Black History Month is observed annually in February to recognize and celebrate the achievements and contributions of the Black community.
Photo credit: PhotoQuest/Getty Images
Atlanta, GA January 15, 1929 - Assassinated Memphis, TN April 4, 1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister and activist who fought against racial inequality. King was a proponent of nonviolence and peaceful protest. His main goal is to achieve racial equality peacefully. He went down in history as a hero and one of the most influential leaders in the world. He advocated for peaceful approaches to some of society’s biggest problems. He also was instrumental in the Memphis destination workers strike, Montgomery bus boycott, and the March on Washington.
Source: https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-martin-luther-king-jr
Photo credit: https://achievement.org/achiever/rosa-parks/
Tuskegee, AL February 4, 1913 - Detroit, MI October 24, 2005
Parks is known most for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, which inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This boycott brought about the ruling by the Supreme Court that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional. She is called the mother of the civil rights movement. She became involved in the Civil rights movement as early as December 1943. She was elected as a secretary and organized “The Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor” it’s now known by the Chicago Defender as “the strongest campaigns for equal justice.”
Source: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rosa-parks-ignites-bus-boycot
Photo credit: Gado/Gado via Getty Images
Dorchester County, MD March 6, 1820 - Auburn, NY March 10, 1913
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery and spent 11 years guiding other enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad as a “conductor.” Tubman was also a spy, scout, nurse, and soldier during the Civil War for the Union Army. Between 1850 and 1860, Tubman made over a dozen journeys across the Mason-Dixon line, guiding family and friends from slavery to freedom. During this time, her captaincy earned her the nickname “Moses," after the religious leader. During a ten-year span she made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom. The song, " Stand up" by Cynthia Ervivo is inspired by Tubman.
Source: https://www.nsls.org/blog/african-american-leaders-in-history
Photo credit: The Stanley Weston Archive/Getty Images
January 31, 1919 - October 24, 1972
As a player for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson was the first African American professional baseball player in U.S. Major League Baseball. After he retired, Robinson was dedicated to civil rights activism and worked to raise money for both the National Association for the Advancement of colored people (NAACP) and Southern Christian Leadership Conference. (SCLC) Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in MLB in 1947, won the NL MVP in 1949. By that standard, few people -- and no athlete -- in the 20th century has impacted more lives. Robinson lit the torch and passed it on to several generations of African-American athletes.
Sources: https://www.nsls.org/blog/african-american-leaders-in-history, https://jackierobinson.com/
Photo credit: The White House
August 4, 1961 - Present
Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States. He was the very first African American president. He served two terms and made several accomplishments. Obama worked to strengthen the economy during a global financial crisis, championed healthcare reform with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his efforts to improve international relations. He took steps to create jobs, rescue the auto industry, and rebuild the economy on a new foundation for growth and prosperity.
Source: https://www.nsls.org/blog/african-american-leaders-in-history
Photo credit: Library of Congress/Getty Images
February 1817 - February 1895
Frederick Douglass taught himself to read and write at a young age. After escaping slavery, he became an author, public speaker, and prominent leader of the abolitionist movement. In addition to his abolitionary work, Douglass also supported and advocated for women’s rights. He became a leader in the abolitionist movement, which sought to end the practice of slavery, before and during the Civil War. After that conflict and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862, he continued to push for equality and human rights until his death in 1895. Douglass traveled the U.S. advocating for the abolishment of slavery, as well as the UK and Ireland, and forged relationships with others fighting for freedom and equality.
Source: https://www.nsls.org/blog/african-american-leaders-in-history
Photo credit: Vera Anderson/WireImage
January 29, 1954 - Present
Oprah Winfrey is a famous television producer and personality, philanthropist, and author. She is the first African American woman to have her very own television production company. Winfrey worked to pass the National Child Protection Act and has created and contributed to numerous non-profit organizations that support, educate, and empower women and children. Oprah Winfrey engaged in numerous philanthropic activities, including the creation of Oprah's Angel Network, which sponsors charitable initiatives worldwide. In 2007 she opened a $40 million school for disadvantaged girls in South Africa. She also became an outspoken crusader against child abuse.
Sources: https://www.nsls.org/blog/african-american-leaders-in-history, https://www.biography.com/movies-tv/oprah-winfrey
Photo credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
July 2nd, 1925 - Assassinated June 12, 1963
Medgar Evers was a World War II veteran and Civil Rights leader. He was the National Association for the Advancement of colored people. (NAACP) first field officer in Mississippi. He helped lead protests against the segregation of public primary schools, beaches, parks, and at the University of Mississippi. Evers also organized voter registration drives and started new NAACP chapters in Mississippi. He fought against cruel Jim Crow laws, protested segregation in education, and launched an investigation into the Emmett till lynching. In addition to playing a role in the civil rights movement, he served as the NAACP's first field officer in Mississippi.
