Black History Matters! Celebrating a Week of Black History Month

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Black History Matters! Celebrating a Week of Black History Month Black History Matters! Celebrating a Week of Black History month Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of blacks in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history. Day Dress to signify Examples Monday, Print out Day ` February 24th (Wear Dashikis or African Print) Wear an African attire including African Prints to kickoff the celebration of “Black History Month” Teachers “BHM” Luncheon Black History Program 7th & 8th Periods Tuesday, Movement Day February 25th (Dress in 60’s Attire) Dress up in your 60’s attire to remember the infamous Selma Freedom March with MLK. Wednesday, Enriched Sounds Day February 26th (Dress up like a music artist) Dress up as a famous Motown artist to remember the enriched sounds of Black culture. Thursday, Be an Influencer! Hank Aaron th Ira Aldridge February 27 (Dress up in your best!) Muhammad Ali Maya Angelou James Baldwin Dress up as an influential person of Mary McLeod Bethune Ralph Bunche color. George Washington Carver Shirley Chisholm Kenneth B. Clark Bill Cosby W. E. B. Du Bois Paul Laurence Dunbar Barack O Obama Martin Luther King, Jr. Rosa Parks Tiger Woods Malcom X Friday Remembering colors of pride! February 28th (Wear Red/Black/Green) Wear either red/black/green to remember the African nation and what these color stand for. .
Recommended publications
  • “I Am Not Your Negro” (2016) Argument-Based Questions
    “I Am Not Your Negro” (2016) Argument-Based Questions These argument-based questions accompany the 2016 documentary “I Am Not Your Negro,” which was created from a set of unpublished writings by James Baldwin. Baldwin was working on a book, one that he did not complete but for which he prepared extensive notes, taking a very autobiographical look at the divergent and convergent lives and deaths of three towing civil rights leaders: Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, and Malcolm X. The documentary and these questions can be used as part of a unit on Civil Rights, African-American history, or simply American history. Students can be given these questions in advance of screening the film, for completion afterward. Or, the documentary can be paused at intervals so students can discuss or respond in writing to the questions. The timings attached to each question are approximately (not precisely) aligned with the film. It would be sufficient to screen the first half of this documentary – through the first 45 minutes – for classes with younger students, students sensitive to images of violence (there are several of these in the film’s second half), or students very unfamiliar with the history of the Civil Rights movement. There are various arguable angles into the civil rights era, and this documentary, as the questions below suggest. One overarching debatable issue is: James Baldwin establishes as one of his unifying arguments, in the writings on which “I Am Not Your Negro” is based and elsewhere, that America as a whole has been more damaged by racism than have African-Americans and other racial minorities, racism’s direct targets.
    [Show full text]
  • James Baldwin As a Writer of Short Fiction: an Evaluation
    JAMES BALDWIN AS A WRITER OF SHORT FICTION: AN EVALUATION dayton G. Holloway A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December 1975 618208 ii Abstract Well known as a brilliant essayist and gifted novelist, James Baldwin has received little critical attention as short story writer. This dissertation analyzes his short fiction, concentrating on character, theme and technique, with some attention to biographical parallels. The first three chapters establish a background for the analysis and criticism sections. Chapter 1 provides a biographi­ cal sketch and places each story in relation to Baldwin's novels, plays and essays. Chapter 2 summarizes the author's theory of fiction and presents his image of the creative writer. Chapter 3 surveys critical opinions to determine Baldwin's reputation as an artist. The survey concludes that the author is a superior essayist, but is uneven as a creator of imaginative literature. Critics, in general, have not judged Baldwin's fiction by his own aesthetic criteria. The next three chapters provide a close thematic analysis of Baldwin's short stories. Chapter 4 discusses "The Rockpile," "The Outing," "Roy's Wound," and "The Death of the Prophet," a Bi 1 dungsroman about the tension and ambivalence between a black minister-father and his sons. In contrast, Chapter 5 treats the theme of affection between white fathers and sons and their ambivalence toward social outcasts—the white homosexual and black demonstrator—in "The Man Child" and "Going to Meet the Man." Chapter 6 explores the theme of escape from the black community and the conseauences of estrangement and identity crises in "Previous Condition," "Sonny's Blues," "Come Out the Wilderness" and "This Morning, This Evening, So Soon." The last chapter attempts to apply Baldwin's aesthetic principles to his short fiction.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Women, Educational Philosophies, and Community Service, 1865-1965/ Stephanie Y
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-2003 Living legacies : Black women, educational philosophies, and community service, 1865-1965/ Stephanie Y. Evans University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Evans, Stephanie Y., "Living legacies : Black women, educational philosophies, and community service, 1865-1965/" (2003). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 915. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/915 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. M UMASS. DATE DUE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST LIVING LEGACIES: BLACK WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, 1865-1965 A Dissertation Presented by STEPHANIE YVETTE EVANS Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2003 Afro-American Studies © Copyright by Stephanie Yvette Evans 2003 All Rights Reserved BLACK WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOHIES, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, 1865-1964 A Dissertation Presented by STEPHANIE YVETTE EVANS Approved as to style and content by: Jo Bracey Jr., Chair William Strickland,
