The importance of knowing, discovering and sharing our history as African people.
Click here to listen to audio interviews with Zhana.
Click here for loads of books about Black history and Black achievers.
Table of Contents
- International Significance
- A Short Black History Film
- BHM 2010 Events
- The History of Black History Month/African Heritage Month
- Black History UK
- Great Stuff on Amazon
- Black History Questions
- Black History Answers
- Black History/African Heritage Blogs
- Celebrating the Positive
- Black History Lenses
- Black Heroes and Sheroes Lenses
- Great Stuff on Amazon
- Hotel Rwanda
- Black History Films in London
- Black Writers and Artists
- Great Stuff on Amazon
- Resources
- Black History Lenses
- Reader Feedback
International Significance
Click here to listen to an interview about the need for us to work together internationally. (It's in the second half of the show, so please be patient!)
A Short Black History Film
London Black Film Festival recently.
Click here to listen to a radio interview with Zhana about the importance of telling our stories.
BHM 2010 Events
- Schomburg Center Events - Black History Films
- The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York presents a new film series to empower youth audiences with the knowledge of the global black experience during Black History Month.
Weekday showings give priority to school groups and youth organizations.
Seating is limited. Registration is required. Contact schomburged@nypl.org to request a film listing and a registration form.
These include: Monday 8th February
10 a.m. Our Friend, Martin: An Adventure Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King
(DIC Entertainment, 1999, 60 mins.)
What begins as a routine project for a sixth-grade class turns into a time-traveling adventure they'll never forget! Historic footage and colorful animation come together in this inspiring film about civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Featuring an all-star cast, Our Friend, Martin is a fun, new way for your family to share Dr. King's inspiring message of hope and courage which changed the course of our nation's history.
12 p.m. The Great Debaters
(A film by Denzel Washington/The Weinstein Company, 2007, 124 mins.)
Inspired by a true story, a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African American college students into an historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite.
Tuesday, 9th Febrary
12 p.m. When the Spirits Dance Mambo
(Caribbean Cultural Center, 2002, 40 mins.)
When The Spirits Dance Mambo, the critically acclaimed film co-directed and produced by Bobby Shephard and Dr. Marta Moreno Vega. Tracing the role of sacred African thought and practices in the formation of Cuban society, culture and music, the documentary is a tribute to the spiritual energy that traveled form West Africa to Cuba and New York. The film was shot over a three month period in Cuba and New York. "When the Spirits Dance Mambo" documents the roots of the sacred African religion, La Regla de Ocha (known as Santeria).
Pre- & Post- Screening Discussion about Yoruba and African spiritual traditions with Shantrelle Lewis, Director of Programs at CCADI
And many more.
Seating is limited. Registration is required. Contact schomburged@nypl.org to request a film listing and a registration form. - Black History Month at the Brooklyn Museum
- The Brooklyn Museum is proud to continue the tradition of presenting exhibitions, performances, and educational programs devoted to artists of African descent. Events include:
Creative Art-Making: Collage
Renowned artist Javaka Steptoe leads a collage-making workshop for adults that explores the legacy of Romare Bearden. Registration is required, please e-mail: creative.art.making@brooklynmuseum.org.
Saturday, February 9, 2-4 p.m.
Music: Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and Brooklyn Museum present Taj Mahal
Two Brooklyn institutions collaborate to present blues legend Taj Mahal in a special concert celebrating Black History Month. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.bqcm.org or call (212) 209-3370.
Saturday, February 9, 8 p.m.
And lots more. - Calgary Public Library BHM Events
- Drumming, spoken word, a panel discussion and more.
- The White House Black History Concert
- One of a series of events being screened by PBS during February 2010. Historic concert with R&B stars John Legend, Smokey Robinson and more. February 11th on PBS 8:00 p.m.
For more about Smokey Robinson, see Celebrating The Legend that Is Motown.
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The History of Black History Month/African Heritage Month
Our culture was stolen from us. We were told we were no longer Africans, that we had no history or culture.
But we remained Africans and we are rediscovering and reclaiming our culture. We celebrate this in Black History Month/African Heritage Month.
