All Hands on Tech: Explore Hidden Figures with Super Science at Your Library!
How did NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson calculate the trajectories for missions to space? With genius level STEM skills!
Punitive Measures, Pushout and Pittsburgh
At the same time that Black women are outpacing others in the post-graduate arena, many young Black women are being left behind in public schools, marginalized by punitive and surveillance systems embedded into our education programs and into society at large. Black girls make up 16 percent of the public school population, but represent more than one-third of all girls with a school-related arrest.
Natural Hair Magic
I never knew the true texture of my hair until I was in my mid-twenties. The time I spent at my aunt’s shop meant slapping a relaxer on my hair and smoothing it out until she was convinced my hair would be straight enough for the gods. I never went too long without a relaxer for fear of the new growth or “naps” underneath, a severely flawed fear passed down from generation to generation.
The Pittsburgh Courier
The Pittsburgh Courier used to be a national newspaper with 14 different city editions including New York, Chicago, Detriot, St. Louis and Los Angeles, to name a few. I urge you to check out the documentary Newspaper of Record the Pittsburgh Courier, available on DVD in our collection. It conveys the weight and influence of the paper, as well as its glamour.
Best of BARD: January 2017
New Year, New You. But that doesn’t mean we can’t keep the gritty heavy hitters in our lives, representing the Top Five. I’m not gonna lie, I was tempted to … Continued
Behind the Camera: 5 Female Directors to Watch
It’s also heartening to see that after her snub last year the Academy realized that it had a diversity problem; this year (for the first time) there are people of color nominated in every major acting category and in the director’s category. This is likely the result of a diversified voting pool this year which leads to a more diverse selection of nominees. While this is certainly progress, there still has never been a female Black director nominated for an Oscar. So, instead of focusing on this year’s nominees (love you, Moonlight) I’m going to focus on a handful of films directed by African-American women that you should definitely seek out.
The Legacy of Ezra Jack Keats and a Boy Named Peter
In Andrea Davis Pinkney’s new book, A Poem for Peter, the author beautifully depicts in verse the life of Ezra Jack Keats and the creation of his most famous character, Peter.
Cons
I love any story about a con artist. From the most grand, slick schemes and cons, to small clumsy ones, I’ve always been fascinated by it. Partially, it’s the psychology … Continued
Ecofeminist Novels by Black Authors
Ecofeminists believe that nature and culture are intrinsically linked, and that the environmental harm we’re doing to our planet parallels the harm oppressive cultures do to marginalized groups like women and people of color. The word “ecofeminist” is itself a compound of “ecology” and “feminist.” In practice, it is an intersectional, multidimensional approach to social justice that recognizes we are linked to the land and our environments. Unsurprisingly, many women of color have written both novels and nonfiction books with strong ecofeminist themes; here are just a few of them.
The History of Black History Month
When the call first went out for blog post topics to celebrate Black History Month (also known as African-American History month), I responded that I’d like to write a “History … Continued