This year we celebrate Black History Month by participating in the African American Read-In, created by the National Council of Teachers of English. This event serves to pull out novels, essay collections, poetry, and more by African American writers.
To participate, stop by the King Portico any time from February 1–February 4 and pick up a book. Read for five minutes or three hours! All titles will be available to check out and take with you.
If you participated in the African American Read-In, let us know. Log your reading here: https://bridgewater.libwizard.com/f/aari
bell hooks (1952-2021) was a revolutionary author, professor, and prominent social activist. She was born in a small segregated town in Kentucky and was an avid reader as a child. She received her undergraduate degree in English from Stanford University, her masters in English from University of Wisconsin–Madison, and her doctorate from University of California, Santa Cruz.
Her writings and teachings focused on the intersections of race and gender, capitalism, and systems of oppression in the United States. Her most prominent work was Ain't I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism, published in 1981.
Colson Whitehead is quite possibly the most celebrated author currently writing. He was born in 1969 in New York City and grew up in Manhattan. Whitehead graduated from Harvard University in 1991. In 2002, Whitehead was recognized with a Macarthur Genius Grant from the Macarthur Foundation. He was also a Guggenheim Fellow in 2013.
He is the author of ten books: eight works of fiction and two works of nonfiction. His fiction works explore the African American condition in different eras. His debut novel, The Intuitionist received critical acclaim and launched his successful career. His recent titles, The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys both won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His newest work is The Harlem Shuffle.
James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a celebrated writer and activist. He was a prolific author publishing in a number of mediums including essays, novels, poems, and plays. During his lifetime, James Baldwin profoundly impact the nation's social and literary consciousness.
His first novel, Go Tell it on the Mountain, explores two generations of a struggling African American family in Harlem. It has been named one of the top 100 books by Time Magazine in their list of titles published between 1923 and 2005. Other prominent works include his epistolary work The Fire Next Time, his novel Giovanni's Room, and his posthumously published manuscript, I am Not Your Negro. Baldwin's works generally focus on the intersections of race, class, and gender in America, and he often questions the concept of masculinity in today's society.
Toni Morrison (1931-2021) was a novelist and essayist, known for her revolutionary works about race and the African American family. Morrison was born in Lorain Ohio, a frequent setting for her novels, and graduated from Howard University with a B.A. in English. She received her Master's degree from Columbia University.
She has received incredible critical acclaim; her awards include a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her widely celebrated work, Beloved, as well as the Nobel Prize for Literature. She also was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Barack Obama, as well as being selected for the Jefferson Lecture by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was written while she was a single mother, and she would wake up at 4 a.m. every morning to write. After publication, she was immediately launched into critical success. Her other prominent titles include her novels Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Sula, and her essay collection, Playing in the Dark.
Our permanent display for the African American Read-In is our collection of African American Young Adult (YA), juvenile middle-grade readers, picture books, and graphic novels. Many of the selected works are titles that have received critical acclaim in awards such as the Newbery Award, the Coretta Scott King Awards for Authors and Illustrators, the Caldecott Award, and the Printz award. These awards pull out the best of the best within children's literature.
There are some incledible works on this list, but a couple of highlightedNotable titles include:
“The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.”—Malcolm X, 1962
It is important to look at the intersections of identity to better understand systems of oppression in the United States. As Malcolm X says, the black woman deserves more. Here, we celebrate the works of fiction and nonfiction that come from African American women.
In an interview, Miles Davis said, "You should never be comfortable, man. Being comfortable fouled up a lot of musicians" (interview with Les Tomkins, 1969, see: interview). Jazz is about being uncomfortable - eternally exploring music and music theory, and seeking new scales, new techniques, and new sounds. It's not limited to any instrument; so bring on your harp (Edmar Castaneda) and your flute (Yusef Lateef) and your voice (Cécile McLorin Salvant). It is a mixture of sheer sophistication, instrumental dexterity, and the energy of NOW. Musicians meet at a gig (sometimes for the first time), bring their knowledge of the Real Books, modern Jazz Standards, and original compositions, then improvise together -- whirling the music around into their own imaginative creation. It's not written down or rote; it's all in their heads, hearts and hands. Electric. Alive. Brilliant. Jazz is not content in the same old, so don't get comfortable, man.
"What does it mean to be Afro-Latinx? The term Afro-Latinx (or Afro-Latino, -Latina, or -Latine) refers to the individuals of Latin America or of Latin American descent who are also of African ancestry. For Afro-Latinx folks in the US, the added identity of living as an American further complicates their sense of identity, creating the sense that their distinct racial, ethnic, and national identities struggle to coexist.
"One feels his three-ness, -- a Latin@, a Negro, an American; three souls, three thoughts, three unreconciled strivings; three warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asuder."
-- The Afro-Latin@ Reader paraphrased from The Souls of Black Folks. Quoted from Library of Congress Research Guide - Afro-Latinx Bibliography
