The Tahirih team has put together a wide range of resources to highlight Black History Month – from books to articles and trainings to social media accounts – that will support us all in celebrating and honoring Black Lives not only this month but year-round. We hope these resources bring joy, impart knowledge, and drive action.
Social Media Accounts to Follow
- @antiracismctr: The Center for Antiracist Research focuses on building an antiracist society that ensures equity and justice for all
- @blklivesmatter: Building power to bring justice, healing, and freedom to Black people across the globe
- @hereweread: Dedicated to finding diverse and educational children’s books
- @nowhitesaviors: An advocacy campaign dedicated to education, advocacy, and action specific to Africa and moving toward a more equitable & anti-racist direction
- @thinkingabolition: A community organizing around prison abolition
Articles and Trainings
- “The Reason Black History Month Is in February” by McKenzie Jean-Philippe
- “Black History Month and How Brands Can Help Make Black History” by the NAACP
“We live in a society that has intentionally left Black narratives out of the American memoir while simultaneously standing on the backs and shoulders of Black individuals. Black people’s accomplishments and gains deserve a place in history outside of Black History Month.”
- “5 ways white allies can honor Black History Month all year long,” by Rochaun Meadows-Fernande
“As a Black American, I’m happy to see white people and other people of color taking an interest in honoring the occasion. But it’s disheartening to see the way our existence is overlooked during the other months of the year. If you’re wondering how you can take this momentum with you throughout the rest of the year, I got you. Here are just a few ways to transform Black History Month into a year-long celebration.”
- “44 African Americans who Shook Up the World” written by the staff of the Undefeated and Illustrated by Robert Ball
“This is a list of The Undefeated 44, a collection of dreamers and doers, noisy geniuses and quiet innovators, record-breakers and symbols of pride and aspiration.”
- “These BLM activists are Fighting for the Civil Rights of the Next Generation” by Chris James
“… Millions of peaceful and passionate voices have banded together in solidarity to demand a better society. These proud voices are inspiring hope, building community, and breaking barriers.”
- “Black Trans Women Seek More Space in the Movement They Helped Start” by Isabella Grullón Paz and Maggie Astor
“At no point have black trans people shared fully in the gains of the LGBTQ or racial justice movements. This may be changing.”
Books
Adult
“The Hill We Climb and Other Poems” by Amanda Gorman
Amanda Gorman is the youngest presidential inaugural poet in US history. She is a committed advocate for the environment, racial equality, and gender justice. Amanda’s activism and poetry have been featured on The Today Show, PBS Kids, and CBS This Morning, and in The New York Times, Vogue, Essence, and O, The Oprah Magazine. In 2017, Urban Word named her the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States. After graduating cum laude from Harvard University, she now lives in her hometown of Los Angeles.
Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.
One of Oprah’s Best Books of the Year and a PEN/Hemingway award winner, Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.
“My Grandmother’s Hands” by Resmaa Menakem
In this groundbreaking book, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma and body-centered psychology.
The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. Menakem argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies. Our collective agony doesn’t just affect African Americans. White Americans suffer their own secondary trauma as well. So do blue Americans—our police.
My Grandmother’s Hands is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not only about the head, but about the body, and introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide.
Children
“Have You Thanked an Inventor Today?” by Patrice McLaurin
“Have You Thanked an Inventor Today? chronicles the school day of a little boy, highlighting different inventions he uses throughout his day, all of which were invented by African-Americans. It comes complete with brief biographies about each inventor as well as fun activities that promote and encourage reading comprehension. It was selected by Microsoft as a book that inspires STEM and received a 5 Star Rating from Reader’s Favorite!
“The Fierce 44: Black Americans Who Shook Up the World” by the Staff of the Undefeated and Illustrated by Robert Ball
“The book, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is aimed at readers 10 and older. It features short biographies and color portraits by illustrator Robert Ball. The book also includes a foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr., a professor of African American history at Harvard University and host of the PBS show Finding Your Roots.”
Podcasts
Intersectionality Matters! is a podcast hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory. Listen on all podcast streaming services.
What’s CODE SWITCH? It’s the fearless conversations about race that you’ve been waiting for! Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tackles the subject of race head-on. We explore how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and everything in between. This podcast makes ALL OF US part of the conversation — because we’re all part of the story. Listen on all podcast streaming services.
“Cape Up: Voices of the Movement, The Washington Post”
Veterans of the civil rights movement reflect on their experiences and the legacy they’re leaving. Listen on Apple and Google Podcasts or the Washington Post website.
“Black History Year with Limina House”
Learning your history makes you – and your people – stronger. As Black people, we know we’re left out of the history books. That the media images are skewed. That we need access to experts, information and ideas so we can advance our people. Black History Year connects you to the history, thinkers, and activists that are left out of the mainstream conversations. You may not agree with everything you hear, but we’re always working toward one goal: uniting for the best interest of Black people worldwide. Listen on all podcast streaming services.
Movies and Documentaries
Directed by Oge Egbuonu
(In)Visible Portraits, the feature documentary directorial debut from Oge Egbuonu, shatters the too-often invisible otherizing of Black women in America and reclaims the true narrative as told in their own words. The film illuminates the history of how we got here, dismantles the false framework of the present-day reality, celebrates the extraordinary heritage of exceptional Black women, and ignites hope for the next generation. OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network has announced Tuesday, March 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT (following “Queen Sugar” at 8 p.m. ET/PT) as the premiere date for the evocative documentary.
Directed by Deirdre Fishel
With the national conversation around police reform still resonating loudly around the country, Women in Blue shines a spotlight on the women within the Minneapolis Police Department working to reform it from the inside by fighting for gender equity. Filmed from 2017 to 2020, the documentary focuses on MPD’s first female and openly gay police chief, Janée Harteau, and three of the women in her department as they each try to redefine what it means to protect and serve. Watch on PBS Video App.
