For Black History Month, the staff at The Fortune Society collaborated to create a community guide for celebrating and honoring Black history. The guide is filled with events, policy actions, resources, book recommendations, and a Black History Spotify playlist.
Recognizing that Black history is American history—and American history is year-round—we will continuously update this list throughout the year.
Listen to The Fortune Society’s Black History Spotify playlist, with songs selected by staff members. Artists include Kendrick Lamar, Janelle Monae, Aretha Franklin, and more.
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle By Angela Y. Davis
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
The Bluest Eye: A Novel by Toni Morrison
Fences by August Wilson
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Black Futures edited by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham
Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Black Men Built the Capitol by Jesse J. Holland
Eight Men by Richard Wright
Black Judges on Justice by Linn Washington
The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur
The Tradition by Jericho Brown
Locking Up Our Own by James Forman Jr.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry & Kali Nicole Gross
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965–2010 edited by Kevin Young and Michael S. Glaser
Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Felon by Reginald Dwayne Betts
Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock
Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Sula by Toni Morrison
The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart by Alicia Garza
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements edited by Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarisha
How Long ‘til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
The Selected Works of Audre Lord edited by Roxane Gay
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
All About Love by Bell Hooks
Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell S. Jackson
Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Sisters Are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America by Tamara Winfrey Harris
Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown
View other curated reading lists of poems, essays, and books by the Poetry Foundation, Poets.org, and The Rumpus.
The Schomburg Center’s 9th Annual Black Comic Book Festival featured 39 Black comic book vendors and 13 panel discussions over four days, from January 13th-16th. You can view all of the programs on the festival website.
Highlights included How to Draw Black Superheroes and A Tribute to Chadwick Boseman.
Each year, the Schomburg Center celebrates the life of Malcolm X during Black History Month—coinciding with the anniversary of his assassination on February 21, 1965. This year, our virtual program will feature a conversation and presentations by Anna Malaika Tubbs, author of The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation, and Dr. Michael Sawyer, author of Black Minded: The Political Philosophy of Malcolm X. The talk will explore how Malcolm X’s mother’s language of liberation and resistance is foundational to his political growth, and examine his political philosophy of Black internationalism. Dr. Imani Perry, will moderate the conversation and discuss her recent work, Breathe: A Letter to My Sons. Register to join on Monday, February 22 at 6:30 pm ET.
Now through Thursday, Feb 25th, NPR Tiny Desk will host 13 concerts celebrating Black Excellence, featuring artists like Wynton Marsalis, Melanie Charles, 2 Chainz, and Rick Ross.
Throughout the rest of February, join The Paley Center in celebrating Black History Month with A Salute to Black Achievements in Television.
Thursday, Feb 18th, Representative Adriano Espaillat is hosting a Black History Month event at 6:30 pm ET celebrating Dr. Martin Luther Kings’ legacy. The event can be live-streamed from his Facebook page.
Join The Schomburg Center featuring Charles M. Blow, to discuss his book “The Devil We Know” with Hilton Als on Tuesday, Feb 23rd at 8 pm ET. Register here.
View a virtual exhibit of over 4,000 works covering Black history and culture with Carnegie Hall and Google Arts and Culture.
Just Mercy directed by Destin Daniel Cotton
Farming directed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
BlacKkKlansman directed by Spike Lee
Judas and the Black Messiah directed by Shaka King
One Night in Maimi directed by Regina King
The United States vs. Billie Holiday directed by Lee Daniels
Black Lives Matter at School is a national coalition organizing for racial justice in education. They encourage all educators, students, parents, unions, and community organizations to join an annual week of action during the first week of February each year. Their website features information on curriculum and starter kits, as well as upcoming events.
Learn about the Fair Chance for Housing campaign & bill from City Council Members, faith leaders, and directly impacted community members on Thursday, February 25th at 6 pm ET. Register here
Watch our latest episode of Both Sides of the Bars, Fortune’s monthly TV show broadcast in over 100 stations nationwide, featuring Gabriel Sayegh, Co-Executive Director of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice.
Tell your City Council member to pass the Fair Chance for Housing Act to end housing discrimination against people with justice involvement.
Join the #HALTSolitary campaign to end solitary confinement in New York.
Tell your representatives to pass the Justice Roadmap in New York, a bold legislative agenda to address harms caused by the criminal legal system on communities of color.
Tell elected officials in New York to pass the Less is More Act and reduce incarcerating people for technical parole violations.
Join the Releasing Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign to advocate for releasing elderly incarcerated people and those serving long sentences.