Quote of the month: “If each person in this world will simply take a small piece of this huge thing, this amazing quilt, and work it regardless of the yarn, we will have harmony on this planet” — Cicely Tyson (1925 – 2021).
HARAMBEE!: Black History Month
Harambee is a Swahili word meaning “working together in unity,” which exemplifies the goal we strive to achieve here at CUNY Law! The entire month of February marks the annual observance of Black History Month—a cultural event created by African American historian and scholar Carter G. Woodson in 1926.
In celebration of Black History Month, the CUNY Law Library has compiled a short list of virtual and in-person events held within New York City, including media resources that will hopefully help give you a deeper appreciation of the past achievements and recent contributions of people of the African Diaspora.
Virtual and In-Person Programs:
CUNY City College Celebrates Black History Month 2021
CCCNY is celebrating BHM with film showings, fun games, and panel discussions on racial disparities in education. Virtual. Registration required.
Museum of the City of New York
Your Hometown (podcast) Virtual Conversation with Darryl McDaniels of RUN-DMC hosted by Kevin Burke – Virtual. Registration required.
NYPL Schomburg Center
A varied schedule of digital programs for all ages. Virtual. Registration required.
Walking and Virtual Tours:
Harlem Heritage Tour
Harlem Civil Rights Multimedia Virtual Tour
This tour traces the movement of the civil rights movement by including historic New York City landmarks associated with prominent figures, who are most identified with the struggle for Black human rights. Registration required + fee.
Big Onion Tour
This walking tour covers the African American experience from New York City’s early establishment in lower Manhattan to the evolution of Harlem that became known as the Black cultural mecca of America. Registration required + fee.
NYC Parks Department
The NYC Parks Department has arranged to hold walk-in tours and virtual online lectures about specific parks and public lands that played a significant role in African American life in New York City, ranging from pre-civil war to present times. Registration required.
Books:
The following titles are accessible as e-books through Proquest’s Ebooks database. CUNY Law School’s current students, faculty, and staff can access Proquest by accessing the law libraries’ Electronic Resources Homepage. You will need to use your library patron barcode number or CUNYfirst log-in credentials. For direct access, please click on this link.
Author: Robert Vischer
Title: Martin Luther King, Jr and the Morality of Legal Practice: Lessons in Love and Justice
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2012
Source: Proquest
Author: Robert Gooding-Williams
Title: In the Shadow of Du Bois: Afro-Modern Political Thought in America
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Year: 2009
Source: Proquest
Author: David W. Houck et al.
Title: Women and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Year: 2009
Source: Proquest
Author: Devery S. Anderson and Julian Bond
Title: Emmett Till: The Murder that Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Year: 2015
Source: Proquest
Author: Emille Raymond
Title: Stars for Freedom: Hollywood, Black Celebrities and the Civil Rights Movement
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Year: 2015
Source: Proquest
Author: E. David Cronon et. al
Title: Black Moses: The Story of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Year: 1980
Source: Proquest
Media Resources:
Black History Month (History Channel)
Black History Month (U.S. Government & Cultural Institutions)
Official U.S.-sponsored events by major government and cultural institutions, e.g., the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Gallery of Art, etc.
Black Lives Matter – Libguide
Cornell University has created an electronic resources guide on all past and current issues that relate to the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Murder of Emmett Till (full documentary) (2017).
Watch the full documentary here
Dr. Henry Lois Gates, Jr: African American lives Genealogy, Genetics, and Black History Lecture held at University of Kansas (2017).
Black Leaders: Discussion on PBS’ Black Journal featuring CUNY Law Dean Haywood Burns, Angela Davis, Kwame Ture, Fannie Lou Hamer, Louis Stokes, and Percy Sutton (1973).
Watch the full discussion here
Novelist/civil rights activist James Baldwin’s Debate with conservative and editor of the National Review columnist James Buckley at Cambridge (1965).
Malcolm X: Cambridge Union Student Hall Debate (1964): Deemed controversial, Malcolm delivers a speech articulating the evils of racism in America, the evolution of new Black political thought, and the appropriate responses towards ending racism, as expressed through the teachings of Elijah Mohammad.