Black History Month began as Negro History Week. Founced by Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the son of former enslaved African American people, its aim was to document and celebrate the contributions of African American people.
The identity of a people is dependent upon that people's knowledge of its history. In Africa, the griots were responsible for keeping the stories of the people, spinning them, weaving them into a cloth which preserved the collective memories for future generations. Black History Month can be seen as a continuation of this tradition.
Black History UK
- Black History Month 365
- The premier all year round independent comprehensive portal; Celebrating and highlighting Caribbean and African activities, with profiles, articles and news.
- Queen Charlotte Sophia
- The consort of George III, this German princess had African blood and is an ancestor of Elizabeht II. .
- Black History with Tony Warner
- Blog about Tony Warner of London Black History Walks. Includes link to radio shows.
- From War to Windrush - Imperial War Museum
- Extended due to popular demand.
To mark the sixtieth anniversary of the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush in Britain in 1948, this exhibition tells the personal stories of the involvement of Black men and women from the West Indies and Britain in the First and Second World Wars.
Among the exhibits on display are pages from the MV Empire Windrush passenger list; the RAF flying logbook of Cy Grant, a navigator in Bomber Command, who was shot down over The Netherlands during the Second World War and spent the rest of the war in German prisoner of war camps; the MBE belonging to Sam King, who returned to Britain on the Windrush after serving in the RAF and was later the first Black mayor of Southwark; and the telegram announcing the death of Walter Tull, the first Black British Army officer.
Click here for a list of upcoming events at the museum with Tony Warner. - History of the Slave Trade - Liverpool International Slavery Museum
- Liverpool was one of the main ports involved in the Transatlantic trade in African people.
Includes a good, but short description of The Middle Passage. Fails to mention the fact that even healthy, able-bodied people were thrown overboard so that the ship owners could claim the insurance. - Black Bristolians- People Who Made a Difference
- Study materials for schools. Young people felt invisible in the schools curriculum and considered that there was an overemphasis on slavery and the Transatlantic trade. They wanted to learn more about the achievements of Black people throughout history, to the present day. This project is the result.
Great Stuff on Amazon
Race, Law, and American Society: 1607-Present (Criminology and Justice Studies)
Amazon Price: $35.59 (as of 02/08/2010) 
When We Ruled: The Ancient and Medieval History of Black Civilisations
Amazon Price: (as of 02/08/2010)
They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 02/08/2010)
Soul Survivors (Black Classics)
A collection of narratives by women in the U.S.A. and the Caribbean about their experiences during slavery. This book spans over 100 years of the history of enslavement in the African Diaspora.
Amazon Price: (as of 02/08/2010)
Black History Questions
Questions from Black History
1. What relation was the Black Queen, Charlotte Sophia, to Queen Victoria?
2. The African American inventor Benjamin Banneker designed the final layout of which U.S. city?
3. Banneker also built the first what in North America?
For answers, see below.
Black History Answers
These will be updated frequently during Black History Month/African Heritage Month.
Nubian Jak's Book of World Facts: The Ultimate Source on Black History and Achievement
All of these Black History questions and answers were taken from Nubian Jak's Book of World Facts. To read an interview with the author, Nubian Jak, inventor of the Nubian Jak Black history board game, buy Black Success Stories (see below).
Amazon Price: (as of 02/08/2010)
Black Success Stories Volume 1
To read an interview with Nubian Jak, author of Nubian Jak's Book of World Facts and inventor of the Nubian Jak Black history board game, buy Black Success Stories.
To read more about this book, see Do You Think Like a Success?
Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 02/08/2010)
Black Women in Antiquity (Journal of African Civilizations ; V. 6)
1. Grandmother.
Sources:
Black Women in Antiquity, Ivan Sertima Ed.
Nature Knows No Color Line by J.A. Rogers, 3rd edition, 1952
Amazon Price: $21.42 (as of 02/08/2010)
Nature Knows No Color-Line: Research into the Negro Ancestry in the White Race
1. Grandmother.
Sources:
Black Women in Antiquity, Ivan Sertima Ed.
