Celebrate Black History Month


ASALH 2018 Black History Month poster
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) chose "African Americans in Times of War" as their 2018 theme for Black History Month. The Jessup Library has several titles highlighting the role that African Americans played on the war front.  Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero speaks of the daring risk that Smalls took to escape to freedom with his family during the Civil War. Linda Hervieux's Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day's Black Heroes, at Home and at War details the lives of an all-black battalion that fought on the frontlines in World War II; their contributions to the D-day battle had gone unacknowledged until recent years. Karin Stanford compiled multiple stories from well-known individuals throughout history in her book, If We Must Die: African American Voices on War and Peace

Jessup Library also has a display set up to celebrate Black History Month that highlights the stories of civil rights activists, politicians, athletes, musicians, actors, and more. The Radical King, Arthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era, Eye on the Struggle, Ali: A Life, and We Could Not Fail: the First African Americans in the Space Program are just a few of the titles that have been selected.

Read the great works of African American authors: James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Langston Hughes, Ralph Ellison, Alice Walker, and many more!