For Black History Month 2024, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is celebrating the Black experience in art, centering both Black artists and subjects. Historically, Black artists have, and continue, to create, shape, inspire, and pioneer visual arts, music, cultural movements and more. Join us as we honor the Black experience through book displays, resources, library programs and community events happening this February and throughout the year! Celebrate Black History Month with these book picks!
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A “Renaissance of Our Own” shares Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s own path to discovering herself. Cargle made the difficult choice to leave a life that felt confining to a journey of self-discovery, finding her voice through activism and supporting readers in discovering themselves.
Originating in research for the landmark traveling exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, this anthology brings together more than two hundred texts, most of them rare and long out of print
Spanning more than 35 years of work, this is the first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism, and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, showcasing the evolution of her distinctive style as an archivist and author.
This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby, an eAudio on Libby, an eBook on Hoopla and an eAudio on Hoopla.
This timely and gorgeously illustrated companion book to an upcoming Smithsonian exhibition explores the power of Afrofuturism to reclaim the past and reimagine Black futures.
A sweeping, genre-bending “masterpiece” (Minneapolis Star Tribune ) exploring Black art, music, and culture in all their glory and complexity—from Soul Train, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Whitney Houston, and Beyoncé.
This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby and an eAudio on Libby.
Lorraine Hansberry, who died at thirty-four, was by all accounts a force of nature. Although best-known for her work A Raisin in the Sun, her short life was full of extraordinary experiences and achievements, and she had an unflinching commitment to social justice, which brought her under FBI surveillance when she was barely in her twenties. While her close friends and contemporaries, like James Baldwin and Nina Simone, have been rightly celebrated, her story has been diminished and relegated to one work—until now.
This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby and an eAudio on Libby.
Inspired by the groundbreaking work of W. E. B. Du Bois, this beautiful collection brings together an outstanding roster of Black creative voices to honor, celebrate, and foster Black excellence. The New Brownies’ Book reimagines the very first publication created for African American children in 1920 as a must-have anthology for a new generation.
This title is also available for checkout as an eBook Hoopla.
Combining fiction, essays, comics, and interviews, this dynamic new anthology, edited by novelist Terry and documentary filmmaker Spooner, holistically explores punk music and the punk scene from the perspective of Black writers and creators across generations.
This major new title builds out of Musical Crossroads, one of the 12 permanent exhibitions at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, to present a vibrantly illustrated exploration of 400 years of African American musical culture.
A fun and fact-filled introduction to the dismissed Black art masters and models who shook up the world.
This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby.
A beautiful love letter to Black joy, as a source of self-preservation and survival as well as a form of resistance.