February marks Black History Month, a month-long observance in the United States and Canada that recognizes the significant contributions of African-Americans to American history, as well as the historical legacies of the African diaspora. We hope you’ll find the stories below, and the scholarship they include in full, a valuable resource for classroom or leisure reading.
Why MLK Believed Jazz Was the Perfect Soundtrack for Civil Rights
October 16, 2019
Jazz, King declared, was the ability to take the “hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.”
The 1910 Report That Disadvantaged Minority Doctors
May 3, 2019
A century ago, the Flexner Report led to the closure of 75% of U.S. medical schools. It still explains a lot about today’s unequal access to healthcare.
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, “The Black Swan”
May 6, 2019
Born into slavery, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield broke barriers with every note she sang.
Who Were the Montford Point Marines?
June 26, 2019
Recruits in the first African-American Marine Corps trained at Montford Point, eventually ending the military’s longstanding policy of racial segregation.
In the McCarthy Era, to Be Black Was to Be Red
November 13, 2019
The Marxist sympathies of Black radical leaders like Paul Robeson, Alice Childress, and Lorraine Hansberry made them targets for the FBI.
Searching for Black Queer History in Sensational Newspapers
March 14, 2019
Sometimes finding the stories of marginalized populations demands reading between the lines.
The Mob Violence of the Red Summer
May 14, 2019
In 1919, a brutal outburst of mob violence was directed against African Americans across the United States. White, uniformed servicemen led the charge.
African American Studies: Foundations and Key Concepts
February 3, 2020
This non-exhaustive list of readings in African American Studies highlights the vibrant history of the discipline and introduces the field.
The Devastation of Black Wall Street
July 5, 2017
Tulsa, Oklahoma. 1921. A wave of racial violence destroys an affluent African-American community, seen as a threat to white-dominated American capitalism.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I Became Black in America
August 29, 2018
Adichie speaks on the meaning of blackness, sexism in Nigeria, and whether the current feminist movement leaves out black women.
The African Roots of MLK’s Vision
February 14, 2018
“Ghana tells us that the forces of the universe are on the side of justice… An old order of colonialism, of segregation, discrimination is passing away now.”
What Dorothy Porter’s Life Meant for Black Studies
August 22, 2018
Dorothy Porter, a Black woman pioneer in library and information science, created an archive that structured a new field.
The Historic Achievement of the Pullman Porter’s Union
February 1, 2016
The achievements of the Pullman Porter's Union were a significant civil rights victory for both U.S. labor and the civil liberties of African-Americans.
The Privileged and Impoverished Life of Phillis Wheatley
March 30, 2018
The first African American of either gender to publish a book of poetry has remained a controversial figure in the black community.
A Formerly Enslaved Woman Successfully Won a Case for Reparations in 1783
February 9, 2016
In one of the earliest examples of reparations, an ex-slave named Belinda petitioned the government and was granted an annuity.
How Septima Poinsette Clark Spoke Up for Civil Rights
February 10, 2016
The daughter of a slave, Septima Clark graduated from college, became a teacher, and became a fierce advocate for social and cultural change.
The Significance of Shirley Chisholm’s Presidential Campaign
July 5, 2016
Shirley Chisholm: the first black female U.S. Representative, first black major-party candidate for President, and the first Democratic Party woman to run.
The Story of Juneteenth
June 17, 2016
The Emancipation Proclamation outlawing slavery in the United States passed January 1st 1863. It took over 2 years for the news to reach some enslaved people.
How Women’s Studies Erased Black Women
February 11, 2017
The founders of Women’s Studies were overwhelmingly white, and focused on the experiences of white, heterosexual women.
The Slave Roots of Square Dancing
June 16, 2017
Square Dancing's lily-white reputation hides something unexpected: A deep African-American history that's rooted in a legacy of slavery.
The Inequality Hidden Within the Race-Neutral G.I. Bill
September 18, 2017
While the G.I. Bill itself was progressive, much of the country still functioned under both covert and blatant segregation.
Ralph Ellison on Race
November 2, 2017
Ralph Ellison believed fiercely in the American project and in the centrality of black people to it.
We’ll be adding more stories related to Black History Month throughout February.
