folk Healing, by Stephanie Y. Mitchem; African-American Slave Medicine: Herbal and Non-Herbal Treatments, by Herbert C. Covey; Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present, by Harriet A. Washington; Working the Roots – Over 400 years of Traditional African-American Healing, by Michelle E. Lee and In the Shadow of Slavery: Africa’s Botanical Legacy in the Atlantic World, by Judith Ann Carney.

For more information on library resources, including an extensive list of articles, contact NUHS’ James F. Winterstein Library at [email protected], or 630-889-6617.