The BHM Display: Artists of the Struggle.
Opens in the Library on February 1.
The Smithsonian Institution celebrates Black History Month 2024 with a series of events, art resources, podcast episodes and general historical collections of the Black American experience. We are sharing selected pieces from that celebration.
More: Black History Month | Smithsonian Institution (si.edu)
Artist : Benny Andrews (American, 1930 – 2006), 1999, Gift of the Benny Andrews Estate and Foundation by courtesy of the UNCF for the purpose of encouragement of African American museums and educational institutions in their missions, 2015. Oil and collage on paper.
Artist : Hughie Lee-Smith, 1951, h 18, w 24 in, Painting, Oil, Masonite.
Artist : May Howard Jackson,1899, h 21, w 12.75 in, Sculpture, Bronze.
Artist: Ernie Barnes, 1997, h 27, w 31 in, Painting, Acrylic, Paper.
A painting showing African culture. Artist: JB Maingi, Kenya, Preserved at the National Museums of Kenya Archives, Contemporary Art.
Mickalene Thomas, Portrait of Mnonja, 2010, rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on wood panel, 96 x 120 in. (243.8 x 304.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2011.16, © 2010, Mickalene Thomas
Purvis Young, The Struggle, 1973-1974, acrylic on wood, 88 × 77 in. (223.5 × 195.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Grumbacher-Viener Collection in memory of Nancy Grumbacher, 2014.15
Martin Puryear, Vessel, 1997-2002, Eastern white pine, mesh, tar, 84 × 181 1⁄2 × 68 in. (213.4 × 461.0 × 172.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman in memory of Nan Tucker McEvoy, gift of Lucy S. Rhame, and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2017.18, © 1997-2002, Martin Puryear
Kara Walker, Exodus of Confederates from Atlanta, from the portfolio Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), 2005, offset lithograph and screenprint on paper, 39 x 53 in. (99.1 x 134.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2008.19.1.9, © 2005 Kara Walker
Jacob Lawrence, The Library, 1960, tempera on fiberboard, 24 x 29 7⁄8 in. (60.9 x 75.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.24
Streaming video source of classic cinema, indie films, and top documentaries. App available for iOS, Android, and Roku.
Streaming video source of classic cinema, indie films, and top documentaries. App available for iOS, Android, and Roku.
Recent bestsellers & new fiction from award and prize-winning Black authors, available at the HCPL.
All the Sinners Bleed by
Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus's election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus's deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon.
Chain Gang All Stars by
It’s the return of the gladiators, and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom. In CAPE, prisoners travel as Links in Chain-Gangs, competing in death matches before packed arenas with righteous protestors at the gates. Thurwar and Staxxx, both teammates and lovers, are the fan favorites. And if all goes well, Thurwar will be free in just a few matches, a fact she carries as heavily as her lethal hammer. As she prepares to leave her fellow Links, Thurwar considers how she might help preserve their humanity, in defiance of these so-called games. But CAPE’s corporate owners will stop at nothing to protect their status quo, and the obstacles they lay in Thurwar’s path have devastating consequences.
Crook Manifesto by
The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of Harlem Shuffle continues his Harlem saga in a powerful and hugely-entertaining novel that summons 1970s New York in all its seedy glory. CROOK MANIFESTO is a darkly funny tale of a city under siege, but also a sneakily searching portrait of the meaning of family. Colson Whitehead's kaleidoscopic portrait of Harlem is sure to stand as one of the all-time great evocations of a place and a time.
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe's theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko by
The fascinating life of Starfleet’s celebrated captain, and Bajor’s Emissary of the Prophets, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Benjamin Sisko tells the story of his career in Starfleet, and his life as a father and Bajor’s Emissary to the Prophets. Chart his rise through the ranks, his pioneering work designing the Defiant class, his critical role as ambassador and leader during the Dominion War, and his sacred standing as a religious leader of his adopted home.
Explore the hidden history of his childhood and early career in Starfleet, and the innermost thoughts of the man who made first contact with the wormhole aliens and opened safe passage to the Gamma Quadrant, and united Starfleet, Klingon and Romulan forces to defeat the Dominion.
Every Black Girl Dances by
JC Burke catapulted straight from film school to Hollywood darling churning out "Black trauma" films that have made her a household name—but at what price? When she abandons the set of her latest production to flee to her hometown Parable, Texas, JC is forced to reconsider the career that made her a superstar, as well as reexamine her deteriorating relationship with her producing partner, Hudson Pyke. A romantic connection with high school Media Technology teacher Luke Favors (dubbed The Hottie Professor in a viral social media post) alleviates a bit of the sting from her disappointments, but is Luke enough to keep JC away from Hollywood forever, or will she return to the privilege she turned her back on?
