Black history month suggestions for non-history readers

The desire to officially recognize the history and contributions of Black individuals has existed in  America in one form or another since the 1920s; the modern incarnation of Black History Month was preceded by Negro History Week, a concept created in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson. This period in mid-February, which roughly aligns with anniversaries of the birthdates of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln in mid-February, has been celebrated by Black communities for decades.

This year, CDPL is bringing you recommendations for Black History Month reads, watches, and listens that go beyond “pure history”; we’ll be crossing over into genres like poetry, photography, and other rich formats that help to bring Black culture alive and off the page. You’ll find special displays on our first and second floors with staff suggestions for fiction and nonfiction in both regular print and large print, along with audiobooks and movies, and you should keep an eye on our social media accounts and website for new recommendation roundup videos every few days! Previous video roundups are available to view now on our website, and topics have included Recs for Poetry Lovers, for Local Historians, and a Focus on Black women.

Can’t-Miss Local History Titles

Local history fans will definitely want to check out our recommendation for the book “Polite Protest: The Political Economy of Race in Indianapolis, 1920-1970” by Richard B. Pierce (323.1196 Pie), available both as a reference book in our local history section and also as a borrowable item. Other titles of note with local connections include the documentaries “Attucks: The School That Opened a City” (DVD 379.26 Att) and “Night School” (DVD 374.9772 Nig).

Poetry picks

Poetry suggestions included two award-winning titles by bestselling author Claudia Rankine, “Citizen: An American Lyric” (814.6 Ran) and “Just Us: An American Conversation” (305.896 Ran), which combine poetry, essays, and images to convey powerful messages about racial aggressions and inequities in the 21st century; “Black Nature: Four Centuries of African-American Nature Poetry” (811.0836 Bla); and “African-American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song” (811.008 Afr).

More roundups to come

Watch for upcoming roundups that will highlight must-read biographies, books on arts and photography…and even some truly intimidating tomes for our history readers who may be feeling slightly left out! 

Let us know if there’s a topic that you’d like to see us highlight in the future through recommendation roundups or displays by emailing us (ref@cdpl.lib.in.us) or sending us a message on social media. You can find us on Facebook (@CvillePL) and Instagram (@crawfordsvillelibrary), and can view previous displays and explore other topic lists at our website (www.cdpl.lib.in.us).