Nature Knows No Color Line by J.A. Rogers, 3rd edition, 1952
Amazon Price: (as of 02/08/2010)
The Black American Reference Book
2. Washington, D.C.
Source: The Black American Reference Book, Mabel M. Smythe Ed.
3. Clock.
Sources:
The Black American Reference Book, Mabel M. Smythe Ed.
The Life of Benjamin Banneker by Silvio A. Bendini
Amazon Price: (as of 02/08/2010)
Black History/African Heritage Blogs
- The Importance of History
- A blog about why it is important for us to know and share our history.
- Black Victims of the Germans and Nazis
- Blog about a Black history presentation with Tony Warner of London Black History Walks
- Caribbean Thinkers
- A great course I attended about the link between African and African Diaspora history.
Celebrating the Positive
Positive cultural identity is key to our self-esteem and sense of self-worth. For more on this, see:
The Key to Confidence
Success Strategies for Black People
Learning history can be fun. This was the idea behind the Nubian Jak board game. Its creator, Jak Dodd, is interviewed in the book Black Success Stories. For more on this, see Do You Think Like a Success?
Black History Lenses
Celebrating the achievements and positive contributions of people of African heritage.-
Celebrating the Legend that Is Motown
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I have created this lens to celebrate Motown, a label which nurtured so many greats of African American music including Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and too many more to name here. Smokey Robinson will be performing at the White H...
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Obama's Inauguration Day
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Barack Obama is the first African American to become President of the United States. His inauguration was watched and celebrated around the world. A year later, is he living up to his campaign promises?
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Do You Think Like a Success?
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We are highly talented, highly skilled, highly gifted and highly successful. Black people are good at everything. How can we achieve more success in 2010? The more we dwell on success, the more success we attract. One way we can achieve this is to rea...
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Endgame - The Beginning of the End of Apartheid
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In 1985, a few very courageous individuals began top secret talks which led to the end of Apartheid in South Africa. This subtle, understated thriller depicts real-life events.
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Nelson Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom
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This is the autobiography of the first democratically elected President of South Africa. His vivid, and often moving, descriptions bring to life the influences that shaped one of the great leaders of our time. Click here for loads of books about Blac...
Black Heroes and Sheroes Lenses
Lenses that Celebrate the Black heroes, sheroes and freedom fighters who laid the groundwork so we could have better lives.-
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr
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Harriet Tubman
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When escaping slaves fled extreme cruelty at the hands of their masters, Harriet Tubman could be counted on to help guide them on their perilous journey to freedom. During the mayhem of the Civil War, she helped escaping slaves navigate their path to...
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Rosa Parks?
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Sojourner Truth traveled to the South o tthe free slaves. Rosa Parks stayed right where she was, with her bottom firmly on a bus seat until it was forcibly removed, to start the next liberation of blacks, women and ultimately all people. During the...
Great Stuff on Amazon
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela : With Connections (HRW Library)
Mandela talks of his life and places his commitment to liberate South Africa from apartheid squarely within his family and tribal traditions.
Amazon Price: $14.60 (as of 02/08/2010)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Harriet Jacobs's narrative of being born into slavery and later escaping her slavemaster by holing up in an attic for seven years.
Amazon Price: $23.99 (as of 02/08/2010)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Malcolm Little describes his life as he goes from petty criminal to Black Muslim and inspirational African American leader.
Amazon Price: (as of 02/08/2010)
An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography
The autobiography of Paul Rusesabagina, who sheltered refugees during the Rwandan genocide.
Amazon Price: (as of 02/08/2010)
Soul Survivors (Black Classics)
Narratives by women about their experiences during slavery in the U.S. and the Caribbean.
Amazon Price: (as of 02/08/2010)
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda tells the story of one man, Paul Rusesabagina, who stood up and, with extraordinary courage, protected people during the Rwandan genocide.-
Hotel Rwanda
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Hotel Rwanda tells the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, This film celebrates the courage of one man who stood against the group. A part-Hutu Rwandan, during the time of the 1994 genocide, Rusesabagina sheltered hundreds of mostly Tutsi refugees at th...
