Libraries and Pandemics: Past and Present
The 1918 influenza pandemic had a profound impact on how librarians do their work, transforming libraries into centers of community care.
Black Images and the Politics of Beauty
How Black-owned charm schools and modeling agencies challenged stereotypes of African American women after World War II.
JSTOR Companion to the Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading List
JSTOR has created an open library to support readers seeking to engage with BIPOC+Q-authored reading lists like the one developed by the New York Public Library.
The Alpha Suffrage Club and Black Women’s Fight for the Vote
Black women's experiences in the suffrage movement show that the Nineteenth Amendment marked one event in the fight for the vote, not an endpoint.
Why Ulysses S. Grant Was More Important Than You Think
Grant’s presidency is often overlooked, but his accomplishments around civil rights are getting more consideration from historians.
Why MLK Believed Jazz Was the Perfect Soundtrack for Civil Rights
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.”
African American Studies: Foundations and Key Concepts
This non-exhaustive list of readings in African American Studies highlights the vibrant history of the discipline and introduces the field.
How Chocolate Came to Europe
Pre-Columbian cultures valued chocolate highly as a drink, and often served it at important events. It wasn't made into a solid candy until 1847.
Fixing the Grassroots of the American Lawn
A citizen scientist bred low-mow, slow-grow grass that needs little water and fertilizer.