Celebrate Black History Month this February in Detroit with the power of real storytelling, whether it’s fictitious or not. There are still many unsung, lesser known trailblazers that have altered the course of history to read up on. African-American women and men fought for what their heart believed was right for their people even if they were to face serious repercussions for standing up.
American history is richer with the resilience of activists during the Civil Rights Movement and the collective push towards abolishing slavery. Explore essential Non-fiction, Memoir, Fiction, Poetry, Biography, and more. Read and watch enriching content from powerful leaders on your own that goes beyond educational systems.
Names like Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King, Jr., James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Rosa Parks, Shirley Chisholm, and more have marked a legacy in stone for Black Americans as their preserved written & spoken words bend gracefully throughout centuries. Several icons have had a direct impact on the city of Detroit.
Detroitisit rounded up a short list of must-read books/bestsellers from today and the significant past. Advocate for equality every day.
I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS BY MAYA ANGELOU
Black poets carry a cadence that captivates and a rhythm that reflects time in all its struggle. You’ll know this next author, but it’s still nice to revisit the memorable creations of black women in poetry as well as their other award-winning works. Re-experience Maya Angelou’s debut memoir set in a small Southern town. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings with a forward by Oprah Winfrey, is a modern American classic that has hit home for many worldwide. The title is fitting for the loneliness that comes with bigotry at an early age as the main character experiences. Angelou’s life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters. Click HERE to purchase the book.
BLACK IN FASHION: 100 YEARS OF STYLE, INFLUENCE, & CULTURE BY WWD, FONYA BLAZIO-LCORISH, TARA DONALDSON
Immerse yourself in brilliant books to celebrate Black History Month in Detroit and the United States. Not to mention, books that have direct ties to Detroit like Black Fashion: 100 Years of Style, Influence, & Culture. With a Foreword by American Fashion Designer & Detroit native, Tracy Reese, delve into this stunning 2024 collection that proudly showcases the researched evolution of Black talent in fashion as it has influenced American style. You won’t forget what you uncover by slowly flipping through this standout hardcover. Click HERE to purchase the book.
MARCH (OMNIBUS EDITION): THE COMPLEE TRILOGY IN ONE VOLUME BY JOHN LEWIS AND ANDREW AYDIN, ILLUSTRATED BY NATE POWELL
Celebrate Black History Month in Detroit by reading a groundbreaking graphic memoir in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell. With inspiration taken from a 1950s comic book, the resulting trilogy, March continues to be a bestseller with popularity among classrooms across America. Enjoy flipping through the pages of this publicly honored book, which is the first comic to win the National Book Award. Click HERE to purchase the book.
AN AFRICAN HISTORY OF AFRICA: FROM THE DAWN OF HUMANITY TO INDEPENDENCE BY ZEINAB BADAWI
African American history is whole when it dives deep into the core of African culture. Let your curiosity wander over to this magnificent read, told from the roots of Zeinab Badawi. Take a trip through the meticulously researched pages of this book that was cultivated from Badawi’s seven years of travel through thirty countries. Walk away with a brighter framework on decolonized history. Click HERE to purchase the book.
LOOKING FOR LORRAINE: THE RADIANT AND RADICAL LIFE OF LORRAINE HANSBERRY BY IMANI PERRY
Celebrate Black History Month in Detroit by being inspired by African-Americans who are illuminating the lives of those who have a detailed and divergent path to lasting greatness. Learn more about the diminished story of Lorraine Hansberry, who died at thirty-four and was primarily known for her work: A Raisin in the Sun. Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry paints a portrait of a rebel with a cause and commitment to social justice that led to FBI surveillance in her early 20s. Hansberry’s biography has only surfaced more in recent years to the public. Click HERE to purchase the book.
THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD BY ZORA NEALE HURSTON
Celebrate Black History Month in Detroit by exploring literature and film. Wind back in history and sit with this 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston. She was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker who portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South. Their Eyes Were Watching God is just one example of Hurston’s legendary “against the grain” insights and perspective on the Harlem Renaissance. It is considered a classic of the Harlem Renaissance and Hurston’s best-known work. Click HERE to purchase the deluxe edition. Other important works by Zora Neale Hurston: She’s Gotta Have It, Hands Upon the Heart, Barracoon
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