    [Show full text]
  • Grice, Karly Marie
    “Wake Up, America!”: The March Trilogy as “Wake Work” “If we do not now dare everything, the fulfillment of that prophecy, recreated from the Bible in song by a slave, is upon us: God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time!” -James Baldwin John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell’s March trilogy has received numerous accolades as a primer of history and nonviolence. While these roles are important, I argue that the books perform another important role for contemporary society. In my presentation, I assert the visual narrative structure of the March trilogy embodies the complexity of what Christina Sharpe describes as “the wake” where “to be in the wake is to occupy and to be occupied by the continuous and changing present of slavery’s as yet unresolved unfolding” (13-14). Sharpe’s explanation of “the wake” is Derridean in nature: “the wake” is made up of multiple, contextual understandings of “wake”: rough waters, the aftermath of turmoil, a mourning period, to awaken, and to be aware. By engaging with texts that display the black diasporic experience, Sharpe explains that readers can perform “wake work,” which she describes as “a mode of inhabiting and rupturing this episteme with our known lived and un/imaginable lives” (18). The March trilogy1 facilitates wake work through innovation in style, composition, and comics. While this engagement occurs in many ways, the scope of my presentation focuses specifically on how narrative time is visually disrupted in the March trilogy. Namely, the untidy oscillation between Lewis’s Civil Rights Movement past and the narrative present of President Obama’s inauguration creates disruptions where the past and present invade one another’s visual space.
    [Show full text]
  • The "Stars for Freedom" Rally
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Selma-to-Montgomery National Historic Trail The "Stars for Freedom" Rally March 24,1965 The "March to Montgomery" held the promise of fulfilling the hopes of many Americans who desired to witness the reality of freedom and liberty for all citizens. It was a movement which drew many luminaries of American society, including internationally-known performers and artists. In a drenching rain, on the fourth day, March 24th, carloads and busloads of participants joined the march as U.S. Highway 80 widened to four lanes, thus allowing a greater volume of participants than the court- imposed 300-person limitation when the roadway was narrower. There were many well-known celebrities among the more than 25,000 persons camped on the 36-acre grounds of the City of St. Jude, a Catholic social services complex which included a school, hospital, and other service facilities, located within the Washington Park neighborhood. This fourth campsite, situated on a rain-soaked playing field, held a flatbed trailer that served as a stage and a host of famous participants that provided the scene for an inspirational performance enjoyed by thousands on the dampened grounds. The event was organized and coordinated by the internationally acclaimed activist and screen star Harry Belafonte, on the evening of March 24, 1965. The night "the Stars" came out in Alabama Mr. Belafonte had been an acquaintance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. since 1956. He later raised thousands of dollars in funding support for the Freedom Riders and to bailout many protesters incarcerated during the era, including Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Black History Month Calendar
    In honor of Black History Month, we will journey through time and learn about 20 inspiring African Americans who made an impact, and their contributions to our world today. Long before Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks etched their names into American History, there were so many unknown or forgotten individuals who helped make significant contributions to society. From Inventors, to educators, activists, and poets it’s so important to make sure diverse contributions are always part of our conversations about history. The best part? We can all learn and share about these contributions everyday-not just in February. To learn about each of their contributions click the images below. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday February 1st February 2nd February 3rd February 4th February 5th Dr. Carter G. Woodson Shirley Chishlom Dr. Charles Drew Katherine Johnson Benjamin Banneker “Father of Black History” “Unbought &Unbossed” “Father of Blood Banks” “Hidden Figures” “Washington D.C” Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday February 8th February 9th February 10th February 11th February 12th Harriet Powers Otis Boykin Mary McLeod Bethune Perry Wallace Bessie Coleman “Mother of African “Pacemaker Control “Pioneer in Black “Triumph” “Queen Bess” Quilting” Unit” Education” Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday February 15th February 16th February 17th February 18th February 19th Clementine Hunter Lillian Harden Chester Pierce Mamie “Peanut” Johnson Dr. Charles H. Turner “Art from Her Heart” Armstrong “Follow Chester” “Strong Right Arm” “Buzzing with Questions” “Born to Swing” Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday February 22nd February 23rd February 24th February 25th February 26th Madame CJ Walker Garret Morgan Mary H.
