100 Years of Honoring Black History: Books & Resources to Educate and Celebrate

This February marks 100 years of honoring Black history, an initiative that first started in 1926 when Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week. 

Woodson—a historian, educator, author, and founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History—wanted to extend and promote the study and teaching of Black history and achievements. He selected the second week of February to coincide with the existing traditions of commemorating the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Negro History Week provided the foundation for Black History Month, established in 1976 by President Gerald Ford to officially recognize the significance of African American history and culture.

Photos of Carter G. Woodson from National Park Service (NPS). Woodson in Words and Images. Carter G. Woodson Home Historic Site.

We encourage you to honor Carter G. Woodson and Black History Month by furthering your knowledge of Black history through books, films, archives, and other resources. Listed below are a few places to help you start your exploration at the Bentley Library and beyond. 

• Browse the Bentley Library’s Black History Month Curated Collection
  Discover books that celebrate and amplify the history, achievements, culture, contributions, and stories of Black people in the United States.
   
• Visit the RSM Art Gallery
  View the current exhibit, African American Cemeteries: Between Erasure and Restoration, Photographs and Texts by Pauline Peretz and Endika.
   
• Read African American Newspapers from the 1800 and 1900s
  Two primary source collections—African American Newspapers and African American Newspapers in the South—provide access to 30 African American newspapers published in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Go to the Accessible Archives (History Commons) database to browse digitized newspapers including Freedom's Journal, The Christian Recorder, The North Star, and The Bee.
   
• Search Library Film Collections
  Check our DVD collection and streaming databases for documentaries and feature films, such as Making Black America, John Lewis: Good Trouble, Eyes on the Prize, Hidden Figures, and Malcolm X.

Additional educational resources:

• Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)
  Explore the history and resources provided by ASALH, founded by in 1915 by Carter G. Woodson as the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. Note that full access to The Journal of African American History (founded in 1916 as The Journal of Negro History) is available in the JSTOR database.
   
• National Museum of African American History and Culture
  Follow the weekly updates to their interactive online exhibit, Journey of Black History Month: A Century of Black History Commemorations.

We hope you're inspired to explore these resources throughout the month of February and beyond! If you'd like additional information about the library’s collections or have questions about conducting research, please contact the Reference Desk.