February 3, 2023

Black History Month 2023

While Black History Month provides a focused platform for collective reflection and celebration of Black History, the responsibility to self-educate is never-ending.   Making space to read, listen and watch something new – as a continuous practice (well beyond February) broadens our understanding of Black History in support in our collective work as allies, advocates, educators and agents of change.  From podcasts to poetry, music, film and books, these resources provide a starting point for exploration. Many of the works listed here emphasize stories with a particular connection to the Pacific Northwest and UW community.  Learn something new and share your recommended or favorite resources with us  @uofwalibraries (Instagram); @uwlibraries (Twitter); @uwlibraries (Facebook). #BHMWatch #BHMListen #BHMRead

UW Libraries Racial Justice LibGuide This guide is a starting point for students and faculty seeking to better understand issues related to racial justice and racism in America and includes a broad range of sources including current news, TED Talks, podcasts, social media and more.

From UW Tacoma Library: This blog post highlights a diverse range of resources that acknowledge, honor, and celebrate the lasting legacies of Black creators including poetry, fiction and non-fiction books, databases and more.

The Long Shadows of Seattle  podcast series that explores the stories of important people that made an impact on Seattle’s history of racial justice and political activism. Using collections from the University of Washington Libraries’ Special Collections, host Stellan Harris guides you through the lives of some of Seattle’s hidden figures.

 

From UW Bothell Library’s Social Justice Team:

•  Streaming Video Display ,an amazing collection of streaming videos/documentaries that explore the fight for racial and social justice from different points in time and perspectives. From Whose Streets, an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising and America After Charleston, to films that explore the racial justice in LBGTQ community, and so much more—don’t miss this fantastic collection of digital films that you can watch right now.
• Books and Media List

From The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project.

• UW Black Student Union History: Founded in early 1968 at a time when very few black students attended UW,  BSU led campaigns that transformed the University and helped reshape educational opportunities for young people of color in Seattle and throughout Washington state. This digital project covers the evolution of BSU through video, interviews and more. Part of the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project.
• Video: “In Pursuit of Social Justice: An Oral History of the Early Years of Diversity Efforts at the University of Washington” by UWTV Productions and the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity

UW Libraries Ethnomusicology Archives The UW Ethnomusicology Archives has been collecting and curating unique ethnographic music recordings, films, and video since 1962. It holds a trove of unique recordings and films documenting music from around globe, and around the block.

Explore the work of these black artists with historic ties to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest:

• The great Ernestine Anderson singing with the Cecil Young Quartet (recorded 1951) – that voice!
• Tacoma’s Bobby Shorter (with The Innkeepers) rocking R&B tracks (recorded 1972) #Funk
• A selection of unique films documenting such blues greats as Mance Lipscomb, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and John Lee Hooker (UW-only access).
  

  Country blues guitarist and vocalist Lightnin’ Hopkins

• Seattle’s Milton Simons improvising on vibraphone with the band JASIS (recorded 1971) – music was just one of Simons many artistic talents, learn more about his story
• If Spotfiy is more of your speed, tune into the “Kearney Barton: Architect of the Northwest Sound” (Light In The Attic Records). It spotlights music from our Kearney Barton Collection, including Seattle bands Occupation Soul and Black On White Affair.
• UW Ethnomusicology Archives: In Solidarity. An extensive collection of audio, video and related texts that aim to increase visibility and recognition of historically underrepresented music, voices, and experiences. Every Tone a Testimony: An African American Aural History and Angela Davis Speaks, a 1971 audio interview with Angela Davis, are just a couple of the compelling works compiled here by the Ethnomusicology Program and Archives.

UW Special Collections:

UW Special Collections holds rare books and images that share the stories of Black history through the lens of Black authors, artists and activists, offering a one-of-a-kind perspective that only primary sources can impart. The following is a very limited selection of materials and does not represent the extent of their relevant holdings related to Black authors or Black history in our collections. Throughout Black History Month, Special Collections and UW Libraries Labor Archives social media channels are featuring a materials from the archives, so be sure to follow and connect with us on our channels:

Charlemae Hill Rollins and the Spencer Shaw Historical Children’s Book Collection

Spencer G. Shaw, a University of Washington professor emeritus of Library Science was a nationally recognized storyteller and advocate for children’s reading. Born in Hartford in 1917, Dr. Shaw was among the first African American librarians to integrate the professional ranks of the Hartford Public Library, becoming the first African American librarian hired by the library system.   Dr. Shaw honed the craft of storytelling and earned a reputation for captivating children and adults alike with the folk tales he uncovered from ethnic traditions the world over. He had a long and illustrious career as a librarian and educator including his tenure with the UW from 1970 to 1986. Dr. Shaw knew many children’s authors & his important collection of books, many inscribed to him, came to Special Collections as his gift in 2010 when he passed away.

Dr. Shaw’s collection at UW Libraries features several works by Charlemae Hill Rollins including Black Troubadour: Langston Hughes, winner of the 1971 Coretta Scott King Book Award. This copy was given to UW Libraries by Spencer G. Shaw and is inscribed by the author to Shaw. Rollins was a pioneering librarian, author and storyteller. Undeterred by the racist, segregated policies that prevented black children from attending school in Oklahoma, Rollins’s family founded a school which Rollins attended as a child. She went on to Howard University and later became a children’s librarian at the Chicago Public Library in 1927.  During her thirty-one years as head librarian of the children’s department as well as after her retirement, she instituted substantial reforms in children’s literature. She authored four books highlighting the achievements of black leaders, authors and artists.

First-editions of landmark historical narratives within UW Special Collections:

Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. By Frederick Douglas, 1845.  Written by the famous orator and former slave, this narrative recounts Douglass’s life as a slave and his ambition to become a free man. It is generally held to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves during the same period. Considered to be one of the most influential pieces of American literature, it fueled the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States.

Narrative of Sojourner Truth : a northern slave, emancipated from bodily servitude by the state of New York,1850. An American abolitionist and women’s rights activist, Truth was included in Smithsonian magazine’s list of the “100 Most Significant Americans of All Time”. Truth dictated her memoirs to her friend Olive Gilbert resulting in this narrative, published in 1850. The copy in Special Collections is one of the first editions.

From the UW Libraries Labor Archives:

The papers and photographs of Earl George: George was a Black worker and leader, labor and civil rights activist, and photographer.  He participated in the Seattle General Strike of 1919 as a longshore worker. He also became the first Black president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 9 in 1938. He worked towards combatting racial discrimination, including a 1948 campaign that succeeded in dismantling racist hiring practices of Seattle-area grocery stores. As a photographer for a number of political publications, including the Communist Party, George’s papers also include photographs of community activists and political actions happening around the city in the late 20^th century.

The Tyree Scott papers and photograph collections as well as the papers of Scott’s partner, Beverly Sims: Scott and Sims were Black labor organizers in Seattle. Tyree led the United Construction Workers Association and devoted his time to combatting racial discrimination in the labor movement. Beverly Sims was one of the first Black women to complete the IBEW electrician apprenticeship program and also worked for the Northwest Labor Employment and Law Office. She sadly passed away last year. A portion of the Tyree Scott and Earl George photographs have been digitized and are accessible in the digital collections database.

Start Your Research:

The UW Libraries Research Guide for African American history is an expertly curated resource hub for primary and secondary sources including databases, journal articles and access to collections like the Black Freedom Struggle of the 20^th century, NAACP papers and more.