Black History Month

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps (AAC), a precursor of the U.S. Air Force. Trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, they flew more than 15,000 individual sorties in Europe and North Africa during World War II. Their impressive performance earned them more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses and helped encourage the eventual integration of the U.S. armed forces.

• More information: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/tuskegee-airmen

Accomplished roboticist, entrepreneur, and educator. Dean of The Ohio State University College of Engineering. On March 1, 2021. Previously she was chair of the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing, as well as founder and director of the Human-Automation Systems Lab (HumAnS). Her career spans higher education, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the private sector. Dr. Howard is the founder and president of the board of directors of Zyrobotics, a Georgia Tech spin-off company that develops mobile therapy and educational products for children with special needs. Zyrobotics products are based on Dr. Howard’s research. Among many accolades, Forbes named Dr. Howard to its America’s Top 50 Women In Tech list. In 2021, the Association for Computing Machinery named her the ACM Athena Lecturer in recognition of her fundamental contributions to the development of accessible human-robotic systems and artificial intelligence, along with forging new paths to broaden participation in computing. In 2022, she was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and was appointed to the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC).

• More information: http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/ayanna-howard-41 

Grace Wisher was a free African American woman who was indentured as a child to the famous Star-Spangled Banner flag seamstress, Mary Pickersgill. As an African American living in the early 19th century, Grace’s story remains mostly unknown, but her role in making the flag was just as critical as those who are better represented by the historical record.

• More information: http://www.nps.gov/fomc/learn/historyculture/grace-wisher.htm

Marie Maynard Daly, born in Queens, New York to Helen and Ivan Daly, was the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Her father, an immigrant from the West Indies, had hoped to earn a degree in Chemistry at Cornell University but was unable to continue because of financial constraints. Marie Daly’s parents were committed to her education and encouraged her interest in science. She attended Hunter College High School where her teachers persuaded her that she could do well in chemistry. Clark became a champion for diversity, working to increase the representation of minorities in science.

• More information: http://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/clark-marie-maynard-daly-1921-2003/

Professor Temple Burling speaks about the importance and significance of museums devoted to African American history in this short video.

Watch Prof. Burling’s video

Explore Museums Online

• Twelve of the Best Black History Museums
• America’s Black Holocaust Museum
• Wisconsin Black Historical Society
• International African American Museum
• The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration
• National Museum of African American History and Culture (a Smithsonian Museum)
• The DuSable Museum of African American History
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (NY Public Library)
• The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
• International Civil Rights Center & Museum
• National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
• California African American Museum
• African American Museum in Philadelphia
• Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture
• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• Bronzeville Children’s Museum
• Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Virtual Museum Exhibit
• National Voting Rights Museum and Institute
• African American Museum of Nassau County
• National Museum of African American Music

Professor Jojin Van Winkle discusses the impact and contributions Black Americans have made to the arts.

Watch Prof. Van Winkle’s video

Immerse yourself in African-American Creative Expressions

• Read: “Black History Built: A Culture Shaped From Creativity & Innovation”
• Learn about the August Wilson African American Cultural Center
• Read: “Harlem Renaissance Art: Uncovering American Art” (National Gallery of Art)
• Read: “African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights, and Beyond” (Smithsonian American Art Museum)
• Learn about Question Bridge, an innovative transmedia project

Art

• Watch video: “Faith Ringgold’s Art of Fearlessness and Joy”
• Watch video: “Edmonia Lewis! The First Woman Sculptor of Color”
• Read: “Kehinde Wiley and Amu Sherald, the first Black artists to paint first black presidential portraits”
• Read: “10 Black Artists You Should Know”
• See art by Nick Cave
• Learn about Theaster Gates
• Learn about the Rebuild Foundation
• See art by Rashid Johnson
• Read: “Rashid Johnson Has Plied His Status as an Art Star to Effect the Kinds of Change He Wants to See”
• See art by Martin Puryear
• Learn about Kara Walker Studio
• See art by Carrie Mae Weems
• Visit the AW Studio website (Art by Amanda Williams)
• Read: “30 Black Designers Who Shaped Fashion History”
• Learn about architect Allison Grace Williams
• Learn about architect Michael Marshall Design
• Watch video: Gordon Parks, famous photographer

Dance

• Learn about the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater
• Read: “African American Dancers and Where to Watch Them Famous Black Dancers”
• Read: “5 Iconic Black Artists Who Changed Dance History”
• Read: “7 Iconic Black Women Who Changed The Course Of Ballet History”
• Read: “Black History Month: Celebrating African American Choreographers and Dancer
• Learn about New York Live Arts — Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company

Literature

• Learn about poet Maya Angelou
• Watch video: Poet Amanda Gorman gives a TedTalk, “Using your Voice is a Political Choice”
• Read: “The Story of Phillis Wheatley, The First Published African-American Poet”
• Read: “10 Famous Black Poets”
• Read: “50 Notable Black Authors of the 21st Century”
• Read: “10 Black Authors to Read”
• Read: “Comicvine Black Artists and Writers”
• Read: “Black Comic Writers”

Music

• Read: “Black Music History”
• Read: “What is Black Music?”
• Read: “12 Most Influential Black Musicians of All Time”
• Read: “The Story of Motown”
• Read: “The Roots and Impact of African American Blues Music”
• Read: “9 Black composers who changed the course of classical music history”

