Celebrate Black History Month
As we celebrate Black History Month, Libraries, including ours, must acknowledge our role in the systemic marginalization of Black and other underrepresented groups in library collections, programs, services, and staffing. We strive to make our collections more diverse and inclusive ever yday, and are committed to serving our community through inclusive programs, services, and staffing.
We recognize that having these designated months potentially sends the message that the entire history of a group of people can fit into one month. We are striving to have an inclusive library year-round, through every book order, every display, every event, and every program. The closer we get to achieving this, then these special months become additional opportunities to create that inclusive space.
Events
Local History: Snapshot Stories
One important area in our collections we are working on is our online Local History Collection, which lacks representation of the history of Black Americans in Santa Cruz. One approach we are taking is to invite members of the public to share their historic photos that document Black History in Santa Cruz to our Snapshot Stories program. This unique collection highlights images from the public that document Santa Cruz History. See what's there!
This month, we invite people to upload their digitized photos documenting Black History to our Dropbox Folder Black History in Santa Cruz. With your submission, we also ask you to email VirtualServices@santacruzpl.org with information about the photo that includes the file name, a brief description of the photo, the year the photo was taken, the location where the photo was taken, and any other information about the photo. We also ask that you email a signed permission form that will allow us to add your photos to our online collection. This summer, we plan to have public scanning events in order to invite participation from those who don’t have the ability to digitize their own photos.
Santa Cruz Warriors Read Aloud
Join us for some great Read Alouds of our favorite kids’ books with the Santa Cruz Warriors! Starting Monday February 8, we will start releasing these great video read alouds on the library's YouTube Channel and on our Facebook Page.
Stories for Bedtime: Black History Month Craft & Story
February 17 • 7:00pm
Celebrate Black History Month by learning about important figures in Black history during Stories for Bedtime with Jackie. Jackie will be featuring a book about artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and teach you how to craft a collage in the shape of a crown.
Basquiat used the crown as a multi-faceted symbol throughout his work. It represented black people's struggle throughout history and his own personal power. Decide what the crown means for you and adorn yours with symbols that have personal meaning, or that make you happy!
SCPL Librarian Jackie reads bedtime stories, sings songs, and chants rhymes for families every other Wednesday at 7:00 pm on the library's YouTube Channel and on our Facebook Page.
Pick up your craft kit starting Wednesday February 10th at your local Library Grab & Go hours at one of our convenient locations and craft along with Jackie!
MLK Convocation: Mariame Kaba
February 12, 5:30 p.m., free admission This annual convocation celebrates the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by presenting speakers on issues of equality, freedom, justice, and opportunity. Mariame Kaba is an organizer, educator, curator, and prison industrial complex abolitionist who is active in movements for racial, gender, and transformative justice.
Abolition Citizenship: Frederick Douglass and Art Education
February 4, 12–1 p.m., free admission
Scholars Jennifer González, Isaac Julien, Mark Nash, and Terence Trouillot discuss Lessons of the Hour—Frederick Douglass (2019), Julien’s genre-breaking, 10-screen film installation about the abolitionist (1818–1895), as a nexus of citizenship, rights, and the present moment’s witness to the resurgence of white supremacy.
Black Lives in Santa Cruz: What Matters
Black Lives in Santa Cruz: What Matters is an exceptional exhibit created by local photographer Allison Garcia. Through the words and images of the people who experience it, Black Lives in Santa Cruz: What Matters reveals some of the racial disparity and injustice in our community. It focuses the lens on "what matters" to the participants - each unique, yet with common threads of family, friends, work, health and joy. The exhibit has been digitized and has a new home on the Santa Cruz County Office of Education Initiative for Racial Equity and Justice website.
Support Black Owned Business in Santa Cruz
Check out our Black History Book list for Kids
Check out our Black History Book list for Adults
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