Monthly Highlights – February 2022

Blog Posts

• "Black History is More than Civil Rights," 02/10/22

Featured Teaching Resources

• History Blueprint: The Cold War 
  • Drawing on new historical scholarship about the global context of the Cold War, students consider, Why and how was the Cold War fought? 
  • If you're looking for few resources to integrate into your classroom, support your instruction, or help you with content knowledge, we recommend taking a particular look at: 
    • Principles vs. Practices
    • Containment at Home
    • Containing Communism Abroad
    • The End of the Cold War
• Black is a Rainbow Color: Freedom Fighters
  • This lesson, designed for K-2 students, extends from the book Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy. It focuses on women who fought for freedom and invites students to consider how they, too, will fight for freedom.
• W.E.B. Du Bois
  • This primary source set is centered around the question: “How did W.E.B. Du Bois’ research challenge dominant narratives about black Americans during the Jim Crow period?”
• Civil Rights (MLK)
  • This lesson aligns with the 9th – 10th-grade reading and writings literacy standards, as well as the 11th-grade history content standards. The lesson examines excerpts from both “A Call for Unity,” and “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Students will cite evidence from both documents in order to answer the following focus question: How did the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail “address those opposed to the civil rights movement?

Current Events

• February 17, 2022 - “Mexican American and Latinx Civil Rights in the Inland Empire” Talk by Mark Ocegueda, Brown University
  • Part of the East Side Stories series. Register here. 

Educator Spotlight

Coming Soon

Picture Books

• 28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World - Words by Charles Smith Jr.; Pictures by Shane Evans
  • Each day features a different influential figure in African-American history, from Crispus Attucks, the first man shot in the Boston Massacre, sparking the Revolutionary War, to Madame C. J. Walker, who after years of adversity became the wealthiest black woman in the country, as well as one of the wealthiest black Americans, to Barack Obama, the country's first African-American president. Annotation adapted from Titlewave
• A Sweet Smell of Roses - Words by Angela Johnson; Pictures by Eric Velasquez
  • Two young girls participate in a freedom march and listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak during the Civil Rights movement.
• The ABC’s of Black History - Words by Rio Cortez; Pictures by Lauren Semmer
  • An impressive array of names, events, and concepts from Black history are introduced in this alphabet book for early-elementary readers... The rhyming verses are light on the tongue, making the reading smooth and soothing. The brightly colored, folk art–style illustrations offer vibrant scenes of historical and contemporary Black life.
• Antiracist Baby - Words by Ibram X. Kendi; Pictures by Ashley Lukashevsky.
  • Introduces the youngest readers and the grown-ups in their lives to the concept and power of antiracism. Provides the language necessary to begin critical conversations at the earliest ages.
• Before she was Harriet - Words by Lesa Cline-Ransome. Pictures by James E. Ransome.
  • Biography of Harriet Tubman told in reverse, highlighting her many roles in history. Also interesting is that Harriet's story is told in reverse, as if she is remembering her life. Corretta Scott King Honor Award.
• Freedom Soup. Words by Tami Charles. Pictures by Jacqueline Alcantro.
  • Every year, Haitians all over the world ring in the new year by eating a special soup, a tradition dating back to the Haitian Revolution. This year, Ti Gran is teaching Belle how to make the soup — Freedom Soup — just like she was taught when she was a little girl. Together, they dance and clap as they prepare the holiday feast, and Ti Gran tells Belle about the history of the soup, the history of Belle’s family, and the history of Haiti, where Belle’s family is from. A celebration of cultural traditions passed from one generation to the next.
• I am Every Good Thing. Words by Derrick Barnes. Pictures by Gordon C. James.
  • A must-read for every classroom (out loud to capture the cadence). This book is a celebration of a confident Black boy and of Black boyhood.
• Lift as you Climb: The Story of Ella Baker - Words by Patricia Hruby Powell, Pictures by R. Gregory Christie
  • Ella Baker grew up on her grandparents’ North Carolina farm, where they’d once labored as slaves. She learned to listen to others, to help people in need, and to “lift as you climb.” From her grandfather’s church pulpit, she heard the resounding question, “What do you hope to accomplish?” Baker became a significant figure in the civil rights movement, challenging its leaders on occasion, speaking up for women within the movement, focusing on issues such as voting rights, and always listening at the grassroots level.

More picture books with images here. 

Scholarly Work

• Keisha N. Blain (2021) - Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America 
  • Award-winning historian and New York Times best-selling author Keisha N. Blain situates Fannie Lou Hamer as a key political thinker alongside leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks and demonstrates how her ideas remain salient for a new generation of activists committed to dismantling systems of oppression in the United States and across the globe.
• Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin Jr. (2013) - Black against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party
  • Black against Empire is the first comprehensive overview and analysis of the history and politics of the Black Panther Party. The authors analyze key political questions, such as why so many young black people across the country risked their lives for the revolution, why the Party grew most rapidly during the height of repression, and why allies abandoned the Party at its peak of influence. Bold, engrossing, and richly detailed, this book cuts through the mythology and obfuscation, revealing the political dynamics that drove the explosive growth of this revolutionary movement and its disastrous unraveling.
• Winston James (2020) - Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia: Caribbean Radicalism in Early-Twentieth Century America (2nd ed) 
  • A major history of the impact of Caribbean migration to the United States. Marcus Garvey, Claude McKay, Claudia Jones, C.L.R. James, Stokely Carmichael, Louis Farakhan—the roster of immigrants from the Caribbean who have made a profound impact on the development of radical politics in the United States is extensive. In this magisterial and lavishly illustrated work, Winston James focuses on the twentieth century’s first waves of immigrants from the Caribbean and their contribution to political dissidence in America.
• Marc Matera (2015) - Black London: The Imperial Metropolis and Decolonization in the Twentieth Century
  • This vibrant history of London in the twentieth century reveals the city as a key site in the development of black internationalism and anticolonialism. Marc Matera shows the significant contributions of people of African descent to London’s rich social and cultural history, masterfully weaving together the stories of many famous historical figures and presenting their quests for personal, professional, and political recognition against the backdrop of a declining British Empire.