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February marks Black History Month, a month-long observance in the United States and Canada that recognizes the significant contributions of Black Americans to history, as well as the historical legacies of the African diaspora. We hope you’ll find the stories below, and the scholarship they include in full, a valuable resource for classroom or leisure reading.
“Heed Their Rising Voices”: Annotated February 21, 2024
In 1960, an ad placed in the New York Times to defend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights activists touched off a landmark libel suit.
Carter G. Woodson, The Father of Black History Month February 12, 2015
The origins of Black History Month date back to 1926, when a historian named Carter G. Woodson spearheaded “Negro History Week.”
Négritude’s Enduring Legacy: Black Lives Matter June 9, 2023
Today's anti-racist activism builds on the work of Black Francophone writers who founded the Pan-African Négritude movement in the 1930s.
Cedric Robinson and the Black Radical Tradition November 11, 2021
Cedric Robinson proposed that the Black radical tradition was necessitated into existence by “racial capitalism.”
In the McCarthy Era, to Be Black Was to Be Red November 13, 2019
The Marxist sympathies of Black radical leaders like Paul Robeson, Alice Childress, and Lorraine Hansberry made them targets for the FBI.
Stokely Carmichael, Radical Teacher June 21, 2021
The civil rights leader who changed his name to Kwame Ture encouraged students in the Mississippi Freedom Schools to think critically.
Marcus Garvey and the History of Black History February 12, 2023
Long before the concept of multicultural education emerged, the United Negro Improvement Association pushed for the teaching of Black history and culture.
Tuskegee University’s Audio Collections October 5, 2023
The archives of the historically Black Tuskegee University recently released recordings from 1957 to 1971, with a number by powerful civil rights leaders.
The Real Story of Black Anarchists September 5, 2020
Often in the news today, anarchism is widely misunderstood. One myth is that it's a movement for white people.
Building Black Community Spaces
We Descend from the River November 25, 2025
Public spaces are often sites of commemoration of events in the nation’s history. But which public is represented in and served by those spatialized celebrations?
Nella Larsen’s Lessons in Library School August 20, 2024
Larsen’s novels were influenced by her training in the New York Public Library system, where she faced rigid ideas about the racial classification of knowledge.
How Black Radio Changed the Dial May 30, 2022
Black-appeal stations were instrumental in propelling R&B into the mainstream while broadcasting news of the ever-growing civil rights movement.
The Black Church and Mental Health Support October 9, 2022
Mental healthcare has not always been accessible for Black Americans. Could churches be part of the solution?
The First Black-Owned Bookstore and the Fight for Freedom July 10, 2020
Black abolitionist David Ruggles opened the first Black-owned bookstore in 1834, pointing the way to freedom—in more ways than one.
The Barrier-Breaking Ozark Club of Great Falls, Montana July 10, 2024
The Black-owned club became a Great Falls hotspot, welcoming all to a music-filled social venue for almost thirty years.
Freedom Libraries and the Fight for Library Equity January 10, 2022
Freedom libraries in the south provided Black residents with access to spaces and books, whether in church basements or private homes.
Teaching Black Women’s Self-Care during Jim Crow October 6, 2021
Maryrose Reeves Allen founded a wellness program at Howard University in 1925 that emphasized the physical, mental, and spiritual health of Black women.
How Black CB Radio Users Created an Audible Community November 18, 2021
CB radio was portrayed as a mostly white enthusiasm in its heyday, but Black CB users were active as early as 1959.
Self Care and Community in 1901 Indianapolis February 5, 2024
For Black women engaged with local institutions, the “Delsarte” technique was a means of supporting struggling city residents while advancing political power.
How Black-Owned Record Stores Helped Create Community December 7, 2020
What was it like for Black American music lovers during the age of segregation to find a place they could call their own?
Combating Segregation
How the Black Press Helped Integrate Baseball September 18, 2023
In the 1930s and ’40s, Black newspapers like the Pittsburgh Courier used their platform to help break the sport’s color line.
How a Southern College Tried to Resist Segregation August 20, 2021
The founder of Kentucky's Berea College was an abolitionist. While he was alive, the school offered a free education for both Black and white students.
Who Were the Montford Point Marines? June 26, 2019
The first African-American recruits in the Marine Corps trained at Montford Point, eventually ending the military’s longstanding policy of racial segregation.
Desegregating Bowling Alleys December 14, 2021
The bowling desegregation movement began during World War II, but wouldn’t end there.
How Black Communities Built Their Own Schools August 4, 2020
Rosenwald schools, named for a philanthropist, were funded mostly by Black people of the segregated South.
How St. Louis Domestic Workers Fought Exploitation January 26, 2021
Without many legal protections under the New Deal, Black women organized through the local Urban League.
Even the Best Jim Crow School…Was Still a Jim Crow School February 21, 2023
Before Brown v. Board of Education, Black activists split between integrationist and separatist factions, particularly at New Jersey’s Bordentown School.
Highlighting Overlooked Black History
Seeking Clues in Cabinet Cards February 17, 2025
The poignant images, at once banal and intimate, in the Lynch Family Photographs Collection contain mysteries perhaps only the public can solve.
