Durham Tech’s Favorites for Black History Month

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It’s nearing the end of Black History Month, so while our blog post topics may broaden, we’d like to leave you with some books by Black Americans that have made an impact on the Durham Tech community to read beyond just February because Black history is American history all year long.

Keep reading for Durham Tech’s favorite reads by Black American authors–fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, environmental justice, social justice, criminal justice, economics, fantasy, and finance–, and for a documentary exploring if Black History Month accomplishes what it sets out to do.

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Contemporary Black Activists and Advocates

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This week’s Black History Month post highlights contemporary activist and advocates and their works, but also highlights some folks closer to home.

North Carolina has a history of Black advocates and activists–in no particular chronological order–from Pauli Murray to Ann Atwater to James Shepard to Ella Baker to the Greensboro Four (Franklin McCain, Jibreel Khazan, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond) to Nina Simone to the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II.

Two time Durham university graduate (NC Central and Duke), Rev. Barber is a 2018 MacArthur Fellow (also known as the “Genius” grants), one of the revivers of The Poor People’s Campaign, a founder of Moral Mondays and its expansion project Repairers of the Breach, organizer, activist, and intersectional advocate.

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II; Photo credit: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

“We must find a way to make clear today that the moral and constitutional crisis we face in America is not just about Republicans versus Democrats or liberal versus conservative. It is really instead about fundamental right against wrong, fundamental humanity, who we will write off and who we will include.”

from “Forward together, not one step back” [speech], UC Berkley, 19 April 2019.

Rev. Barber has published several books that are available through the Durham Tech Library.

revive us again: vision and action in moral organizing by the reverend dr. william j. barber II
Available at the Main Campus (BR 115 .J8 R48 2018)
We Are Called to Be a Movement by Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II
Available at the Main Campus (BR 115 .J8 B27 2020)

Keep reading for more books by contemporary advocates and activists in the Durham Tech Library collections and for a link to tour Durham’s civil rights legacy in murals (and some multimedia).

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What We’re Reading: Waste by Catherine Coleman Flowers

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waste: one woman's fight against america's dirty secret by catherine coleman flowers
Available at the Main and Orange County Campus (RA 567.5 .U6 F56 2020) and as an ebook through Dogwood Digital Library

In a place that was once the center of the voting rights movement, another struggle faces Lowndes County, Alabama–basic sanitation. Catherine Coleman Flowers examines the class, racial, and geographic conditions that lead to many people not having an affordable way of disposing of sewage. –paraphrased from publisher’s summary

Title: Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret 

Author: Catherine Coleman Flowers 

Genre: Memoir; Nonfiction

Read Great Things 2023 Categories: A book about an experience different than your own; A book recommended by a Durham Tech Library staff member or on the blog

This book was read by Julie Humphrey, Durham Tech Library Director.

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What We’re Reading: The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama (& A Request for Audience Participation)

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So far we’ve highlighted Black History Month on the blog with Black Visual Artists, Black History, and Black Musicians and Poets. We’ve got one left in queue for next week–Activists and Advocates–, but we’d like to finish the month by sharing a list of your favorite books by Black authors. 

Share your favorite 1-2 books by Black American authors. They can be fiction or nonfiction, classic or contemporary, any reading level (kids, middle grades, YA, or adult), any topic or genre, and they do not have to be from/currently in the Durham Tech Library collections. 

We’ve got a form to keep it all organized and orderly: Durham Tech’s Favorite Authors & Books for Black History Month [form]

Some favorite books by Black American authors (Legendborn by Tracey Deonn and The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee) pictured with a Durham Tech Library water bottle and fanny pack, both in an excellent lime green, to illustrate the possible prizes people who fill out our form can win

Participants will be entered to win either a Durham Tech Library water bottle or fanny pack if they so desire!

Respond to Meredith Lewis (lewisma @ durhamtech.edu) with any specific questions.

Now onto the main event!

the light we carry: overcoming in uncertain times by michelle obama
Available at the Main Campus (E 909.024 O24 2022) and as an audiobook through Dogwood Digital Library

This book, more self-help than memoir, draws on Michelle Obama’s personal struggles and shares her strategies for staying optimistic.  Yes, despite fame, financial success, and inestimable clout, Michelle has relatable doubts and fears (is the pandemic ever going to end?, will my family be okay?, how can I keep my balance in an uncertain world?). Creating connection and “going high” are tools we can all use. 

