Celebrating Black History
This month, Americans celebrate the significant contributions that Black people have made in this country and worldwide, despite the odds. Black history is American history.
Carter G. Woodson, the son of enslaved parents, is credited with creating "Negro History Week" in 1926, later becoming "Black History Month." The initial month-long celebration in 1976 has been credited to Black educators and students at Kent State University, in Ohio, and has since become mainstream.
This year's theme is Black Health & Wellness. Over the last two years during the pandemic, strides have been made to better understand the Black experience. There have been more transparent discussions about systemic racism. More than ever, citizens are actively trying to relate to their neighbors across a multi-racial and cultural plane.
There's still much to be done, as evidenced by the backlash from some constituencies, specifically regarding voter rights, educational opportunities, income inequality, and school-centered discussion of systemic racism.
Here are some helpful links:
Local (Virtual)
Feb. 16 - Columbia County Libraries Association: Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow
TV/Movies
PBS: https://www.pbs.org/articles/what-to-watch-black-history-month-2022
What to Watch: https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/black-history-month-programming
Read
Black History Milestones: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-milestones
“The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration,” by Isabel Wilkerson. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8171378-the-warmth-of-other-suns
20 Powerful Black History Books to Add to Your Reading List https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g32842006/black-history-books/
Below are additional book recommendations by the Mid-Hudson Library system's librarians, who have identified 216 titles as relevant to Black History Month. They especially recommend:
"Twelve Years a Slave," by Solomon Northup
"Aftershocks," by Nadia Owusu
"A Lesson before Dying," by Ernest J. Gaines
"Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" by Beverly Daniel Tatum
"Who is Barack Obama?" by Roberta Edwards
“Voices in our blood," by Jon Meacham
"A dream deferred," by Shelby Steele
"It's in the action," by C.T. Vivian
"Half of a yellow sun," by Chimayanda Ngozi Adichie
"Elijah of Buxton," by Christopher Paul Curtis
Visit/Donate
Southern Poverty Law Center