The Nubian's Curse by
A cursed statue . . . A haunted house . . . A seemingly supernatural death . . . The unexpected arrival of a friend from his past plunges musician, sleuth and free man of color Benjamin January into an old, unsolved case in this historical mystery set in New Orleans December 1840. Surgeon turned piano-player Benjamin January is looking forward to a peaceful holiday with his family. But the arrival of an old friend brings unexpected news - and unexpected danger. The Nubian's Curse by NYT-bestselling author Barbara Hambly is the latest installment of the critically acclaimed historical mystery series featuring talented amateur sleuth and free man of color, Benjamin January.
The 272 by
In 1838, a group of America's most prominent Catholic priests sold 272 enslaved people to save their largest mission project, what is now Georgetown University. In this groundbreaking account, journalist, author, and professor Rachel L. Swarns follows one family through nearly two centuries of indentured servitude and enslavement to uncover the harrowing origin story of the Catholic Church in the United States. Through the saga of the Mahoney family, Swarns illustrates how the Church relied on slave labor and slave sales to sustain its operations and to help finance its expansion.
How to Say Babylon by
How to Say Babylon is the stunning story of the author's struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing, ruled by her father's strict patriarchal views and repressive control of her childhood, to find her own voice as a woman and poet. How to Say Babylon is Sinclair's reckoning with the culture that initially nourished but ultimately sought to silence her; it is her reckoning with patriarchy and tradition, and the legacy of colonialism in Jamaica. Rich in lyricism and language only a poet could evoke, How to Say Babylon is both a universal story of a woman finding her own power and a unique glimpse into a rarefied world we may know how to name, Rastafari, but one we know little about.
Sink by
Stranded within an ever-shifting family's desperate but volatile attempts to love, saddled with a mercurial mother mired in crack addiction, and demeaned daily for his perceived weakness, Joseph Earl Thomas grew up feeling he was under constant threat. Deemed too unlike the other boys to ever gain the acceptance he so desperately desired, he began to escape into fantasy and virtual worlds, wells of happiness in a childhood assailed on all sides. In a series of exacting and fierce vignettes, Thomas guides readers through the unceasing cruelty that defined his circumstances, laying bare the depths of his loneliness and illuminating the vital reprieve geek culture offered him. SINK follows Thomas's coming-of-age towards an understanding of what it means to lose the desire to fit in--with his immediate peers, turbulent family, or the world--and how good it feels to build community, love, and salvation on your own terms.
Up Home by
Born in 1945, Ruth J. Simmons grew up the twelfth child of sharecroppers. Her first home had no running water, no electricity, no books to read. Yet despite this- or, in her words, because of it-Simmons would become one of America's preeminent educators. The former president of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M, Texas's oldest HBCU, Simmons has inspired generations of students as she herself made history. Written in clear and timeless prose, Up Home is both an origin story set in the segregated South and the uplifting chronicle of a girl whose intellect, grace, and curiosity guide her as she creates a place for herself in the world.
The Truths We Hold - An American Journey by
With her election to the vice presidency, her election to the U.S. Senate, and her position as attorney general of California, Kamala Harris has blazed trails throughout her entire political career. But how did she achieve her goals? What values and influences guided and inspired her along the way? In this young readers edition of Kamala Harris’s memoir, we learn about the impact that her family and community had on her life, and see what led her to discover her own sense of self and purpose. The Truths We Hold traces her journey as she explored the values she holds most dear—those of community, equality, and justice. An inspiring and empowering memoir, this book challenges us to become leaders in our own lives and shows us that with determination and perseverance, all dreams are possible.
Black Chameleon by
Mouton's memoir is a praise song and an elegy for Black womanhood. She tells her own story while remixing myths and drawing on traditions from all over the world: mothers literally grow eyes in the backs of their heads, children dust the childhood off their bodies, and women come to love the wildness of the hair they once tried to tame. With a poet's gift for lyricism and poignancy, Mouton reflects on her childhood as the daughter of a preacher and a harsh but loving mother, living in the world as a Black woman whose love is all too often coupled with danger, and finally learning to be a mother to another Black girl in America. Of the moment yet timeless, playful but incendiary, Mouton has staked out new territory in the memoir form.