    [Show full text]
  • Maya Angelou Author, Civil Rights Activist, Poet (1928–2014)
    Biography HAPPY VIDEO BIRTHDAY Queen Queen Elizabeth II Latifah Maya Angelou Author, Civil Rights Activist, Poet (1928–2014) Maya Angelou is a poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her numerous poetry and essay collections. Synopsis NAME Born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, writer and civil rights Maya Angelou activist Maya Angelou is known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction OCCUPATION Author, Civil Rights best-seller by an African-American woman. In 1971, Angelou published Activist, Poet the Pulitzer Prize-nominated poetry collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die. She later wrote the poem "On the Pulse of BIRTH DATE Morning"—one of her most famous works—which she recited at April 4, 1928 President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. Angelou received several DEATH DATE honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in May 28, 2014 the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009. EDUCATION She died on May 28, 2014. George Washington High School, California Labor School Early Years PLACE OF BIRTH St. Louis, Missouri Multi-talented barely seems to cover the depth and breadth of Maya AKA Angelou's accomplishments. She was an author, actress, screenwriter, Marguerite Johnson dancer and poet. Born Marguerite Annie Johnson, Angelou had a Marguerite Ann Johnson difficult childhood. Her parents split up when she was very young, and she and her older brother, Bailey, were sent to live with their father's NICKNAME Maya mother, Anne Henderson, in Stamps, Arkansas.
    [Show full text]
  • Leaders of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Biographical Information
    “The Top Ten” Leaders of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Biographical Information (Asa) Philip Randolph • Director of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. • He was born on April 15, 1889 in Crescent City, Florida. He was 74 years old at the time of the March. • As a young boy, he would recite sermons, imitating his father who was a minister. He was the valedictorian, the student with the highest rank, who spoke at his high school graduation. • He grew up during a time of intense violence and injustice against African Americans. • As a young man, he organized workers so that they could be treated more fairly, receiving better wages and better working conditions. He believed that black and white working people should join together to fight for better jobs and pay. • With his friend, Chandler Owen, he created The Messenger, a magazine for the black community. The articles expressed strong opinions, such as African Americans should not go to war if they have to be segregated in the military. • Randolph was asked to organize black workers for the Pullman Company, a railway company. He became head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first black labor union. Labor unions are organizations that fight for workers’ rights. Sleeping car porters were people who served food on trains, prepared beds, and attended train passengers. • He planned a large demonstration in 1941 that would bring 10,000 African Americans to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC to try to get better jobs and pay. The plan convinced President Roosevelt to take action.
    [Show full text]
  • The Speaker's
    Sekou Andrews: The Speaker’s Bio Sekou Andrews is inspiring the business world one poem at a time with The Sekou Effect. As the world’s leading Poetic Voice, Sekou creates personalized poetic presentations that give voice to the messages and missions of organizations and help them tell their most powerful stories. He is the creator of this cutting-edge speaking category that combines strategic storytelling, inspirational speaking, spoken word poetry, and the power of theater and comedy to make events into experiences, and transform audiences of informed receivers into enrolled responders. Sekou does more than inspire us with his story; he inspires us with our story. An elementary schoolteacher turned actor, musician, national poetry slam champion, entrepreneur, and now award-winning Poetic Voice, any given day may now find Sekou presenting an original talk for international marketing executives, giving a keynote speech at a leadership conference, or performing pieces for Barack Obama in Oprah’s backyard and Hillary Clinton in Quincy Jones’ living room. His work has been featured on such diverse national media outlets as ABC World News, MSNBC, HBO, Good Morning America, Showtime, MTV and BET, and he has performed privately for such prominent individuals as Maya Angelou, Larry King, Norman Lear, Sean “P-Diddy” Combs, and Coretta Scott King and family. Companies and organizations that have experienced “The Sekou Effect” include Kraft, Nike, Time Warner, Global Green, Banana Republic, eBay, Microsoft, Google, LinkedIn, Express, Paypal, General Mills, TEDx, Wieden+Kennedy, NBA, NCAA, Chopra Center, Experient, Singularity University and the Million Dollar Roundtable to name but a few.
