Honoring African American History Month

As part of African American History Month, The Yocum Library has set up displays of some of our holdings related to African American history, both books and DVDs. You can see them to the right after entering the second floor of Yocum. The DVD display is pictured here and you can view the books to the left of this display.

In addition, check out the online carousel (at the top of this page) with even more holdings related to African American History month. 

Today in History: Pulitzer Prize Winner Alice Walker Was Born

Alice Walker, the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, was born the eighth child of sharecroppers on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia.

Walker's most popular novel, The Color Purple (1982) "depicts the growing up and self-realization of an African American woman between 1909 and 1947 in a town in Georgia. The book won a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a film by Steven Spielberg in 1985. A musical version produced by Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones premiered in 2004."

For more information about Alice Walker and other African Americans born in February, go to Blackfacts.com. You can also check out her work from The Yocum Library, including the book and film versions of The Color Purple.

Information in this article is from Encyclopedia Britannica online.

February is African American History Month

This year's theme is African Americans in Time of War. The themes are selected by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), an organization started in 1928 by Carter G. Woodson, the "father of black history."

For more information about this year's theme go to ASALH Announces 2018 Black History Theme, African Americans in Times of War. For more information about Woodson, go to ASALH's About:History page 

Watch for additional information/posts about African American History Month.

Celebrating African American History Month: On This Day in History

1923: On this day Bessie Smith made her first recording, "Down Hearted Blues," which sold 800,000 copies for Columbia Records.

1957: Actor Levar Burton was born in Landsthul, Germany. Burton won fame for his acting in the television movie "Roots," which was based on the novel by Alex Haley. His popularity surged again for his part in “Reading Rainbow” and then in the 1980s and 1990s for his recurring role in the "Star Trek: Next Generation" series and movies.

1970: Joe Frazier knocked out Jimmy Ellis in the second round of their New York fight and became the world heavyweight boxing champion.

Origins of Black History Month

The story of Black History Month begins in 1915, half a century after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. That September, the Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and the prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by black Americans and other peoples of African descent. 

Known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The event inspired schools and communities nationwide to organize local celebrations, establish history clubs and host performances and lectures.

In the decades the followed, mayors of cities across the country began issuing yearly proclamations recognizing Negro History Week. By the late 1960s, thanks in part to the Civil Rights Movement and a growing awareness of black identity, Negro History Week had evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses. President Gerald R. Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Since then, every American president has designated February as Black History Month [also called African-American History Month] and endorsed a specific theme. The 2017 theme is "The Crisis in Black Education."

Information from Black History Month at History.com.

African-American History Month

The books listed below are a sampling of books in the Yocum Library Collection. 
Come into the library and check one out.

Black profiles in courage :
a legacy of African American achievement
E185.96 .A18 1996

The invisible line :
three American families and the secret journey from Black to white
Sharfstein, Daniel J.
E184.A1 S5724 2011

Ever is a long time :
a journey into Mississippi's dark past, a memoir
Eubanks, W. Ralph,
E185.97.E83 A3 2003

At Canaan's edge :
America in the King years, 1965-68
Branch, Taylor.
E185.615 .B67 2006

All about the beat :
why hip-hop can't save Black America
McWhorter, John H.
E185.615 .M3538 2008

African-American History Month

DVD,s from the Yocum Library Collection

African American History Month

The books listed below is a sampling of books on display. Come into the library and check one out.


Black profiles in courage :
a legacy of African American achievement
E185.96 .A18 1996

The invisible line :
three American families and the secret journey from Black to white
Sharfstein, Daniel J.
E184.A1 S5724 2011

Ever is a long time :
a journey into Mississippi's dark past, a memoir
Eubanks, W. Ralph,
E185.97.E83 A3 2003

At Canaan's edge :
America in the King years, 1965-68
Branch, Taylor.
E185.615 .B67 2006

All about the beat :
why hip-hop can't save Black America
McWhorter, John H.
E185.615 .M3538 2008