It’s Black History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements and history of African Americans.
Now more than ever, it is important to learn about and recognize the contributions of Black Americans, to not only commemorate the significant roles they have played in shaping U.S. history – but also to gain perspective on what it is like to be black in America.
We’d like to share some of the opportunities we will be using to help educate ourselves this Black History Month – and invite you to join us.
Books
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
“The language of Between the World and Me, like Coates’ journey, is visceral, eloquent, and beautifully redemptive. And it’s examination of the hazards and hopes of black male life is as profund as it is revelatory. This is required reading.” – Toni Morrison
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
“A deeply personal celebration of blackness that simultaneously sheds new light on racial injustice and inequality while offering hope for a better future.” – Shondaland
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
“An Amazon Best Book of November 2020. Listening to this former NFL player talk about race is like listening to the insights of a trusted friend, so that even the uncomfortable bits sink in without sparking defensiveness.” -Adrian Liang, Amazon Book Review
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum
“We don’t talk about race in America, but we must start if we are going to heal this broken country–and Beverly Tatum’s book is exactly the conversation opener we should be using.” – Jodi Picoult
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
“Part protest lyric, part art book, Citizen is a dazzling expression of the painful double consciousness of black life in America.” – The Washington Post
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
“An ambitious meditation on race and identity, considers the divergent fates of twin sisters, born in the Jim Crow South, after one decides to pass for white. Bennett balances the literary demands of dynamic characterization with the historical and social realities of her subject matter.” – The New York Times
Virtual
- 28 Days of Black History: A virtual exhibition of 28 works that celebrate Black legacy in the U.S., delivered each evening in February via email.
- Anti-Racism Daily: Subscribe for daily actions to dismantle white supremacy.
- Black History and Culture: In honor of Black History Month, Google Arts and Culture is offering online exhibits, and virtual tours, including more than 200 curated digital stories.
Movies and Documentaries
- Dear White People: Students of color navigate the daily slights and slippery politics of life at an Ivy League college that’s not nearly as “post-racial” as it thinks.
- 12 Years a Slave: In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
- Selma: A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.
- John Lewis: Good Trouble: An intimate account of legendary U.S. Representative John Lewis’ life, legacy and more than 60 years of extraordinary activism — from the bold teenager on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement to the legislative powerhouse he was throughout his career.
- 13th: In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.