Black History Films in London
Black History Presentations with Tony Warner
During the Second World War, people of African heritage from the United States, the Caribbean and Africa signed up to fight for the Allied powers. After the war, many Black people chose to settle in London and other UK cities, which they considered to be their home. England was seen as the "mother country", but it did not welcome its Caribbean children with open arms. For more information, see
Black History Films
Hidden Histories: Black People in WWII
Click here for the next Black history presentations with Tony Warner.
See also: Africa and Africans on Film.
Black Writers and Artists
Celebrating African American literary and artistic traditions.-
Toni Morrison
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Born Chloe Anthony Wofford, in 1931 in Lorain (Ohio), the second of four children in a black working-class family. Displayed an early interest in literature. Studied humanities at Howard and Cornell Universities, followed by an academic career at Tex...
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Zora Neale Hurston
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As an African American folklorist and writer, Zora's work was well before it's time. Much of her work was created during the Harlem Renaissance when so many strong black artists were emerging and thriving. She, however, was largely overlooked because...
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Maya Angelou Quotes and Poems
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Here is a collection of Maya Angelou quotes on love, success, achievement, courage and life. Get inspired by Maya's beautiful words and wisdom.
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African Women's Creativity
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The Images of Black Women Film Festival is an international event which celebrates and promotes women of African descent in cinema, whether on screen or behind the camera. These are just a few of the films shown at the festival in 2009. This lens wi...
Great Stuff on Amazon
Song of Solomon
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 02/08/2010)
Sula
Amazon Price: $9.89 (as of 02/08/2010)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Hurston's classic of a young woman discovering herself.
Amazon Price: $10.87 (as of 02/08/2010)
I Love Myself When I Am Laughing... And Then Again: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader
Edited by Alice Walker
Amazon Price: $11.21 (as of 02/08/2010)
In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose
Alice Walker's collection of essays on rediscovering personal African American history and Black women's creativity.
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 02/08/2010)
Resources
- Black History Arts Project
- Kuumba-Survivors: interviews with artists of African heritage about their responses to the bicentenary of the end of the slave trade
- Hidden Histories: Black People and World War II
- Often, we are not told about aspects of our history. Every time I attend one of Tony Warner's presentations, I learn more valuable information.
- Black History on Amazon
- Books about the achievements of people of African heritage.
- Black History on Amazon UK
- Books about the achievements of people of African heritage.
- Next Black History Events
- Lists future Black History events with Tony Warner.
- African People's Self-Liberation
- Blog about how African people liberated ourselves in Africa, the Caribbean, the U.S. and the UK.
Black History Lenses
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African Women's Creativity
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The Images of Black Women Film Festival is an international event which celebrates and promotes women of African descent in cinema, whether on screen or behind the camera. These are just a few of the films shown at the festival in 2009. This lens wi...
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Two Films about Haiti
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To donate to the earthquake relief fund, see Yele Haiti, the fund set up by Wyclef Jean. For up-to-date info, see the Resources section below. African Remembrance Day celebrates the victory of Toussaint L'Ouverture over Napoleon's forces in Haiti. L...
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Hotel Rwanda
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Hotel Rwanda tells the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, This film celebrates the courage of one man who stood against the group. A part-Hutu Rwandan, during the time of the 1994 genocide, Rusesabagina sheltered hundreds of mostly Tutsi refugees at th...
Reader Feedback
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Reply
- IcemanBaldy IcemanBaldy Apr 21, 2009 @ 7:16 pm
- Wonderful lens. I've added it to my Black Lensmasters Group.
Best,
Iceman Baldy
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Reply
- Feb 18, 2009 @ 2:52 pm
- This is a real cool lens. I'm giving it 5 stars and placing it in my favorites. Plus, I am also doing a lensroll for it.
Additionally, I have accepted your lens into the group,
African Americans and Blacks Worldwide
Your visitors will probably be interested in reviewing this lens on
President Barack Obama Collectibles and Memorabilia
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Reply
- Zhana21 Zhana21 Nov 17, 2009 @ 11:46 am
- Thank you very much for your comments. And keep up the good work!
