Chapters 1, 2 and 3 Summary

Juneteenth is Ralph Ellison's novel about civil rights and racism issues in the early to mid-twentieth century. The book's title stems from the June 19, 1865, notification to slaves in Texas concerning the emancipation of slaves. In actuality, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was issued in January of 1863, two and a half years prior to this notification. "Juneteenth" is the slang term assigned by the Negro people of that time to mark the inaccuracy and injustice of the delayed information.

As the novel begins, a group of elderly, southern Negroes arrives in Washington, D.C. on a mission to see Senator Adam Sunraider. The group led my Reverend A.Z. Hickman waits patiently in the Senator's office, while the secretary explains that the Senator is not available and cannot be seen without an appointment. Reverend Hickman tries to impress upon the young woman that the...