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History and Current Events February 2019
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| Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance by Mark WhitakerWhat it's about: Pittsburgh's Smoketown community, which from the 1920s-1950s had a "glorious stretch" of black cultural achievement.
Claims to fame: Smoketown boasted America's most widely read black newspaper, two Negro League baseball teams, and the childhood homes of playwright August Wilson and jazz composer Billy Strayhorn.
Reviewers say: "It’s thanks to such a gifted storyteller as Whitaker that this forgotten chapter of American history can finally be told in all its vibrancy and glory" (The New York Times). |
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The colored waiting room : empowering the original and the new civil rights movements : conversations between an MLK Jr. confidant and a modern-day activist
by Kevin Shird
What's in it: activist Kevin Shird heads from his hometown of Baltimore, MD to Montgomery to meet eighty-four-year-old Nelson Malden and contextualize the significance of recent racially motivated events, and the demonstrations is Charlottesville, Ferguson, Baltimore, and around the country. The result is a groundbreaking understanding of today's burgeoning second-wave civil rights movement and the urgent actions necessary for racial equality and change.
About the author: Kevin Shird is an activist, national youth advocate, public speaker, and author. Shird began dealing drugs at the age of sixteen, and later served almost twelve years in prison for drug trafficking. Today he works with young people to help them avoid the dangers of street culture and advocates for policy changes that support their safety and development.
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There all the honor lies : a memoir
by Harriet M. Murphy
What it's about: This autobiography of the first permanently appointed female African American judge in Texas, Harriet M. Murphy, is the story not only of an African American woman who grew up in the 1930s and 1940s, but of the civil rights movement. Judge Murphy began fighting injustice and inequality early in her life. Through her work with the NAACP and the Urban League, she sought social change at the local level. She recounts meetings with civil rights icons, including W. E. B. DuBois, Martin Luther King Jr., and Thurgood Marshall.
About the author: Though caught up in activism, she found time to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer. There All the Honor Lies details some of Murphy's most notable accomplishments, including instituting a partial payment plan for constituents who were fined by the municipal court and chairing the city of Austin's first detoxification task force. Since retiring from the bench, Murphy has run for the Austin City Council and been inducted into the National Bar Association Hall of Fame.
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Barracoon : the story of the last "black cargo"
by Zora Neale Hurston
What it's about: Presents a never-before-published work from the author of the American classic Their Eyes Were Watching God that illuminates the horror and injustices of slavery as it tells the true story of one of the last known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade—abducted from Africa on the last “Black Cargo” ship to arrive in the United States.
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Song of my life : a biography of Margaret Walker
by Carolyn J Brown
What it's about: Margaret Walker (1915-1998) has been described as "the most famous person nobody knows." This is a shocking oversight of an award-winning poet, novelist, essayist, educator, and activist as well as friend and mentor to many prominent African American writers. Song of My Life reintroduces Margaret Walker to readers by telling her story, one that many can relate to as she overcame certain obstacles related to race, gender, and poverty.
Who was she: Walker was born in 1915 in Birmingham, Alabama, to two parents who prized education above all else....She penned the acclaimed novel Jubilee , received numerous lifetime achievement awards, and was a beloved faculty member for three decades at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.
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Three years in Mississippi
by James Meredith
What it's about: On October 1, 1962, James Meredith was the first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Preceded by violent rioting resulting in two deaths and a lengthy court battle that made it all the way to the Supreme Court, his admission was a pivotal moment in civil rights history. Citing his "divine responsibility" to end white supremacy, Meredith risked everything to attend Ole Miss. In doing so, he paved the way for integration across the country.
Why you may want to read it: Originally published in 1966, more than ten years after the Supreme Court ended segregation in public schools in Brown v. Board of Education, Meredith describes his intense struggle to attend an all-white university and break down long-held race barriers in one of the most conservative states in the country. This first-person account offers a glimpse into a crucial point in civil rights history and the determination and courage of a man facing unfathomable odds. Reprinted for the first time, this volume features a new introduction by historian Aram Goudsouzian.--Provided by publisher
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Dream with me : race, love, and the struggle we must win
by John Perkins
What's in it: The author, speaker, and activist recalls his life, detailing stories from the Civil Rights era to the present, and calling on the church to give up racism and bigotry in favor of love and reconciliation.
About the author: John M. Perkins is cofounder of the Christian Community Development Association and director of the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development in Jackson, Mississippi. He is the author of many books, including Let Justice Roll Down , named by Christianity Today as one of the top fifty books that have shaped evangelicals.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
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