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
Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
View other curated reading lists of poems, essays, and books by the Poetry Foundation, Poets.org, and The Rumpus.
This February, join NYC Parks as they reflect on the Black experience in New York City and celebrate the legacies of Black trailblazers. Check out our virtual and in-person exhibits and join us for Urban Park Ranger-led tours, concerts,and more in celebration of Black History Month!
The works in The Black Index make viewers aware of their own expectations of Black figuration by interrupting traditional epistemologies of portraiture through unexpected and unconventional depictions. These works image the Black body through a conceptual lens that acknowledges the legacy of Black containment that is always present in viewing strategies. The approaches used by Delgado, Henry, Hinkle, Kaphar, Lovell, and Thomas suggest understandings of Blackness and the racial terms of our neo-liberal condition that counter legal and popular interpretations and, in turn, offer a paradigmatic shift within Black visual culture. See more.
The Paris Theater is hosting a movie series that looks at the larger picture of race in America with stories that are deeply personal, focusing on individuals. Read more.
Michelin-starred Musket Room’s Executive Pastry Chef, Camari Mick, has invited some of her favorite makers, chefs and entrepreneurs to collaborate in recognition of Black History Month. They’ve put together boxes featuring handmade breads, pastries, pastas and sauces available for pickup at The Musket Room (265 Elizabeth St.) on February 20 and 27 (noon-2 PM).
Sunday, February 20, at 7pm
Tony-nominated actor Larry Marshall rejuvenates the life and music of Bert Williams, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era, and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time.
Thursday, February 24, at 7 PM
Award-winning Broadway veteran Tina Fabrique pays homage to Gospel – spiritual music that remains a staple of African-American life today. Gospel originated from Black spirituals, slave songs, and white hymnody, and it emerged in tandem with ragtime, blues, and jazz.
Run to celebrate the contributions of Black and African-American runners through history, including New York Road Runner’s founding president, Ted Corbitt, anywhere between February 19 and February 27. Register by going to nyrr.org and run the virtual race anytime.
Just Mercy directed by Destin Daniel Cotton
I Am Not Your Negro directed by Raoul Peck
Farming directed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
The Wire created by David Simon
BlacKkKlansman directed by Spike Lee
Judas and the Black Messiah directed by Shaka King
The Underground Railroad created by Barry Jenkins
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.
An Anti-Racist Reading List from author and historian, Ibram X. Kendi courtesy of the Chicago Public Library.
Watch Ibram X. Kendi’s TED Talk: How To Build an Anti-Racist World.
Resources and tools regarding racism and anti-Blackness are available in this Anti-Racist Allyship Starter Pack.