I’ve had fiction writer’s block for way too long, but reading this helped… I think.
I read this and realized I hadn’t listened to any Tribe Called Quest in way too long so I loaded a playlist while I took a bath and it’s my new form of self care.
Thisis a great piece about why some black women have a fondness for fur and you should read it…
Marian Anderson was the Beyoncé of the opera world when she was invited to perform in DC at a concert planned for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Constitution Hall. The DAR’s decision to bar her from doing so due to its “all-white performer policy” led to a turning point in civil rights history - her historic Easter concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before a crowd of 75,000 admirers. Listen to this incredible concert online and discover through our records:
Did the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) reallyhave an “all-white performer policy”?
How was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt involved, and did she really resign from DAR?
What was the role of Howard University and its Omega Psi Phi Fraternity?
Eleanor Roosevelt to John Lovell, Jr. of Howard University, 2/26/1939.
Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson in Japan, 5/22/1953, NARA ID 195989.
Petition from Omega Psi Phi, April 1939. (Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives).
Marian Anderson Poster, 8/26/1957, NARA ID 6948897.
President John F. Kennedy with Singer Marian Anderson and her accompanist Franz Rupp in the Oval Office 3/22/1962. JFK Library ID AR7113-A.
Throughout February, In honor of Black History Month, I’ll be illustrating tributes to Black recording artists. From the world renowned to the underground and across genres.
It’s February, which means it’s Black History Month! Similar to how I made an LGBTQ+ resource post for Native American Heritage Month in November, here are some resources for Black LGBTQ+ people (as always, feel free to contribute if you have more resources!)
“Since 1976, the nation has celebrated the contributions and achievements of Black Americans each February. This commemorative moment in the yearly calendar serves as a reminder of where we’ve been, as well as how far we’ve come. MasterClass, an online education subscription platform, is making a glimpse of that history available to everyone for free this month, releasing a three-part, 54-lesson class entitled “Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love.”
“Through the insight and wisdom of Jelani Cobb, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Angela Davis, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Sherrilyn Ifill, John McWhorter and Cornel West, the complimentary class examines the nature of race relations in America.”
Essence mag is “highlighting books from Black women historians to celebrate the annual holiday.”
“Despite the spate of book bans and calls to eliminate teaching certain subjects in public schools, Black authors are still putting in the work to keep us fully knowledgable of America’s true history. Here are five books to add to your library published by Black women historians.”
01 - All That She Carried, Tiya Alicia Miles
02 - South To America, Imani Perry
03 - Four Hundred Souls, co-edited by Keisha N. Blain and Ibram X. Kendi
04 - Bound in Wedlock, Tera Hunter
05 - African American Women in the Struggle for the Vote, 1850–1920, Rosalyn Terborg-Penn
