February
is Black History month. Here are just a few of the resources
available to learn more about the history and contributions of African
Americans. For help finding these and other materials please stop by the
Information Desk.
Beginning with descriptions of
life in Africa and moving up to contemporary times, this book provides a brief,
but illuminating, overview of the history of African Americans. The story is
told by people who lived this history through quotes taken from interviews,
letters, diaries, newspaper articles and published writings. The book’s photographs
were culled from archives, news sources and family collections.
This highly regarded documentary
series on the Civil Rights Movement begins with the 1954 Supreme Court decision
in the Brown v The Board of Education case. Interviews with key figures in the
Civil Rights Movement and extensive use of archival footage help the viewer to
appreciate the obstacles faced by the activists in the movement and the
victories they achieved.
Simple text and powerful
paintings tell the story of the migration of African Americans from the south
to northern cities between 1916 and 1919. The story concludes with a poignant
and inspiring poem by Walter Dean Myers. The original paintings shown in this
book are held by the New York Museum of Modern Art and Washington DC's Phillips
Collection.
Several well-known authors,
including Angela Johnson and Carole Boston Weatherford, contributed to this
award-winning poetry book celebrating fathers. The poems range from silly to
serious. They are illustrated by photographs of collages created by Javaka
Steptoe especially for this project.
Brief essays accompanied by over
900 illustrations, including formal portraits, flyers, posters, newspaper
clippings and advertisements, bring African American history to life in this
fascinating book by Harvard professor Gates. The book features both famous and
less well-known events and personalities.
In the 1930’s the Federal
Writer’s Project was charged with collecting the memories of the former slaves
who were still alive at the time. The transcripts of these interviews are now
held at the Library of Congress. In this DVD acclaimed actors read from these
transcripts against a plain background in contemporary clothing. Photographs
taken between 1850 and1930 highlight some of the readings.
Wind Flyers / Angela Johnson;
illustrated by Loren Long.
In this beautifully illustrated
picture book a young boy tells the story of his great-great uncle whose
fascination with flight leads him to become one of the famed Tuskegee
Airmen.
