Black History Month 2021
Stories and Sources for Study, Discussion, & Recognition
February 1
Combahee River Raid
Harriet Tubman, who fought for freedom on the Underground Railroad, led a military mission for the Union forces on June 2, 1863. She communicated closely with slaves engaged in the resistance; exchanging support and access to travel for information about Confederate torpedoes. As a result, Union ships traveled the Combahee River in South Carolina and and soldiers went ashore to destroy the plantations of secessionists. According to Blackpast.org, "Many of the Union soldiers who took part in the raid were former slaves who saw the burning and pillaging of these estates as an opportunity to enact revenge on the master class." Harriet Tubman's intelligence, leadership and willingness to resist ensured that 750 enslaved people found refuge on Union boats, which escaped unharmed. Her legacy as "the only woman known to have led a military operation during the American Civil War" is evidence of the role that Black Americans played in winning the Civil War.
Source: Leichner, Helen. "Combahee River Raid (June 2, 1863)". Blackpast.org
Questions and Connections
The Combahee River Collective formed in Boston in 1974, a group of black feminists and lesbians, who fought for full and inclusive equality in the women's movement. How did the Combahee River Collective carry on the spirit of Harriet Tubman 100 years later? Why was it still necessary?
Primary Source: The Combahee River Collective Statement
February 2
Nas on PBS
Nas perfoms Illmatic live with a symphony orchestra at the Lincoln Center. A must watch. His words beat any words here.
Link: http://video.whyy.org/video/3008654755/
Questions and Connections
In one of the interviews with Nas on the PBS television program, he said, "I grew up like a Vietnam Vet." What does this connection tell you about Nas' childhood in Queens, New York in the 1980s? How does music help him and others to heal?
February 4
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Eleven years before she engaged in civil disobedience on a Montgomery bus, she worked with the NAACP on behalf of a victim of sexual assault, Recy Taylor, a 25 year old black woman in Abbeville, Alabama. Despite compelling evidence and confessions by some of the rapists, a Grand Jury twice failed to bring charges against the young white men and boys. Parks herself met intimidation and threats from local law enforcement during her work fighting for justice for Recy Taylor. Taylor's willingness to confront her assailants and challenge racism and sexism is a model of strength and resilience; she lived to the age of 97.
LINK: https://www.npr.org/2018/01/14/578010819/recy-taylor-s-rape-still-haunts-us
Questions and Connections
The documentary film, The Rape of Recy Taylor, tells the story through the perspective of her brother and sister, younger siblings whom Recy cared for; with intense memories of the attack and their family's suffering. Interviews with family members of the rapists and local historians from Alabama remind the viewer of the pervasiveness of racism over time. What does it mean for women when they are listened to their stories of sexual assault are heard?
FILM TRAILER: http://womenyoushouldknow.net/rape-recy-taylor-documentary/
February 5
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Resistance to Capitalism
In a highly publicized and criticized Super Bowl advertisement, Dodge Ram used one of Dr. King's sermons about service to sell a pick up truck. Historians of the life and legacy of Dr. King quickly intervened to remind Americans of Dr. King's intersectional life's work; which included not just activism for civil rights, but a radical campaign against economic inequality and poverty as well.
Criticisms of the ad: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/business/media/mlk-commercial-ram-dodge.html
A revised Dodge ad with a different voice-over from Dr. King: https://youtu.be/l_v1h6Zoi-Q
Dr. King's Critique of Capitalism and Militarism: https://theintercept.com/2016/01/18/martin-luther-king-jr-celebrations-overlook-his-critiques-of-capitalism-and-militarism/
Questions and Connections
The economic inequality and oppression that motivated Dr. King to speak out against capitalism remains. As the Movement for Black Lives articulates its current platform, several aspects of this platform incorporate economic as well as political solutions. How does the legacy of Dr. King influence the platform of the Movement for Black Lives? And what are the steps individuals and organizations can take to support immediate healing and long-term change?
The Movement for Black Lives' Platform: https://policy.m4bl.org/platform/
February 6
Constance Baker Motley
The names of her contemporaries, Thurgood Marshall, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, are well known. However, we must take note of Constance Baker Motley, New Havener, lawyer, legislator, and civil rights advocate. With her sharp intellect, passion for social justice, and disciplined work habits, she broke boundaries, made history and left her city, her country and her world better for those of us who come after her. While she is most known for her work as an NAACP trial lawyer, working on school desegregation cases in the 1950s and writing a brief for Brown vs. Board of Education, her leadership as a teenager in New Haven is equally notable. She graduated at the top of her class from New Haven High School (now Hillhouse High School) and participated in the New Haven Negro Youth Council. In addition, she caught the attention of Clarence Blakeslee, a local white philanthropist , when she spoke truth to power and critiqued the all-white board of directors of the Dixwell Community House, highlighting the need for representation and leadership by community members of color. As a result of her vision and forthrightness, she earned a scholarship from Blakeslee, ultimately studying at Fisk University and graduating with a B.A. in Economics from New York University. Her life's work is an inspiration to those who continue fight the racism and sexism that are embedded in American culture and politics.
