Because Of Them, We Can... Poster Series

Eunique Jones Photography 

Posters in the series can be purchased at www.becauseofthemwecan.com

Free Black History E-Books Downloads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Up From Slavery: An Autobiography

 

Booker T. Washington (1856 - 1915) was born a slave but would later become one of the most influential black men in United States history. Washington advocated peaceful protest and believed violence would hurt the chance for African-Americans to secure civil rights. W.E.B. Du Bois, another famous writer and civil rights activist in the early 20th century, believed in stronger protests. Though both men went about things different ways they both are still well read today and recognized for helping African-Americans get civil rights.

 

 



The Souls of Black Folks

W.E.B. DuBois,a prolific author, historian, and civil rights activist, authored The Souls of Black Folk in 1903. It remains one of the most celebrated pieces of African American literature.

A Brave Black Regiment

 

The 54th Massachusetts was one of the first official African American units during the Civil War. Luis Emilio assumed command of the 54th after the Battle of Fort Wagner in 1863.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 When Speaking of Elijah Muhammad

When speaking of Elijah Muhammad, the Last Messenger of Allah, very few are without a personal view or bias. Whether it is influenced by former students such as Minister Malik El Shabazz, also known as Minister Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, formerly known as Muhammad Ali, Louis Wilcox also known as Minister Louis Farrakhan or any host of other notables inside as well as out of the Nation of Islam, it's rare for anyone of age to not have a point of view, whether grounded or not. Movies and other biased media have influenced even those under age or on the outer fringes. With this in mind, our initial approach to the Messenger's history takes the above public predisposition into consideration, which is why we simply want to share this treatise or lengthy discourse from a point of view consistent with the Messenger's 40 year presentation and how he saw himself. For with anyone, there are at least three angles by which we all are viewed. First is how we see ourselves; secondly, how others see us; and thirdly how we actually are. Bringing the three together produces a smoothness or coherence that is rarely attained by most, but in Messenger Elijah Muhammad's case, we humbly request that your judgment be reserved, because the jury is still out as to the profundity, significance and effect of his impact on the world as we know it.

 

 

Black History Facts

Bassett & Blige Discuss Their Iconic Roles On Katie

Mary J. Blige and Angela Bassett Historic New Roles
Mary J. Blige and Angela Bassett are strong, modern-day women who are portraying the wives of the most iconic figures of the Civil Rights movement in the new Lifetime movie, Betty & Coretta.


Oscar-nominated Angela Bassett and Grammy-winning Mary J. Blige tell Katie about their new film Betty & Coretta and what it was like working together.

Modern Black History Books

7 Modern Black History Books That Should Be Required Reading
by Joshunda Victoria Sanders 

Book blogs and publishers have started recommending Black History Month titles, but those titles tend to be imprint/publishing-house specific. There's nothing wrong with that, but it means that some titles might escape your notice. I love big books, but I especially adore giant books about black history, which I read for fun. So, there will be at least one other list like this before February is out. But for now...

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
This is one of my favorite books from the past 20 years. I can't recommend it enough. Ta-Nehisi Coates agrees. As a work of superior journalism, it has few peers. You've certainly heard about the Great Migration before and maybe your grandparents or parents told you all you need to know. But the narrative power and style of Isabel Wilkerson as applied to more than 1,000 interviews is educational and inspirational nonetheless. Here's my Q&A with her from 2010 ahead of her appearance at the Texas Book Festival.

 

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
There were some big questions that remained unanswered in Marable's book, but it's still an incredible biography. I'm sad that he didn't live to see its publication. My 2011 Q&A with Zaheer Ali.

 

 

 

Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol by Nell Irvin Painter
This was worth reading to find out more about the woman beyond her "Ain't I a Woman" speech. Not only did she bare her breasts in public in the context of this speech, since her audience was treating her like she was a man, but she was also a shrewd marketer of her image. The photograph we associate most with her says beneath it, "I sell the shadow to support the substance."

 

 

 

Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton
This is one of my favorite biographies in the past decade, in addition to Alice Walker: A Life and Wrapped in Rainbows, the biography of Zora Neale Hurston by Valerie Boyd. Catherine Clinton writes about Tubman not just as the Moses of her people, but also as a woman who was married multiple times, including once when she was past retirement age, and adopted many children with her last husband.

 

 

 

At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle McGuire
I was profoundly moved by reading this thorough history of black women like Rosa Parks and learning a fuller history of how sexual assault was used against them (us) in the racist South. It was jarring and well-researched. In comparison to most black history lessons and stories, it was far more nuanced. 

 

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
There isn't a black person in American who is unaffected by the prison industrial complex and mass incarceration of black men and women in our country. Michelle Alexander's important book shows just how bleak modern incarceration is and how racism impacts not just prisoners and ex-convicts but society at large.

 

 

 Disintegration by Eugene Robinson
A lot has been made of the post-racial nature of America - are we or aren't we? Eugene Robinson doesn't answer that, and for good reason - instead he looks at how black America has become so diffuse that its impact from decades past, mainly during America's segregated era, has disintegrated along class and geographical lines.
Source: jvictoriawrites