News & Announcements

Award Winning African-American Authors - Booklist created by SCPL staff of award winning books by African American Authors.

ELGL's Black History Month Reading List - ELGL's list of suggested books by black authors. 

125 Black Owned Bookstores in the United States- List of 125 Black-Owned Bookstores in the United States (check out California, there are several in the bay area to visit!)

Overdrive Presents "Black History Month Titles for Students of All Ages"- Overdrive booklists for Elementary through Highschool students wanting to celebrate and/or educate themselves. 

BookBrowse Celebrating Black History Month with Books- More than 70 outstanding works of nonfiction and historical fiction by Black Authors.

Innocence Project's "15 Books to Read During Black History Month and Beyond"- The staff at The Innocence Project put together a list of 15 must read books that have inspired them to think about Black History.

Bookshop Santa Cruz List of books for Black History Month 2022- List of books curated by Bookshop Santa Cruz for Black History Month.

San Francisco Public Libraries Curated List of Cookbooks by Black Authors-List of cookbooks by Black Authors 

Poetry Foundation List of poems by African American Authors- Poems, articles, and podcasts that explore African American history and culture.

Kanopy Black History Month Movies - Kanopy is free with your SCPLlibrary card and has created a wonderful list of movies to celebrate Black artists and Black stories. 

The African American Museum and Library at Oakland digital collection- Audiovisual material (moving images and audio) from the 1940s to the 2000s. These recordings include an oral history collection containing recent interviews with African-American residents of Oakland, interviews with Blues musician Brownie McGhee, and home movies recorded by Oakland's Collier family.

Taj Leahy presents Black History Month Film Series- Register to watch Taj Leahy's film series to highlight Black Excellence in Film. (The Wiz, Bamboozled, Malcom X, and Black Panther) click link to register for movie viewings.

Stories for Bedtime: Black History Month Storytime and Craft- SCPL Librarian Jackie reads a story and presents a craft for Black History Month.

Black History Month Storybook Read Aloud: In 2022, we are celebrating Black History Month by having local African American leaders read Children’s Books written and illustrated by people of the African Diaspora. To view the other stories read by local leaders, please visit our Youtube page.

Events to Recognize Black History Month Everyday of February-Spend all February long recognizing Black History Month with a variety of in-person and virtual events. (Some events are virtual, some events are in person across the US.)

Oakland Public Library: Black Culture Fest: A Celebration of the African Diaspora- Activities are planned throughout the month of February and include dynamic programs, writing, and curated book lists, music, and other media celebrating various aspects of Black Culture.

UC celebrations of Black history, culture and social justice- List of Virtual events through California Universities 

Panel: Black Inventors and Innovators Making Their Mark- SF Public Library in Partnership with Career Girls presents a conversation with Ifueko Nosakhare Igbinedion, Marian Muthui, Cadence Payne and Elizabeth Smith, Black women role models who use their creativity and knowledge to be creators and innovators. Panel moderated by Linda Calhoun, founder of Career Girls. For ages 8–18. Wednesday, 2/9/2022, 10:00 - 10:45

More Than a Month: Black History, Culture and Heritage- Recordings from past San Francisco Public Library programs to continue understanding, respecting and celebrating Black history and culture in San Francisco and beyond.

Taj Leahy presents Black History Month Film Series- Register to watch Taj Leahy's film series to highlight Black Excellence in Film. (The Wiz, Bamboozled, Malcom X, and Black Panther) click link to register for movie viewings.

Yoga and Vibes: Partnering with Black Health Matters Initiative for 2 Events-February 5th and 19th (please click on link for more information on the Tannery World Dance website).

Upland Public Library Black History Event- African American Genealogy 101-In celebration of Black History Month, Upland Public Library will be featuring Professional Genealogist Nicka Sewell-Smith, whose topic will be Researching African American Genealogy 101.  

Support Black Owned Businesses in Santa Cruz County- Directory

To Know My Name: A Chronological History of African Americans In Santa Cruz County- Author Phil Reader (Santa Cruz Public Libraries Local History Archives.

NAACP Santa Cruz County History- History page for the Santa Cruz Chapter of NAACP.

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.

NPR: Black History Month- NPR has compiled a list of stories, music performances, podcasts and other content that chronicles the Black American experience.

Hoopla Black History Month Selections- Music, Audiobooks, eBooks and more. Selected Black History Month downloads through Hoopla free with your library card.

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