Greenburgh Public Library Blog

Celebrate Black History Month at GPL

by Emily Dowie on 2022-02-01T09:30:00-05:00 in Books & Literature, History & Culture, Movies & Television | 0 Comments

Commemorate Black history and culture this February at Greenburgh Public Library with books (physical catalog and Libby), movies (Kanopy) and programming (virtual). Need help? Call us at 914-721-8200.

Books

Children

Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison

This beautifully illustrated board book edition of instant bestseller Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History showcases women who changed the world and is the perfect goodnight book to inspire big dreams. Featuring 18 trailblazing black women in American history, Dream Big, Little One is the irresistible board book adaptation of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History.

Unspeakable by Carole Boston Weatherford; Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)

Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation's history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa's Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community. News of what happened was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years.

Teen/Tween

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

After a traffic stop turns violent at the hands of the police, a young Black teen grapples with racism--and what it means for his future. Critically acclaimed author Nic Stone boldly tackles America's troubled history with race relations in her gripping debut novel. Justyce is a good kid, an honor student, and always there to help a friend--but none of that matters to the police officer who just put him in handcuffs without cause. When faced with injustice, Justyce looks to the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for answers.

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

A debut YA novel-in-verse by Amber McBride, Me (Moth) is about a teen girl who is grieving the deaths of her family, and a teen boy who crosses her path. Here is an exquisite and uplifting novel about identity, first love, and the ways that our memories and our roots steer us through the universe.

Adult

The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones (Created by); The New The New York Times Magazine (Created by); Caitlin Roper (Editor); Ilena Silverman (Editor); Jake Silverstein (Editor)

In late August 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty enslaved people from Africa. Their arrival led to the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years. This is sometimes referred to as the country's original sin, but it is more than that: It is the source of so much that still defines the United States.

Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi (Editor); Keisha N. Blain (Editor)

The story begins in 1619--a year before the Mayflower--when the White Lion disgorges "some 20-and-odd Negroes" onto the shores of Virginia, inaugurating the African presence in what would become the United States. It takes us to the present, when African Americans, descendants of those on the White Lion and a thousand other routes to this country, continue a journey defined by inhuman oppression, visionary struggles, stunning achievements, and millions of ordinary lives passing through extraordinary history. Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume "community" history of African Americans.

Movies

The Black Panthers Vanguard of the Revolution
In the turbulent 1960s, change was coming to America and the fault lines could no longer be ignored -- cities were burning, Vietnam was exploding, and disputes raged over equality and civil rights. A new revolutionary culture was emerging and it sought to drastically transform the system. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense would, for a short time, put itself at the vanguard of that change. The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is the first feature-length documentary to explore the Black Panther Party, its significance to the broader American culture, its cultural and political awakening for black people, and the painful lessons wrought when a movement derails.

Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America
Chronicling the history and personal experiences of African Americans on the road from the advent of the automobile through the seismic changes of the 1960s and beyond - Driving While Black explores the background of a phrase rooted in realities that have been a part of the African American experience for hundreds of years - told in part through the stories of the people who lived through it.

Freedom Summer
In the hot and deadly summer of 1964, the nation could not turn away from Mississippi. Over 10 memorable weeks known as Freedom Summer, more than 700 student volunteers joined with organizers and local African Americans in a historic effort to shatter the foundations of white supremacy in one of the nation's most segregated states -- even in the face of intimidation, physical violence, and death.

I Am Not Your Negro

An Oscar-nominated documentary narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO explores the continued peril America faces from institutionalized racism. In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends--Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of his manuscript. Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished.

Programs

African Dance for Teens

Tuesday, February 22, 6 PM

Join Chiku Awali African Dance, Arts & Culture, Inc. during Black History Month to learn a traditional African dance. Learn all about the beauty and magic of these types of dances at this Zoom event for teens. For information about Chiku Awali: visit www.chikuawali.org or call (845) 729-0670, email: info@chikuawali.org

Black History Month STEAM Craft and Story

Tuesday, February 22, 4:30 PM

Did you know that Mae Jemison was the first African-American female astronaut to travel to space? In Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed, children will learn more about how Mae did not give up on her dreams. Afterward, they will each create their own straw rockets and see how far they can make them go! Materials kit for the craft can be picked up at the Children's Room starting on February 14th. For children in Grades K-2

African and African-American Folktales for Families with Eshu Bumpus

Wednesday, February 22, 7 PM

Come join Eshu Bumpus, a renowned storyteller, and an accomplished jazz vocalist as he welcomes children and their families for an entertaining evening of storytelling. Come and bring your singing voice to take a journey across Africa through a variety of African and African-American folktales! Register for the Zoom link.

How to Talk to Children and Teens About Race with Karissa Sullivan

Tuesday, March 8, 6 PM

Karissa Sullivan, the Academic Standards Facilitator at East Ramapo Central School District, will give a presentation about how to talk to children and teens about race. She will discuss how to have these uncomfortable conversations, what racism is, what microaggressions are, and what CRT actually is. Register for this virtual program in advance.

Add a Comment

Celebrate Black History Month at GPL

0 Comments.

Search this Blog

Recent Posts

Archive

Subjects

This post is closed for further discussion.

Greenburgh Public Library Blog

Celebrate Black History Month at GPL

0 Comments.

Search this Blog

Recent Posts

Subscribe

Archive

Subjects

This post is closed for further discussion.