It’s campaign season in the US, and a charismatic dark horse is running with the slogan ‘make America great again’. According to his opponent, he’s a demagogue; a rabble-rouser; a hypocrite. When his supporters form mobs and burn people to death, he condemns their violence “in such mild language that his people are free to…
Toni Morrison, the literary GIANT, who manipulated the English language to illustrate and punctuate our humanity as Black people, children of the Sun, has joined our ancestors. She was a force to reckon with on this side, she will be indomitable in the other. Thank you for Sula, for Milkman, for Pecola, for Baby Suggs,…
Much has been written on W. E. B. Du Bois and the 1900 Paris Exposition, much of it repetitive, lacking new or innovative considerations of what can be explored and how to critically engage further the work of Du Bois and his team. The editors – Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Britt Rusert, both scholars at the…
Every revolutionary magazine needs a striking cover, and in January 1920, one appeared. It was a photograph of an African-American girl donning a fairy costume and crown. The title page of that issue contained an even bolder statement: “This is The Brownies’ Book,” it proclaimed in large font, “A Monthly Magazine For the Children of…
The number of Black owned bookstores has declined significantly since 1999. That year, there were reportedly more than 325. But, by 2012 had dropped to about 50. In 2017, the number rose to about 70. We’d like to acknowledge some of the stores that are still going strong. Black Owned Bookstores Hakim’s Bookstore (Philadelphia, PA) Everyone’s Place…
EyeSeeMe is a Black owned bookstore that specializes in promoting positive African American Images, Academic Excellence, and Cultural Pride. At this University City, MO based bookstore, young people of color can crack open a book and see themselves as doctors, superheroes, historical figures and even princesses. Jeffrey and Pamela Blair are the co-owners. Jeffrey said…
Each year, there are more children’s books published about animals than Black people. Black people have historically been, and continue to be, underrepresented, misrepresented, or invisible in children’s literature. Black male characters are even less visible, and even fewer still, are books reflecting positive and empowered depictions of Black boys. The Conscious Kid Library curated this…