black history month
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Atlanta Is the Real Wakanda
Everyone believes in heaven. The Norse called it Valhalla. Greeks called it Elysium or Olympus. But the concept of heaven is not necessarily reserved for the afterlife. Shangri-La, Atlantis, El Dorado, Camelot and the Garden of Eden all exist in the imaginations of many. Regardless of society, religion or culture, people eventually create an idealized…
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28 Days of Literary Blackness With VSB | Day 19: We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. by Samantha Irby
Publisher Synopsis: Sometimes you just have to laugh, even when life is a dumpster fire. With We Are Never Meeting in Real Life., “bitches gotta eat” blogger and comedian Samantha Irby turns the serio-comic essay into an art form. Whether talking about how her difficult childhood has led to a problem in making “adult” budgets,…
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28 Days of Literary Blackness With VSB | Day 17: Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Publisher Synopsis: In Heavy, (Kiese) Laymon writes eloquently and honestly about growing up a hard-headed black son to a complicated and brilliant black mother in Jackson, Mississippi. From his early experiences of sexual violence, to his suspension from college, to his trek to New York as a young college professor, Laymon charts his complex relationship…
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28 Days of Literary Blackness with VSB | Day 16: The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
Publisher Synopsis: The Wretched of the Earth is a brilliant analysis of the psychology of the colonized and their path to liberation. Bearing singular insight into the rage and frustration of colonized peoples, and the role of violence in effecting historical change, the book incisively attacks the twin perils of post-independence colonial politics: the disenfranchisement…
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28 Days of Literary Blackness With VSB | Day 15: Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur
Publisher Synopsis: On May 2, 1973, Black Panther Assata Shakur (aka JoAnne Chesimard) lay in a hospital, close to death, handcuffed to her bed, while local, state and federal police attempted to question her about the shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that had claimed the life of a white state trooper. Long a target…
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28 Days of Literary Blackness With VSB | Day 14: all about love: new visions by bell hooks
Publisher Synopsis: “The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet … we would all love better if we used it as a verb,” writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Here, at her most provocative and intensely personal, the renowned scholar, cultural critic, and…
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Kadir Nelson Puts Iconic Moments in Black History on Canvas
Renowned artist Kadir Nelson paints to reflect the strength and spirituality of black history to remind black people of their own beauty, divinity and inner hero. His work has been featured in many prominent institutions, including the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the U.S House of Representatives and museums around the…
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All-White Wisconsin GOP Decide Colin Kaepernick Is 'Too Controversial' to be Included in Black Caucus' Resolution to Honor Black History Month
A group of white Wisconsin Republicans have decided that former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was too controversial to be included in a resolution to recognize Black History Month, so they took him off a list of influential black leaders. As the story goes, the legislature’s black caucus had proposed a resolution honoring black leaders. The…