The Fire Is upon Us by
On February 18, 1965, an overflowing crowd packed the Cambridge Union in Cambridge, England, to witness a historic televised debate between James Baldwin, the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., a fierce critic of the movement and America's most influential conservative intellectual. The topic was 'the American dream is at the expense of the American Negro,' and no one who has seen the debate can soon forget it. Nicholas Buccola's The Fire Is upon Us is the first book to tell the full story of the event, the radically different paths that led Baldwin and Buckley to it, the controversies that followed, and how the debate and the decades-long clash between the men continues to illuminate America's racial divide today.
Gullah Geechee Home Cooking by
The history of the Gullah and Geechee people stretches back centuries, when enslaved members of this community were historically isolated from the rest of the South because of their location on the Sea Islands of coastal South Carolina and Georgia. Today, this Lowcountry community represents the most direct living link to the traditional culture, language, and foodways of their West African ancestors. Gullah Geechee Home Cooking, written by Emily Meggett, the matriarch of Edisto Island, is the preeminent Gullah cookbook. This cookbook includes not only delicious and accessible recipes, but also snippets of the Meggett family history on Edisto Island, which stretches back into the 19th century.
High on the Hog by
Acclaimed cookbook author Jessica B. Harris has spent much of her life researching the food and foodways of the African Diaspora. High on the Hog is the culmination of years of her work, and the result is a most engaging history of African American cuisine. Harris takes the reader on a harrowing journey from Africa across the Atlantic to America, tracking the trials that the people and the food have undergone along the way. From chitlins and ham hocks to fried chicken and vegan soul, Harris celebrates the delicious and restorative foods of the African American experience and details how each came to form such an important part of African American culture, history, and identity.
Rodney Scott's World of BBQ by
In the first cookbook by a Black pitmaster, James Beard Award-winning chef Rodney Scott celebrates an incredible culinary legacy through his life story, family traditions, and unmatched dedication to his craft. In this cookbook, co-written by award-winning writer Lolis Eric Elie, Rodney spills what makes his pit-smoked turkey, barbecued spare ribs, smoked chicken wings, hush puppies, Ella's Banana Puddin', and award-winning whole hog so special. In this modern American success story, Rodney details how he made his way from the small town where he worked for his father in the tobacco fields and in the smokehouse, to the sacrifices he made to grow his family's business, and the tough decisions he made to venture out on his own in Charleston. Rodney Scott's World of BBQ is an uplifting story that speaks to how hope, hard work, and a whole lot of optimism built a rich celebration of his heritage and of unforgettable barbecue.
Hip Hop in Houston by
Rap-A-Lot Records, U.G.K. (Pimp C and Bun B), Paul Wall, Beyonce, Chamillionaire and Scarface are all names synonymous with contemporary hip-hop. And they have one thing in common: Houston. Long before the country came to know the chopped and screwed style of rap from the Bayou City in the late 1990s, hip-hop in Houston grew steadily and produced some of the most prolific independent artists in the industry. With early roots in jazz, blues, R&B and zydeco, Houston hip-hop evolved not only as a musical form but also as a cultural movement. Join Maco L. Faniel as he uncovers the early years of Houston hip-hop from the music to the culture it inspired.
Music Is History by
In MUSIC IS HISTORY bestselling author and Sundance award-winning director Questlove harnesses his encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and his deep curiosity about history to examine America over the past fifty years. MUSIC IS HISTORY focuses on the years 1971 to the present, not only the country's most complex and rewarding half-century when it comes to the ways that pop culture and culturally diverse history intersect and interact, but also the years that overlap with Questlove's own life. Whether he is exploring how Black identity reshaped itself during the blaxploitation era, analyzing the assembly-line nature of disco and its hostility to Black genius, or remembering his own youth as a pop fan and what it taught him about America, Questlove finds the hidden connections in the American tapestry.
Black Music by
The essential collection of jazz writing by the celebrated poet and author of Blues People--reissued with a new introduction by the author. In the 1960s, LeRoi Jones--who would later be known as Amiri Baraka--was a pioneering jazz critic, articulating in real time the incredible transformations of the form taking place in the clubs and coffee houses of New York City. In Black Music, he sheds light on the brilliant young jazz musicians of the day: John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Sun Ra, and others. This rich and vital collection is comprised of essays, reviews, interviews, liner notes, musical analyses, and personal impressions from 1959-1967.
