Black History Month – MOVIES AND BOOKS
February is Black History Month—a time not only to reflect, but to act.
Being a better community member means moving beyond statements of support and committing to everyday practices that strengthen equity, dignity, and belonging year-round.
Ways to Be a Better Community Member
1. Listen and Learn (Then Keep Going)
- Read books, articles, and local histories by Black authors and scholars.
- Attend lectures, exhibits, and community conversations—especially those led by Black voices.
- Learn about local Black history, not just national figures.
2. Support Black-Owned Businesses & Creatives
- Shop local and be intentional with where you spend your money.
- Hire Black professionals, artists, and vendors—and pay fair, competitive rates.
- Share and promote their work without asking for free labor.
3. Show Up—Not Just Online
- Attend community events, forums, school board meetings, and neighborhood gatherings.
- Volunteer with organizations doing sustained, on-the-ground work.
- Be present even when it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient.
4. Advocate for Equity in Systems
- Support policies that address housing, healthcare, education, voting access, and economic fairness.
- Ask who is missing from decision-making tables—and help open doors.
- Use your voice in workplaces, boards, and civic groups to push for inclusive practices.
5. Build Relationships, Not Performances
- Community is built through trust, consistency, and mutual respect.
- Avoid “one-month allyship.” Commit to long-term engagement.
- Center collaboration, not credit.
6. Reflect on Your Own Role
- Examine bias—personal and institutional—and be open to correction.
- Ask: How does my presence help make this space safer, fairer, or stronger?
- Growth is ongoing; perfection isn’t the goal—progress is.
BOOKS: RECOMMENDED READING. https://revolutionbooks.org/african-american-history
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
By Clint Smith
In this award-winning nonfiction book from 2021, poet, journalist, and teacher Clint Smith embarks on a harrowing journey across America, exploring a side of the country that we rarely see. How the Word Is Passed documents the story of American slavery and its impact on the present day, reckoning with a legacy that all too often is taught through obscured half-truths. Smith takes readers to places like Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, where the founding father enslaved more than 400 people, and Louisiana’s Angola Prison, a maximum-security facility and former plantation named after the country from which most of its enslaved people were stolen. By reflecting on America’s violent past and offering a true accounting of the Black experience, Smith brings attention to the nation’s history in an effort to change our present.
Fire Next Time
By James Baldwin
No list of books about American culture is complete without a work by James Baldwin. Released in 1963, Fire Next Time contains two groundbreaking essays. The first, “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation,” is a letter written to his 14-year-old nephew about the role of race and racism in American history. The second, “Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind,” explores the intersection of race and religion in America. Baldwin’s landmark work galvanized readers across the nation as the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum. Today it stands as an indispensable examination of American race relations and a reckoning with the past, present, and future of our national identity.
The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism
“A stinging indictment of slavery.”—NPR Books
“This book provides historical reference for the ways in which the enslavement of people for profit continues to impact and influence today’s institutions. A must‑read for everyone who has ever heard the statement, ‘But slavery is over! Why can’t they just get over it?’ or ‘Well, you know white people were slaves, too.’” —The Atlantic
MOVIES: https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/important-films-about-the-black-experience/