This year we celebrate Black History Month by sharing these ten new books we’ve added to brighten your days and inspire your studies…
Photo by Luke Harold,Flickr CCO
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris
The autobiography of the current US presidential candidate, Kamala Harris is a New York Times bestseller, spanning Harris’ start as the child of two immigrant parents all the way through her first job and marrying her husband. Vice President Harris shares in her words the experiences that shaped her as a person and a politician.
"Three Harlem Women, ca. 1925" by Public Domain is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Harlem Renaissance by Nathan Irvin Huggins
Described by The New York Times Book Review as 'brilliant' and 'provocative' this book was a finalist for the 1972 National Book Award. Now, half a century after it’s initial publishing, it continues to provide insight and first hand history of African-American intellectual life and culture.
"No Known Restrictions: Alvin Ailey by Carl Van Vechten, 1955 (LOC)" by pingnews.com is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. Library of Congress
Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture By Thomas de Frantz
Alvin Ailey used dignity, discipline and determination to break barriers, creating an internationally renowned multi-ethnic dance group, that continues to sell out shows around the world years after his death. Named after his legacy masterwork, this biography follows his journey, his trials and the beauty of his legacy which continues to thrive through the continued success of his internationally renowned dance troupe.
"No Known Restrictions: Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (LOC)" by pingnews.com is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.
Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall’s African Journey by Mary L. Dudziak
Thurgood Marshall was most known for his role as the first African American to become a U.S. Supreme Court Judge. Not everyone knows about the incredible journey he went through to get there. In his youth, he was a key civil rights leader in the Brown vs. Board of Education judgement, which stopped segregation in the United States. This book opens an even less known chapter of his life as one of the writers of the Kenyan Bill of Rights including his work in drafting a constitution which allowed for a peaceful regime change during a time, when ongoing violence threatened to sweep and overthrow the burgeoning young African nation.
"Esplanade Avenue New Orleans" by Infrogmation is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
The purest of primary sources, Arthur Mitchell shares the oral history and personal stories of his community and in particular, the story of his ancestor, Henry John Goods, who was openly acknowledged by both his parents as the son of a slave and her slave-master. This emotional story sheds light on a man, who was given the choice to remain a slave or live life as a white man. His surprising choice to remain acknowledged as a member of a struggling and enslaved race would be forever immortalized through his life’s work as a pastor to his beloved community, preaching love and forgiveness to the Jons Plantation, freeing them not only from physical shackles but from a lifetime of emotional slavery to resentment and hatred.
Shirley Graham Du Bois, 1946 (Carl Van Vechten, Library of Congress)
Race Woman: The Lives of Shirley Graham DuBois by Gerald Horne
The wife of NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) founder and social arbiter, W.E.B. DuBois is finally getting her own biography.
Graham was a Harlem Renaissance playwright, biographer, composer, teacher, novelist, leftist political activist, advisor and inspiration. Graham DuBois life story starts with a life and love for music in small town Indiana and culminates in her moving to Ghana with her husband, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) founder and leader, W.E.B. DuBois only to end in her death in Maoist China, celebrated as a spokesperson and ally for all proletariat and oppressed peoples.
"florence-price" by Aeterna Christi Munera is marked with CC0 1.0.
Florence Price: the life, compositions and influence of a Black American composer By William Farina
Florence Price is known as one of the backbones of the Harlem Renaissance and a constant collaborator of poet, Langston Hughes. However, her life was far from an easy artsy life. She had to work as an organist to support her children after escaping her physically abusive husband…yet through her tireless work and deep religious devotion, she composed over 300 works including one composition which was the first by an African American to be played by a major orchestra and is responsible for conserving and making public many African spirituals.
"Spike Lee Peabody Awards 2011 (cropped)" by Peabody Awards is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Spike Lee's America by David Sterritt
Love or hate him. No American is indifferent to Spike Lee. America’s first Black Filmmaker to openly confront racism not just between races but also turning the camera and the hard questions inwardly challenging the African American community’s internal racial issues. Once an outsider, Spike Lee has become an integrated part of American cultural history. This is a great book for anyone interested in filmmaking, music history, social history as well as viewing the everchanging role of the black community in the American landscape.
"Countee Cullen" by Winold Reiss, 16 Sep 1886 - 29 Aug 1953 is marked with CC0 1.0.
Harlem Renaissance Artists and Writers By Wendy Hart Beckman
Beckman gives readers a behind the scenes tour of the highlights of the Harlem Renaissance profiling the movement’s most famous artists, focusing on James Weldon Johnson, Alain LeRoy Locke, Zora Neale Hurston, Bessie Smith, Aaron Douglas, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Countee Cullen, and Josephine Baker.
"File:Paolo Steffan, Portrait of John Coltrane - 2007.jpg" by Vaghestelledellorsa, Paolo Steffan is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Incredible African American Jazz Musicians, by Stephen Feinstein
Feinstein tells the incredibly moving stories of top jazz artists ranging from Duke Ellington to John Coltrane seamlessly through all of the evolutions of the art form.
"Beyonce" by anamakingon is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Beyonce: At Work, On Screen, and Online Iddon, Martin(Edited by), Marshall, Melanie L.(Edited by)
Despite growing up a pop phenomenon, Beyonce continues to challenge women’s and African American’s roles through her provocative artistic endeavours on stage and in video. What this book shares that many people may not know is that she is a also a philanthropist. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, she and Kelly Rowland (her Destiny’s Child co-founder) created the Survivor Foundation. She is also the co-founder of Beyoncé is a co-founder of Chime for Change, which helps empower women and girls through education, health and activism.
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