Black History Month Resources

Black looks: Race and Representation Bell Hooks

Through a series of essays, American writer and social activist Bell Hooks interrogates old narratives of blackness and the consequence of these representations within the culture of white supremacy. The book explores topics such as black masculinity and femininity, white spectatorship and the commodification of black culture. Overall it can be seen as a radical intervention in the way we understand and talk about race and representation.

 

Earl Sweatshirt conversation with Cheryl l.Harris at MOCA

A conversation between rapper Earl Sweatshirt, and his mother Cheryl L. Harris, a law professor at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The pair discuss art, music, and life exploring issues such as political apathy, and the state of modern America. Stand out quote from my goat Earl “Like I said 5 times: share your resources”

 

Gil Scott-Heron - Whitey on the moon 

Live performance of Gil Scott Herons poem ‘Whitey on the moon’. The poem highlights how despite millions being on the Apollo moon landings, high taxes, poverty and systemic neglect and discrimination were the daily reality for black people 1970s America. Though this was written in the 70's, it’s very relevant in regards to the billionaire's space race of today, reminding us how often peoples livelihood come second to the wishes of white capitalists.

 

What happened, Miss Simone (2015) 

 

Amazing documentary on the singer, pianist and civil rights activist Nina Simone. Using archival video/audio and interviews with those close to her, it dives into the personal life of the star, revealing the personal struggles she was experiencing despite her public success. It also explores how race and racism affected her life and career and her role as a strong voice in the civil rights movement. 

You can watch it on netflix or here 

 

 Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation 

Looking at the history of one of the most influential genres in history Cant stop Won’t Stop uses interviews from b-boys, rappers, graffiti writers, activists, and gang members to detail the creation of Hip-Hop. Cant lie I am only 50 pages in but its really good - so far it's been breaking down the economic and political reasons behind the bronx fires in the 1970s.

You can check it out the second half here. Or come to the shop to read our copy.

 

 Black Athena

European Enlightenment drew inspiration from Ancient Greece. It glorified and romanticised a country which at that time was under Ottoman rule, and had lost touch with its ancient roots. Enlightenment whitewashed Ancient Greece seeing it through a Eurocentric lens. Black Athena talks about the African and Near Eastern cultural influences on ancient greek language, art and history. It examines the African origins of Greek civilization in three volumes. 

You can get Volumes I, and II here. Here is a link to Volume III that is mainly focused on linguistics.  

 

Redlinning 

'Segregated by Design' is a documentary base on the book 'The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America'. It examines the forgotten history of how our federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy.  

Prejudice can be birthed from a lack of understanding the historically accurate details of the past. Without being aware of the unconstitutional residential policies the United States government enacted during the middle of the twentieth century, one might have a negative view today of neighborhoods where African Americans live or even of African Americans themselves.

We can compensate for this unlawful segregation through a national political consensus that leads to legislation. And this will only happen if the majority of Americans understand how we got here. As Jay-Z said in the New York Times, “you can't have a solution until you start dealing with the problem: What you reveal, you heal.” This is the major challenge at hand: to educate fellow citizens of the unconstitutional inequality that we’ve woven and, on behalf of our government, accept responsibility to fix it.

 Segregated By Design from Silkworm on Vimeo.

 

*****We also doing 20% off for black people in store*****