Black History Month

View a slideshow gallery (PowerPoint) of tribute to several unsung heroes of the struggle for equality and freedom. (Playlist descriptions of videos may be seen below.)

Video
Destini’s Brother (NYT Video)
A New York Times film in which the story of a young Black man’s incarceration is told through the eyes of his 13 year old sister, Destini Riley. Giving a face to the statistics regarding mass incarceration in the US.

The Libraries Stories Project; The Green Books
Episode 39 of the NYPL Library Stories; Working Together for the Common Good. Playwright and documentarian Calvin Alexander Ramsey discusses his research on the Green Books which are a travel guide series for African Americans during the Jim Crow era which detailed listings of businesses that were safe for Black people to use in the South at that time.

Hidden Figures – Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson, one of the “hidden figures” behind the success of the Apollo 11 moon landing. An African American female mathematician, her inspiring story led to the successful film Hidden Figures, where she was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson.

Behold the Dreamers (African Immigrants)
Imbolo Mbue’s debut novel, "Behold the Dreamers," is the story of one immigrant family from Cameroon whose fates collide with the collapse of financial markets in 2009. Here she discusses the illusion of the American Dream, and her personal inspiration behind writing the story with veteran journalist Lola Ogunnaike.

Articles, Papers, Music

Mildred & Richard Loving
The story of Mildred and Richard Loving, the couple who inspired the landmark 1967 civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, which challenged laws prohibiting interracial marriages, was made into a movie; Loving. It’s important to understand the world in which they lived. Historically, anti-miscegenation laws in southern states including Virginia and Maryland prevented African Americans from marrying outside their race. Anti-miscegenation laws were enforced up until the mid-1960s.

Wyatt T. Walker
Religious leader, activist, and author, Reverend Wyatt T. Walker was internationally known for his contributions to the Civil Rights and Anti-Apartheid movements. A chief strategist for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Walker was one of the key architects of the 1960-64 civil rights campaigns.

Black Ballots MixTape
Black Ballots Mixtape presents audio selections from items housed from the Schomburg Center’s Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division. The playlist consists of several excerpts from speeches related to Black people and voting.