Cinema & Videos

• Watch: Find African American cinema on Kanopy
• Read: “9 Black Filmmaking Pioneers from the Earliest Days of Cinema”
• Learn about Ava DuVernay, writer, filmmaker, and producer
• Read: “50 Best Films By Black Directors”
• Read: “Top 20 Famous Black Actors of All Time”
• Read: “Top 50 Best Black Actresses of All Time”
• Read: “Here Are 11 Black Trans Entertainers Revolutionizing How We See Film And Television”

Culinary Arts

• Read: “The Culinary Legacy of James Hemings”
• Watch video: Exploring James Hemings’ Contributions to American Cuisine
• Read: “9 Black Chefs Who Have Changed the Way We Eat”

Professor Erin Weber discusses the inventions and innovations made by Black Americans.

WATCH PROF. WEBER’S VIDEO

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY AFRICAN AMERICAN INVENTORS AND INNOVATORS

• Read: “100 Black Innovators in 10 Days: 10 Inventors”
• Watch video: “15 Inventions Created by African Americans Video”
• Read: “The Real Women of Hidden Figures”
• Watch video: “Black Inventors of the 20th and 21st Century”
• Watch video: “Say it Loud: Black People Made That!”
• Read: “Black Inventors Who Elevated the United States”
• Read: “10 Black Innovators & Technologists Who Helped Uplift History”
• Read: “Black Inventors and Innovators: New Perspectives”
• Visit website: Mathematically Gifted and Black
• Watch video: “Vaccine Q&A: Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett & Dr. Francis Collins”
• Read: “Kizzmekia Corbett, an African American woman, is praised as key scientist behind COVID-19 vaccine”
• Read: “14 Black Inventors You Probably Didn’t Know About”
• Read: “120 things you probably didn’t know were created by Black inventors”
• Read: “With Patents or Without, Black Inventors Reshaped American Industry”
• Read: “Lost Histories of African-American Inventors”
• Read: “9 Black Innovators Who Made a Huge Impact in Tech”
• Watch video: “Eureka Moments: Black Innovators Working Towards Advancing Health Equity”

Professor Jerald Mast talks about the history of African-American enfranchisement from the United States’ founding to the present day.

Watch Prof. Mast’s video

Learn more about the Abolitionists & Activists who’ve made a difference

• Read: “American Abolitionists and Anti-Slavery Activists”
• Watch video: “We Should Be Uncomfortable With The Hard Parts Of Our Past” with Nikole Hannah-Jones of the “The 1619 Project”
• Read about President Barack Obama
• Watch video “President Barack Obama’s Greatest Speeches”
• Read about Black abolitionists
• Read Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s biography
• Read a biography of John Lewis
• Watch a preview of “Good Trouble,” a film about legendary U.S. Representative John Lewis’s life
• Watch video: “GMA surprises civil rights pioneer Annie Abrams with a street sign named after her”
• Read: “14 Racial Justice Activists and Authors You Should Know”
• Read: “16 queer black pioneers who made history”
• Read: “White Antiracists Activists: Teaching While White”
• Read about the Black Panther Party
• Read about Martin Luther King Jr.
• Watch Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech”
• Read: “10 bell hooks Books to Read in Your Lifetime”
• Watch video: “Racism has a cost for everyone with Heather C. McGhee”
• Read about activist Angela Davis
• Read: “9 Black Activists Who Are Fighting Injustice in the U.S.”
• Read: “9 Anti-Racist Children’s Books to Teach Kids About Diversity”
• Read: “10 of the Most Influential African American in U.S. History”
• Read: “Gloria Ladson-Billings: Daring to Dream in Public”
• Read about Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson
• Watch video: Just Mercy: Race and the Criminal Justice System with Bryan Stevenson
• Read article by Berkeley Professor Zeus Leonardo: “Who’s Afraid of Critical Race Theory (and What Exactly Is It, Anyway)?”
• Read a biography on Rev. Jesse Jackson
• Listen to Taharee Jackson’s podcast “Picking People’s Brains”
• Watch video: “Gholdy Muhammad: Rethinking Intervention”
• Watch video: “Cultivating Genius with Dr. Gholdy Muhammad”
• Watch video: “Cultural Criticism & Transformation with bell hooks”
• Watch video: “Belonging Through Connection with bell hooks & john a. powell”
• Listed to Bettina Love’s podcast “Teaching to Love”
• Listen to Bettina Love’s podcast “Teaching to Thrive”
• Listen to Eddie Moore Jr.’s podcast “Black Oxygen”
• Listen to Eddie Moore Jr.’s podcast “What Matters Most”
• Watch video: “Beyond the Words: MLK Reflection with Christopher Emdin”
• Read about Audre Lorde
• Listen to the “Race Forward” podcast
• Listen to “Miss Buchanan’s Period of Adjustment” podcast, the story behind the Brown vs. Board of Education decision
• Listen to WBEZ Chicago Podcast: “Making,” a bio-podcast series about how Black American icons were made
• Watch video: “Zeus Leonardo: Teaching Whiteness in a Multicultural Context”
• Listen to the “Following Harriet” podcast
• Watch Raoul Peck’s “I am Not Your Negro, Exterminate All the Brutes” on Kanopy