The Trailblazing Merze Tate April 21, 2025
A celebrated historian of race and imperialism, Tate was an intrepid traveler who avidly shared her passion and meticulously documented her journeys.
Portico’s Part in Telling the Story of Emmett Till November 13, 2024
The Emmett Till Memory Project teaches new generations about the tragedy that kickstarted the Civil Rights Movement. Preserving its digital assets is vital.
Toledo’s Most Singular Pharmacist February 19, 2025
The Ella P. Stewart Scrapbooks offer insight into the life and legacy of a pioneering Black woman who broke color barriers and helped birth the fight for civil rights.
In the Shipyards of San Francisco December 16, 2024
Photographer E. F. Joseph captured the dignity of the hundreds of Black women and men who worked on SS George Washington Carver during World War II.
Remembering Doris Miller February 6, 2023
Following his actions at Pearl Harbor, Messman Doris Miller was the first Black sailor to be honored with the Navy Cross—but only after political pressure.
America’s First Ventriloquist August 31, 2023
Richard Potter, the first American-born ventriloquist and stage magician, learned his trade after being kidnapped and abandoned as a child in Great Britain.
Challenging Race and Gender Roles, One Photo at a Time July 2, 2022
Florestine Perrault Collins escaped the bounds of prescribed gender roles and racial segregation to run a successful photography studio in 1920s New Orleans.
Chainlink Chronicle: Celebrating Black History in Louisiana February 28, 2023
An exploration of one prison newspaper’s commitment to celebrating Black History with a unique focus on its home state.
The Groundbreaking Work of Jackie Ormes April 17, 2022
The first Black woman to have a regularly published comic strip, Ormes gave form to the political and social concerns of Black Americans.
Introducing “Archives Unbound” February 24, 2022
In her new column, Dorothy Berry offers an inside look at the work of the digital archivist, while highlighting forgotten figures in Black print culture and public life.
The Death of Jack Trice July 29, 2024
On October 6, 1923, Iowa State tackle Jack Trice lined up for the second half of a college football game. No one’s sure what happened in that third quarter.
The First Black American to Reach the North Pole October 16, 2023
Matthew Henson partnered with Robert Peary on seven Arctic adventures, but their final success brought an end to a longstanding collaboration.
How the Land Is Passed August 21, 2025
A transatlantic story of Black land, loss, and resistance.
Black History in Literature, Science, & the Arts
Black Midwestern Studies: A Reading List July 17, 2025
This primer on Black Midwestern Studies examines the factors shaping communities of color in America’s “flyover country,” long mistaken as a place of normative whiteness.
The Storied History of HBCU Marching Bands April 24, 2025
Marching bands at historically Black colleges and universities can be seen as both celebratory emblems and complicated arbiters of Black American culture.
Museum Roots February 2, 2024
The founders of Black American museums in the post-World War II era were all shaped by Carter G. Woodson’s “Negro Canon” of history and art.
The Wonderfully Complex Whitman Sisters January 22, 2025
A popular act on the Black vaudeville circuit, the Whitman Sisters relied on a reputation for strong morals while challenging racial and gender codes.
Willie Mae Thornton Deserves Your Full Attention January 31, 2024
In a meditative new biography, DJ and scholar Lynnée Denise examines the mysteries and trials in the life of the legendary performer.
How Wattstax Ushered in a New Era of Black Art August 4, 2022
Organized in the aftermath of the 1965 Watts uprising, the music festival showed that something powerful was happening in the Black community.
The Short but Influential Run of Ebony and Topaz February 26, 2022
The 1927 art and literature magazine only ran for a single issue, but “proved an integral component of Harlem Renaissance cultural production."
The Griffin Sisters Helped Build Black Vaudeville September 1, 2023
The sisters were not only a singing duo, they were successful businesswomen and advocates for Black-owned enterprises in the entertainment world.
The Los Angeles Renaissance June 13, 2022
Black composers Bruce Forsythe and Claudius Wilson transcended barriers to create concert and classical music during this West Coast art movement.
The Indelible Lessons of Erasure December 27, 2023
A Percival Everett fan weighs in on the novelist’s approach to racial satire and considers the translation of Erasure to the big screen in American Fiction.
Self-Publishing and the Black American Narrative December 11, 2024
Bryan Sinche’s Published by the Author explores the resourcefulness of Black writers of the nineteenth century.
Donald Goines, Detroit’s Crime Writer Par Excellence February 9, 2022
The writer used hard-boiled fiction as a wide lens to accurately capture the widescreen disparity of Black life in the 1970s.
More Black History Roundups
Celebrating Black Artists February 12, 2021
Profiles of Betye Saar, Krista Franklin, Miles Davis, Basquiat, Kanye West, Faith Ringgold and more.
Black Women, Black Freedom February 8, 2021
Celebrating Black History Month with a look at the role of women in movements for liberation.
15 Black Women Who Should Be (More) Famous June 19, 2020
Honoring the scientists, poets, activists, doctors, and librarians--those we know and those we don't.
Editor’s Note: This list is periodically updated with more stories related to Black History Month. The last update was February 4, 2026.
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