    [Show full text]
  • Maya Angelou Biography
    Maya Angelou Biography http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/maya_angelou/biography Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. She is an author, poet, historian, songwriter, playwright, dancer, stage and screen producer, director, performer, singer, and civil rights activist. She is best known for her autobiographical books: All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986), The Heart of a Woman (1981), Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976), Gather Together in My Name (1974), and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), which was nominated for the National Book Award. Among her volumes of poetry are A Brave and Startling Truth (Random House, 1995), The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1994), Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993), Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987), I Shall Not Be Moved (1990), Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? (1983), Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well (1975), and Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971), which was nominated for the Pulitzer prize. Enlarge Picture In 1959, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1961 to 1962 she was associate editor of The Arab Observer in Cairo, Egypt, the only English-language news weekly in the Middle East, and from 1964 to 1966 she was feature editor of the African Review in Accra, Ghana. She returned to the U.S. in 1974 and was appointed by Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission and later by Jimmy Carter to the Commission for International Woman of the Year.
    [Show full text]
  • Powerful Theatre
    Steven Connell is an acclaimed actor and renowned playwright, with work hailed by critics as “Powerful Theatre”, “Hilarious”, and “Brilliant”, but considering he is a Hollywood Slam Champion, a Los Angeles Slam Champion, a two-time HBO Def Poet and a National Poetry Champion (twice), he is perhaps best known for his work as a poet. Featured on ABC World News, Good Morning America, HBO Def Poetry and others, he has created work for such prestigious organizations as Global Green, TEDMED, Xprize Foundation, NIKE, Sony/Universal, Pioneer Electronics, American Cancer Society, Farmers Insurance, GAP, Banana Republic and Amnesty International, to name a few. Private highlights include performing at Oprah Winfrey’s celebration of Maya Angelou, the Quincy Jones Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Marion Anderson Gala (honoring Maya Angelou/Norman Lear); as well as special events for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, (special request: Quincy Jones), and President Obama, (special request: Oprah Winfrey). In addition to being a poet, he served as creative director for the national spoken word tour and documentary, The Underground Poets Railroad, and as the artistic director for the Los Angeles Poetry Festival (Celebrate the Word). After that he was hired as poet and creative director for Norman Lear’s Declare Yourself. His work with Declare Yourself, and his partnership with Norman Lear, not only registered over a million voters it brought focus to the political facet of his work. This resulted in partnerships with Rock the Vote, Vote or Die, the ACLU, and the Pen Foundation, to name a few and led to his being published in the acclaimed anthology “Why Freedom Matters”.
    [Show full text]
  • Phenomenal Woman: Michelle Obama's Embodied Rhetoric And
    Phenomenal Woman: Michelle Obama’s Embodied Rhetoric and the Cultural Work of Fashion Biographies Stefanie Schäfer ABSTRACT Michelle Obama’s role as the first black First Lady of the U.S. is contextualized in discourses of feminism and race, in the historical meaning of the First Lady, and in the world of fashion and celebrity. Her strategy in engaging these discourses is described here as an ‘embodied rhetoric,’ in which she caters to media attention but refuses to comment on her fashion choices, thereby creating a void for interpretation that is filled by a plethora of readings. Drawing from biography and iconicity theory as well as fashion and First Lady Studies, this article discusses three icon- ic appearances of Obama that demonstrate her stances on the First Lady’s role, black female stereotypes, and fashion as empowerment, respectively. It examines the cultural work of two genres of celebrity texts, biographies and fashion biographies, in order to extrapolate her ‘real’ character and historical meaning for American womanhood. Obama’s case illustrates the inter- dependence between iconic persona and public mythmaking: The First Lady’s ‘office’ serves as a template for the creation of an American fashion icon. As a consequence, the Presidency is no longer a solitary office, but one occupied by a First Couple ruling by political and fashion power. This article discusses three iconic appearances of Obama that comment on her First Lady role, on black female stereotypes, and on fashion as empowerment, respectively. It examines how bi- ographies and fashion biographies interpret these appearances in order to extrapolate her ‘real’ character and historical meaning for American womanhood.
    [Show full text]