Prince The Last Interview and Other Conversations by
A collection of the very first, the very last, and the very best interviews conducted with Prince over his nearly 40 year career. There is perhaps no musician who has had as much influence on the sound of contemporary American music than Prince. His pioneering compositions brought a variety of musical genres into a singular funky and virtuosic sound. In this remarkable collection, and with his signature mix of seduction and demur, the late visionary reflects on his artistry, identity, and the sacrifices and soul-searching it took to stay true to himself. An Introduction by Hanif Abdurraqib offers astute, contemporary perspective and brilliantly contextualizes the collected interviews.
Isn't Her Grace Amazing! by
Cheryl Wills, the granddaughter of a Gospel singer, at last shines a spotlight on these spectacular women of song. The only book of its kind, Isn't Her Grace Amazing! showcase the talents, gifts, and skills of women in the Gospel music industry. It celebrates these heroines, chronicles their journeys from the choir loft to the world's largest stages, and reveals how they revolutionized this sacred music that is beloved worldwide. From the matriarchs of this movement to today's chart-topping divas, Wills offers in-depth portraits of twenty-five amazing women of Gospel music--based on interviews and extensive research--behind-the-scenes stories of favorite gospel hits, and illuminates what makes each of them shine.
Houston Rap Tapes by
The neighborhoods of Fifth Ward, Fourth Ward, Third Ward, and the Southside of Houston, Texas, gave birth to Houston rap, a vibrant music scene that has produced globally recognized artists such as Geto Boys, DJ Screw, Pimp C and Bun B of UGK, Fat Pat, Big Moe, Z-Ro, Lil' Troy, and Paul Wall. Lance Scott Walker and photographer Peter Beste spent a decade documenting Houston's scene, interviewing and photographing the people--rappers, DJs, producers, promoters, record label owners--and places that give rap music from the Bayou City its distinctive character. This second edition of Houston Rap Tapes amplifies the city's hip-hop history through new interviews with Scarface, Slim Thug, Lez Moné, B L A C K I E, Lil' Keke, and Sire Jukebox of the original Ghetto Boys.
Exiles of Eden by
Exiles of Eden looks at the origin story of Adam, Eve, and their exile from the Garden of Eden, exploring displacement and alienation from its mythological origins to the present. In this formally experimental collection steeped in Somali narrative tradition, Osman gives voice to the experiences and traumas of displaced people over multiple generations. The characters in these poems encounter exile's strangeness while processing the profoundly isolating experience of knowing that that once you are sent out of Eden, you can't go back.
Plantains and Our Becoming - Poems by
Poet and musician Melania Luisa Marte opens PLAINTAINS AND OUR BECOMING by pointing out that Afro-Latina is not a word recognized by the dictionary. But the dictionary is far from a record of the truth. What does it mean, then, to tend to your own words and your own record—to build upon the legacies of your ancestors? In this imaginative, blistering poetry collection, Marte looks at the identities and histories of the Dominican Republic and Haiti to celebrate and center the Black diasporic experience. Through the exploration of themes like self-love, nationalism, displacement, generational trauma, and ancestral knowledge, this collection uproots stereotypes while creating a new joyous vision for Black identity and personhood.
Schomburg: the Man Who Built a Library by
Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro-Puerto Rican named Arturo Schomburg. This law clerk's passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora and bring to light the achievements of people of African descent through the ages. A century later, his groundbreaking collection, known as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has become a beacon to scholars all over the world. In luminous paintings and arresting poems, two of children's literature's top African-American scholars track Arturo Schomburg's quest to correct history.
Relations : An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices by
Relations punctures the human illusion of separation. New and established storytellers reshape the narratives that divide and subjugate, revealing the truth of our shared humanity despite differences in language, identity, class, gender, and beyond. This vital anthology is Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's striking vision of a meeting place of perspectives, centered in the African and diaspora experience. In a post-Black Panther world, it is an urgent and welcome embrace of the diversity of Blackness. A refreshing collection of genre-spanning literature, it offers a vibrant meditation on being—inviting connection across real and imagined borders, and celebration of the most profound relations.
Suddenly We by
Evie Shockley's new poems invite us to dream--and work--toward a more capacious "we" In her new poetry collection, Evie Shockley mobilizes visual art, sound, and multilayered language to chart routes towards openings for the collective dreaming of a more capacious "we." How do we navigate between the urgency of our own becoming and the imperative insight that whoever we are, we are in relation to each other? Beginning with the visionary art of Black women like Alison Saar and Alma Thomas, Shockley's poems draw and forge a widening constellation of connections that help make visible the interdependence of everyone and everything on Earth.
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