February is Black History Month, and once again the Champlain Library is pleased to be able to contribute by showcasing the contributions of Black artists to our collection.
By listening to their stories, we celebrate the contributions of Black individuals to our society while fostering education and awareness. Here’s how the library can help you dive in:
Books
For Adults:
- Finding Me by Viola Davis
- The Queen of Sugar Hill by ReShonda Tate
- Yellow Wife: a novel by Sadeqa Johnson
- The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs
For Kids:
- Hidden Figures : The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly with Winifred Conkling ; illustrated by Laura Freeman.
- Simon B. Rhymin’ / by Dwayne Reed with Ellien Holi ; illustrated by Robert Paul Jr.
- A Snowy Day by Christine Platt ; illustrated by Sharon Sordo
- The Mia Mayhem Series by Kara West ; illustrated by Leeza Hernandez.
Movies
- The Color Purple – The story of how a black woman survives living in the American South in the 1900s.
- Harriet – Harriet Tubman’s journey from slavery to American hero.
- Respect – The rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing at church to international superstar.
- Lovecraft Country – A young African-American travels across the U.S. in the 1950s in search of his missing father.
In addition to our DVDs the library also subscribes to the streaming service Kanopy. They have their own curated collection you can watch from home using your library card: Black History Month | Kanopy
To learn more about Black History Month in Canada you can click here and to learn more about the history of the Black population locally we recommend this post by the blog Vankleek Hill Stories: A history of the Black population in Eastern Ontario as shown through the 1861 census | Vankleek Hill Stories