Sources: https://www.nsls.org/blog/african-american-leaders-in-history, https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/civil-rights-leaders/medgar-evers
Photo credit: Historical/Corbis via Getty Images
April 5, 1856 - November 14, 1915
Born into slavery, Booker T. Washington overcame many barriers that were blocking him from getting an education. After his family gained freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation, there were no schools in his area. However, he didn’t let that stop him. Instead, he walked 500 miles to enroll in school at the Hampton Institute. Washington excelled academically and became the first teacher and principal at the Tuskegee Institute. In addition, he was an author, adviser to several presidents, and one of the most influential African American public speakers in his day.
Source: https://www.nsls.org/blog/african-american-leaders-in-history
Photo credit: Thomas J. O'Halloran, U.S. News & World Reports
November 30, 1924 - January 1, 2005
The first African-American woman elected to serve in Congress in 1968, Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman to seek the U.S. presidential nomination from a major party. She co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus, which is designed to guarantee equal rights, opportunities, and access for African Americans and other marginalized groups. Chisholm became the first African American woman to make a bid to be president of the United States when she ran for the Democratic nomination in 1972. A champion of minority education and employment opportunities throughout her tenure in Congress.
Source: https://www.nsls.org/blog/african-american-leaders-in-history
Black History Month is observed annually in February to recognize and celebrate the achievements and contributions of the Black community. Below is a selected list of books available at the B.D. Owen’s Library. (Thanks to Brandy Brady and Hallie Laning)
| NAME and AUTHOR | SUMMARY |
|---|---|
|
Through the lens: the pandemic and Black Lives Matter / Lauren Walsh. |
Through the Lens: The Pandemic and Black Lives Matter unpacks the industry's most critical debates as it sheds light on the experiences and thought processes of the visual journalists themselves. Importantly, this book encourages readers to consider the efforts behind the camera lens: the challenges and risks visual journalists face to bring us the news in pictures. |
|
Don't cry for me : a novel / Daniel Black. |
On his deathbed, a dying Black man writes a letter to his estranged, gay son and shares with him the truth that lives in his heart and tries to create a place where the pair can find peace. As Jacob lies dying, he writes a letter to his only son, Isaac. They have not met or spoken in many years, and there are things that Isaac must know. Stories about his ancestral legacy in rural Arkansas that extend back to slavery. |
|
Memphis : a novel / Tara M. Stringfellow. |
"In the summer of 1995, ten-year-old Joan, her mother, and her younger sister flee her father's violence to the only place they have left: her mother's ancestral home in Memphis. Half a century ago, Joan's grandfather built this majestic house for her grandmother--only to be lynched, days after becoming the first Black detective in Memphis, by his all-white police squad. She is determined not just to survive, but to find something to dream for. |
|
The Black Panther Party : a graphic novel history / David F. Walker ; art, colors and letters by Marcus Kwame Anderson. |
A bold and fascinating graphic novel history of the Black Panther Party. |
|
Black girl, call home / Jasmine Mans. |
"A literary coming-of-age poetry collection, an ode to the places we call home, and a piercingly intimate deconstruction of daughterhood, Black Girl, Call Home is a love letter to the wandering black girl and a vital companion to any woman on a journey to find truth, belonging, and healing. |
|
Black lives matter at school : an uprising for educational justice / edited by Denisha Jones and Jesse Hagopian ; foreword by Opal Tometi. |
Black Lives Matter at School succinctly generalizes lessons from successful challenges to institutional racism that have been won through the Black Lives Matter at School movement. This book will inspire many more educators and activists to join the Black Lives Matter at School movement at a moment when this antiracist work in our schools could not be more urgent and critical to education justice. |
|
Make change : how to fight injustice, dismantle systemic oppression, and own our future / Shaun King. |
King offers an inspiring look at the moments that have shaped his life and considers the ways social movements can grow and evolve in this hyper-connected era. He shares stories from his efforts leading the Raise the Age campaign and his work fighting police brutality, while providing a roadmap for how to stay sane, safe, and motivated even in the worst of political climates. |
|
May we forever stand : a history of the black national anthem / Imani Perry |
The twin acts of singing and fighting for freedom have been inseparable in African American history. May We Forever Stand tells an essential part of that story. With lyrics penned by James Weldon Johnson and music composed by his brother Rosamond, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was embraced almost immediately as an anthem that captured the story and the aspirations of black Americans. |
|
Americanah : a novel / Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. |
A young woman from Nigeria leaves behind her home and her first love to start a new life in America, only to find her dreams are not all she expected" |
|
Our children can soar : a celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the pioneers of change / Michelle Cook |
A poem of African American history enhanced by illustrations. |
