Black History Month 2022
February is Black History Month, and we are taking the time to recognize and celebrate the generations of African Americans throughout our nation’s history. Through our work with refugees and immigrants from around the world, we are continually learning the infinite ways in which Black history is world history. And as we welcome our New American neighbors, we are continually learning how Black history is American history.
The Origins of Black History Month
In the early 20th century, Carter G. Woodson earned his master’s degree from the University of Chicago and his PhD from Harvard University. During his studies, he noticed the erasure of African Americans from the narrative. In 1915, Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History to study Black history and celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans.
In 1926, Woodson’s organization launched a history week to help school systems coordinate their focus on the topic. The second week in February was chosen because it encompassed Frederick Douglass’ and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays. During the Civil Rights Movement, freedom schools in the south embraced the week and its curriculum to contribute to the mission. Colleges and universities across the country transformed the week into a Black history month on campus. Thanks to the hard work of those in the Black United Students organization, the first college to make this change was Ohio’s very own Kent State University. KSU started this tradition in February 1970, six years before Gerald Ford made it a national designation in 1976.
Did you know? The most popular textbook for eighth grade history classes in the mid-1960s mentioned only two black people in the entire century of history after the Civil War.
Celebrate Black History in Columbus
Columbus, Ohio has over 305,000 residents of African descent and has the 26th largest concentration of Black people in the United States. The city has the second largest Somali population in the country Columbus is also home to many African migrants from countries such as Ghana, Ethiopia, and Jamaica to name a handful.
Now is the time to try some Black-owned restaurants and food trucks throughout the city. Some of our favorites include: Fork in Nigeria, Hoyo’s Kitchen (Somali), Nile Vegan (Ethiopian), Drelyse African Restaurant, Ena’s Caribbean Kitchen, and Creole Kitchen.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library is holding dozens of events to celebrate Black History Month. Learn more about Black history in Columbus, hear a former Tuskegee Airman speak about his experience, explore West Africa through song and dance, and so much more! Learn more by visiting their website.
While you’re at the library, make sure to grab some books to continue honoring Black History Month in your home. We seek to uplift Black joy and have put together a list of book recommendations that celebrate Black Americans:
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Love in Color: Mythical Tales From Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Ibi Zoboi
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
Wings of Ebony by J. Elle
Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest by Hanif Abdurraqib
A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
To learn more about African American history, consider checking out some of the books below:
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Four Hundred Souls Edited by Ibrahim X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones
A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
Begin Again by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – This book focuses on the intersection of being Black and an immigrant in the United States.
Celebrate Black History in Cleveland
For our supporters in Cleveland, there are many African-owned businesses in the area. Here are our favorites:
Koshesa LLC (art exhibition)
For a more comprehensive list of ways to celebrate Black History Month in Cleveland, check out this article from This Is Cleveland! From virtual plays put on by Playhouse Square to public conversations at the Cleveland History Center, there are countless ways to honor Black History Month in Northeast Ohio.
Celebrate Black History Everywhere
The National Park Service features an interactive page on their website where visitors can learn more about African American Heritage Sites. Learn more about pivotal moments in American history from the Freedom Riders National Monument to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Park.
There are a variety of films and series that educate viewers on Black history:
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021): Offered a plead by the FBI, William O’Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.
I Am Not Your Negro (2017): In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished.
Colin in Black and White (2021): An exploration of former NFL player Colin Kaepernick's high school years and experiences that led him to become an activist.
The Hate U Give (2018): Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds -- the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, mostly white prep school that she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is soon shattered when she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend at the hands of a police officer. Facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and decide to stand up for what's right.
13th (2016): Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation's prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.
When They See Us (2019): The Central Park Five maintained its innocence and spent years fighting the convictions, hoping to be exonerated. This limited series spans a quarter of a century, from when the teens are first questioned about the incident in the spring of 1989, going through their exoneration in 2002 and ultimately the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.
Passing (2015): Filmmakers explore the experiences of three black men who have undergone gender transitions. The three men share their experiences of transitioning from male to female.
Here are some entertaining films and TV shows that uplift Black stories:
Abbott Elementary (2021)
POSE (2018)
DOPE (2015)
Black is King (2020)
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Dreamgirls (2006)
Drumline (2002)
Homecoming (2019)
If you enjoy listening to podcasts, we recommend listening to BBC World Service Witness Black History and NPR’s Code Switch. This episode of Code Switch talks about the systemic barriers faced by Black immigrants in the United States.