Black History Month is here and while Black history is honored all year long at See Jane Write headquarters, I thought February would be a good time to share 3 ways you can honor Black culture, too.
In the picture above I’m holding my Black History Month TBR stack. And I realized that each of these three books is a great example of something significant we can do this month to support Black women.
1. Read a book that will teach you more about Black history. This could be a non-fiction book, but a novel could do the job just as well. This month I’m reading Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink, who also happens to be a See Jane Write Collective member! This historical YA novel takes place during the Greenwood Massacre of 1921, in an area of Tulsa, Oklahoma, known as the “Black Wall Street.” But this book isn’t just about tragedy. It shows Black love and Black excellence, too.
2. Support Black women in business. These days because of the pandemic you may be doing most of your book shopping online. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still support small businesses. I bought my copy of Nikki Giovanni’s Make Me Rain, a collection of poetry and prose, from Books and Crannies, a Black, female-owned independent bookstore based in Virginia. And as I read the books on my TBR list, I’ll be using bookmarks from Inspire the Tribe.
3. Listen to Black women! I want to challenge you to attend at least one virtual event this month featuring a Black woman as the speaker. You get bonus points if she’s a writer! I’m counting down the days until February 25. That’s when Thank You Books, one of my favorite book stores in Birmingham, is hosting a conversation with Dantiel W. Moniz, author of MILK BLOOD HEAT, and Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. Philyaw’s short story collection was my favorite read of 2020 and I’m reading Moniz’s collection right now. So, I am TOO EXCITED about this talk! If you’d like to attend this free event, you can register here.
How will you honor Black History Month this year?
Reading your posts regularly costs me money! Lol. I just ordered 6 bookmarks; I have been wanting some inspiring ones for ages. Thank you for always being on top of so many neat resources and opportunities.