Documentary Film: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/02/23/justice-black-woman-amazing-constance-baker-motley
New York Times Obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/29/nyregion/constance-baker-motley-civil-rights-trailblazer-dies-at-84.html
Questions and Connections
Connecticut State Representative Robyn Porter wasn't born in New Haven (she was born in Queens, New York) but her tireless advocacy on issues facing women of color in our community is a living tribute to the memory of Constance Baker Motley. Recently, at the 2018 Hartford Women's March, Rep. Porter called upon the white activists in attendance to "use their privilege...to demand justice for the causes of the women whose very shoulders they have consistently stood on over the centuries. " Despite the crossing of colorlines and the shattering of glass ceilings by Motley and many others, Porter knows that "black women have been held back, pushed aside, and counted out ." How can white activists address this failure to recognize and value black women and their experiences? How can we listen and follow instead of lecture and lead?
Porter Challenges the Women's March: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/robyn_porter/
February 12
Amy Sherald & Kehinde Wiley: The Obamas' Legacy and the Recognition of Black American Artists
Today two American painters achieved a new level of success and recognition, when they unveiled their portraits of First Lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley are the first black artists to be commissioned by a former President and First Lady for the herculean task of creating portraits that will outlast the artists and the subjects.
In her speech at the event, Sherald said it best: “The act of Michelle Obama being her authentic self became a profound statement that engaged all of us, because what you represent to this country is an ideal, a human being with integrity, intellect, confidence and compassion."
Artists selected to paint the Obamas: https://www.colorlines.com/articles/barack-and-michelle-obama-select-kehinde-wiley-and-amy-sherald-paint-national-gallery
Interview with Amy Sherald: http://gallerygurls.net/interviews/2017/6/19/in-conversation-with-amy-sherald
Questions and Connections
In her speech, Amy Sherald also referenced the pattern on the First Lady's dress in the portrait and named the Gee's Bend Quiltmakers in Alabama as an influence for her work. Stories like these might remain untold, ignored, and dismissed, but the collaboration between Michelle Obama and Amy Sherald heralds a new era where American folk art and oral history gain the recognition they deserve. What other genres of art should be centered and celebrated as integral to the history of our country?
Souls Grown Deep and the Gee's Bend Quiltmakes: http://www.soulsgrowndeep.org/gees-bend-quiltmakers
What does it mean when the artist who painted grand portraits of Grandmaster Flash and LL Cool J also painted a grand portrait of the President of the United States? How do the Obamas continue to impact American culture and politics from their post-White House position?
Interview with Kehinde Wiley: http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/paintings.html
February 13
Congressman John Lewis on Finding Your Roots
In a 2015 episode of the PBS series Finding Your Roots with Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Representative Lewis learns about the post-Civil War experiences of his great-great grandparents, Tobias and Elizabeth Carter. They got married in 1865, ten days after the 13th Amendment officially ended slavery in the United States of America. Not only that, but Lewis also examines the voter registration paperwork of Tobias Carter, who voted in Alabama in 1867; almost 100 years prior to his great-great grandson's struggle and activism to secure that very same right. While we recognize the success of the 20th Century Civil Rights Movement in securing the right to vote for so many black Americans; we also forget the brief time in our nation's history, before the the institutionalization of Jim Crow, when the Reconstruction amendments did what they were intended to do.
Link to Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgTaVqqReZ8
Landmark Legislation: https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/CivilWarAmendments.htm
Questions and Connections
The Right to Vote is still far from guaranteed in this country. In fact, the state of Florida has some of the most "punitive disenfranchisement policies in the country." However, Floridians for a Fair Democracy are fighting to get a a constitutional amendment on the ballot to restore voting rights to over 1.5 million citizens of the state. Currently, convicted felons permanently lose their voting rights in Florida, Kentucky and Iowa. What restrictions, if any, should be placed on people's right to vote? How does people's relationship to government change when they no longer have the right to vote? Given what we know about the racism of the criminal justice system, do the laws in Florida and other states violate the 15th amendment of the Constitution? How else can the public hold the government accountable to protect people's fundamental rights?
Criminal Disenfranchisement Laws Around the Country: https://www.brennancenter.org/criminal-disenfranchisement-laws-across-united-states