Title: The Light We Carry

Author: Michelle Obama                       

Genre: Self-Help with a memoir twist 

Read Great Things 2023 Categories: A book to improve your mental or physical health; A book about an experience different than your own; A book recommended by a Durham Tech Library staff member or on the blog 

This book was read by Susan Baker, Main Campus Reference Librarian.

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Black Wordsmiths: Black Musicians & Poets in the Durham Tech Library Collection

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"BLK History Month" by Nikki Giovanni. If Black History Month is not viable then wind does not carry the seeds and drop them on fertile ground rain does not dampen the land and encourage the seeds to root sun does not warm the earth and kiss the seedlings and tell them plain: You’re As Good As Anybody Else You’ve Got A Place Here, Too

This week’s Black History Month post highlights Black creators in poetry and music, including pop, hip hop, rap, punk, and rock. This is only a small selection of our collection, so stop by and browse our digital collections from your own computer or stop in and browse our shelves.

Updated 2/15/2023: Want some poetry bookmarks? Go to the end of the post!

Interested in learning how to make your own music using only a laptop? Check out this awesome event through the Wake County Public Libraries featuring Durham’s Pierce Freelon. Registration is requested and is free.

Hip Hop Beat Making with Pierce Freelon, Saturday, February 25 from 4:00-5:00 PM at the Oberlin Regional Library (1930 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27605). Registration is requested and free.

Explore music production and entrepreneurship by learning how to compose, sample, and write a song using only a laptop with Grammy-nominated musician and co-creator of PBS’s Beat Making Lab.

Be sure to check out the other Black History Month events through the Wake County Public Library’s “Celebrating Black Brilliance” series.

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Black History is American History

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This week for Black History Month, we’re highlighting the actual history of the month itself and resources available to work towards Dr. Woodson’s goals when he envisioned a month highlighting Black contributions to American history.

“Black History Is Our History: Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Also Known As The ‘Father Of Black History Month” by CBS New York (YouTube)

Dr. Carter G. Woodson is the “father of Black History Month.” Starting as a week in February in 1926 (selected as the same month as the birthday of Abraham Lincoln and the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass) and expanded to a month by presidential decree in 1976, Woodson insisted that Black History Week should be used to “emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history,” since “one cannot understand the foundation of American government, tax structure, or changing legislative developments without understanding slavery, its economic implications, and heavy influence on political party identity.”

Hayti Heritage Center sign with St. Joseph's UME in the background

Locally, the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham was recently highlighted in a New York Times article highlighting important African American landmarks that highlight important aspects of Black history. Check it out here: “8 Places Across the U.S. That Illuminate Black History” (online) or through our ProQuest Central database (login using your Durham Tech username and password).

Keep reading to see books and resources available through the Durham Tech Library highlighting Black people in American history, some well-know and some lesser known.

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Black Art and Artists

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February is African American History Month, a time to focus with intention on Black Americans and their history, highlighting contributions that have frequently been unspoken or underscored by others who dominated the historical narrative.

Homecoming by Ernie Barnes, a painting of NCCU's band marching at the intersection at Roxboro Road & Pettigrew Streets in Durham
Homecoming by Durham-born-and-raised artist Ernie Barnes

This week we’re focusing on Black artists and some of the resources available to you through the Durham Tech Library’s collections to highlight Black history and accomplishments. Keep reading for books, streaming video, and some options to go see Black art up close (and for free).

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Hooray for Storytime!: Explore the Children’s Book Collection and Online Resources for Kids

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The Main Campus Library has a colorful and engaging selection of children’s picture books available. Borrow some to read with the special little ones in your life.

We have a large, diverse collection of children’s picture books to support our Early Childhood Education Program, student parents, and employees. We have Caldecott Award winners and many other great titles to browse.

Main Campus Children's Collection

The picture books are located on the lower level in the large open group study room, 5-105A.

Keep reading to see some of our newest books in the Children’s Book Collection and for information on several digital collections for kids available through the Durham Tech Library’s online resources.

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Crafternoon: Creating Community and Cool Things Together

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Have you heard about Crafternoons?

All materials will be provided and all current students, faculty, and staff are invited to come hang out, create, and chat with each other (or not, if quiet crafting is your thing). You’ll need to sign in, so make sure you have your Durham Tech ID or know your Durham Tech ID number.

Spring 2023 Crafternoons. Main Campus events are Wednesday from 1-3 pm. Orange County Campus (OCC) events are Tuesdays 11am-1pm.

Crafternoons are hands-on workshops sponsored by the Durham Tech Library and the Student Enrichment Department.

Keep reading for a little more information about each event and don’t forget to put them on your calendar!

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