Black History Month 2021 - Resource List
In honour of Black History Month, we have compiled a list of resources, from books to TED talks to video games. This list is by no means exhaustive; consider it a place to begin. There is something here for everyone!
We should aim to use such resources year-round because Black history, culture(s) and creators should never be minimized to a fad or passing moment. Indeed, the dehumanization of Black people and abuse of their cultural works is not limited to just a few moments of the year. So, let’s keep our efforts to fight anti-Black racism constant.
“Like fighting an addiction, being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination.”
Check out “17 New Picture Books about Black History” from Colours of Us, and scroll down their page for more lists of literature for kids.
Fiction
Beloved - Toni Morrison
Freshwater - Akwaeke Emezi
Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Love - Toni Morrison
Playing in the Light - Zoë Wicomb
Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison
The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
The Second Life of Samuel Tyne - Esi Edugyan 🍁
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
Ways of Dying - Zakes Mda
Non-Fiction
Ain’t I a woman?: Black Women and Feminism - bell hooks
All About Love - bell hooks
Black Looks: Race and Representation - bell hooks
Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics - bell hooks
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center - bell hooks
How to Be An Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi
Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route - Saidiya Hartman
On Intersectionality: Essential Writings - Kimberlé Crenshaw
Redefining Realness - Janet Mock
Sister Outsider - Audre Lorde
So You Want to Talk About Race - Ijeoma Oluo
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You - Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi
The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon
Unapologetic - Charlene A. Carruthers
Women, Race and Class - Angela Y. Davis
Canadian Articles 🍁
“Anti-Black Racism” - Black Health Alliance
“Black Canadians get sick more from COVID-19. Scientists aim to find out why” by Emily
“‘Racism is a comorbidity’: Advocates call out anti-Black bias in Canadian medicine” by Jeremiah Rodriguez
“Redress and rebirth: Hogan’s Alley once again offers hope for Vancouver’s Black community” by Ian Bailey, Mike Hager, and Xiao Xu
“The political rebellion of being black and non-binary” by Cicely-Belle Blain
“Time to dismantle systemic anti-Black racism in medicine in Canada” by OmiSoore Dryden and Onye Nnorom
US Articles
“Five Ways to Avoid Whitewashing the Civil Rights Movement” by Coshandra Dillard
“What is Owed” by Nikole Hannah-Jones
“When the FBI Spied on MLK” by Hannah Giorgis
Poetry
"A Litany for Survival" - Audre Lorde
"Caged Bird" - Maya Angelou
"Dream Variations" - Langston Hughes
"Dreams" - Langston Hughes
"Ghana Calls" - W.E.B. Du Bois
"Harlem" - Langston Hughes
"If We Must Die" - Claude McKay
"Let America Be America Again" - Langston Hughes
"Still I Rise" - Maya Angelou
"The Ballad of Rudolph Reed" - Gwendolyn Brooks
"The Children of the Poor" - Gwendolyn Brooks
"We Real Cool" - Gwendolyn Brooks
"won't you celebrate with me" - Lucille Clifton
Listen
Podcasts
“1619” (History)
“Black Girl Nerds” (Pop Culture/Entertainment)
“Co-Conspired Conversations” (Society/Culture)
“Code Switch” (Society/Culture)
“Intersectionality Matters!” (News/Politics)
“Pod Save the People” (Politics/Society)
“The Stoop” (Society/Culture)
TED Talks
Baratunde Thurston: “How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “The danger of a single story”
Curtis Austin: “The real story of the Black Panther Party”
Damon Davis: “Courage is contagious”
David R. Williams: “How racism makes us sick”
Ibram X. Kendi: “The difference between being ‘not racist’ and antiracist”
Kedra Newsom Reeves: “How to reduce the wealth gap between Black and white Americans”
Michael Rain: “What it’s like to be the child of immigrants”
Nnedi Okorafor: “Sci-fi stories that imagine a future Africa”
Play
Other Noteworthy Games
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation (Mature) | Windows, PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita
Dandara (Everyone 10+) | Various platforms including Windows, PS3, Xbox One
Dishonored 2: Death of the Outsider (Mature) | Windows, PS4, Xbox One
The Last of Us: Left Behind (Mature) | PS3, PS4
The Walking Dead (Mature) | Various platforms including Windows, PS4, Xbox One
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Teen) | PS4
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Mature) | Windows, Xbox One, PS4, Switch
Games by Black Developers
Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan (Teen) | Windows
A beautiful 2D action role-playing game inspired by the various cultures of Africa.
BleBRiTY (Everyone) | Android, iOS
Released by actor and activist Jesse Williams, BleBRiTY is a trivia game about Black culture.
Chrono Ghost (Everyone) | Windows
A sci-fi/fantasy 2D puzzle-platformer in which the player can manipulate time in order to defeat challenging levels, and ultimately impress The Spirit of Time.
For the Culture (Everyone) | Android, iOS
For the Culture is a mobile trivia game with topics ranging from Black history to pop culture.
Hair Nah (Everyone)
An 8-bit browser game that takes on micro-aggression with humor, simple gameplay, and bright colors.
SweetxHeart (Teen)
Also browser-based, SweetxHeart gives us an interactive insight into the modern Black woman’s day-to-day.
Tiny Bird Garden Deluxe (Everyone) | Android, Windows, iOS, Classic Mac OS
This casual indie game is super calming, colorful, and cute. Customize your garden and make friends with little birdies!
Treachery in Beatdown City (Teen) | Windows, Switch, Linux, Mac
A role-playing, strategy and beat-’em-up game with a retro look and feel.
