LibGuides: Celebrating Diversity: Black History Month

History of Black History Month

American president Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976 although there were earlier celebrations such as Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week established in 1926. Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, is an annual celebration observed February 1 through March 1 in the United States.

Videos

Black History is American History
Conversations with every day Black Americans regarding questions about being Black that they are tired of being asked.
Historic Wabash YMCA
Take an interactive walk-through tour of the Wabash YMCA, long considered the birthplace of Black History Month. From this site you can also access the video Building the Wabash YMCA.
U.S. National Archives African American History Programs
Recorded programs related to African American history.

Websites

Black History Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.
Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) Archives Portal
This archival collection allows users to explore collections highlighting the Black experience in Chicago.
Britannica: Black History Month
he Black History Month entry includes an article, fast facts and videos.
The DuSable Museum of African American Hisotry
Located in Chicago this museum is the nation's oldest independent museum celebrating African American culture.
The History Channel: Black History Month
Find articles, photo, videos, a timeline and more Black History Month resources on this website.
The History Makers
The digital repository for the Black experience
International African American Museum
The museum tells the stories of African Americans across generations.
National Archives & Records Administration-African American Heritage
Historical resources, such as military records and photographs, related to African American history.
National Museum of African American History & Culture
NMAAHC is the only national museum in the Untied States focused solely on African American history and culture.

Recommended eBooks

Along the Streets of Bronzeville by Elizabeth Schroeder Schlabach
ISBN: 9780252037825

Publication Date: 2013-09-10

This book examines the flowering of African American creativity, activism, and scholarship in the South Side Chicago district known as Bronzeville during the period between the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s. Summary taken from book.
Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag by Julia S. Jordan-Zachery (Editor); Duchess Harris (Editor); Janell Hobson (Foreword by); Tammy Owens (Afterword by)
ISBN: 9780816539536

Publication Date: 2019-09-24

Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag shows how Black girls and women foster community, counter invisibility, engage in restorative acts, and create spaces for freedom. Intersectional and interdisciplinary, the contributions in this volume bridge generations and collectively push the boundaries of Black feminist thought. Summary taken from book.
Carter G. Woodson by Burnis R. Morris
ISBN: 9781496814074

Publication Date: 2017-09-25

Historian Carter G. Woodson's employment of the black press and modern public-relations techniques to preserve and popularize black history during the first half of the 20th century is rediscovered and examined in this study. Summary taken from book.
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
ISBN: 9780525509288

Publication Date: 2019-08-13

An original approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves.
Race, Religion, and Black Lives Matter by Christopher Cameron (Editor); Phillip Luke Sinitiere (Editor)
ISBN: 9780826502063

Publication Date: 2021-08-15

Black Lives Matter, like its predecessor movements, embodies flesh and blood through local organizing, national and global protests, hunger strikes, and numerous acts of civil disobedience. Summary taken from book.
Real Heroes by Lawrence W. Reed
ISBN: 9781504042192

Publication Date: 2016-09-27

Each chapter contains a short biography of heroes from different walks of life including: Harriet Tubman, Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, Joe Louis as well as a chapter devoted to black entrepreneurs.
Slavery and Emancipation by Rick Halpern (Editor); Enrico Dal Lago (Editor)
ISBN: 9780631217343

Publication Date: 2002-11-08

Slavery and Emancipation is a comprehensive collection of primary and secondary readings on the history of slaveholding in the American South combining recent historical research with period documents. Summary taken from book.
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo; Michael Eric Dyson (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9780807047415

Publication Date: 2018-06-26

This book explores what white fragility is, how it's triggered and how we move beyond it.

Recommended Print Books

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
ISBN: 0345350685

Publication Date: 1987-10-12

Malcolm X's memoir.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou; Oprah Winfrey (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9780345514400

Publication Date: 2009-04-21

Author's memoir of growing up black in the 1930's and 1940's.
James Baldwin: Collected Essays (LOA #98) by James Baldwin; Toni Morrison (Editor)
ISBN: 9781883011529

Publication Date: 1998-02-01

This book offers a comprehensive gathering of Baldwin's nonfiction works that articulate issues of race, democracy, and American identity.
Native Son (Abridged) by Richard Wright
ISBN: 9780060533489

Publication Date: 2003-09-30

Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright's novel is just as powerful today as when it was written -- in its reflection of poverty and hopelessness, and what it means to be black in America. Summary taken from book.
The World of Gwendolyn Brooks by Gwendolyn Brooks
ISBN: 9780060105389

Publication Date: 1971-09-01

This book includes Brooks' five major works.

The print books can be found on the upper level of Galvin Library. If you need assistance finding a print book on the shelf, stop by the Research Help Desk located at the top of the stairs.

Notable People

Amanda Gorman
Activist and poet.
Barack Obama
The first African American to be elected President of the United States.
George Washington Carver
African American scientist and educator.
Ida B. Wells
African American journalist and activist.
Jackie Robinson
First black athlete to play Major League Baseball. He broke the color barrier in 1947.