Black History Month

  • Black History Month 2025

    Black History Month 2025

    Each February we observe Black History Month, but why limit your enjoyment of Black writers, illustrators, thinkers, and creators to just one month? Librarians at the Seattle Public Library have put together several booklists to help keep you reading throughout the year, and highlighted a few titles from each list below: Black American Nonfiction Black… Continue reading

  • Black Love and Friendship

    Black Love and Friendship

    This Black History Month, celebrate titles that illuminate the power of Black love and friendship with titles from our recent booklist: Black Love and Friendship! Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen – Aaliyah James, a 29-year-old plus size Black woman, is ready to find real love and prove her body shaming family wrong by debuting… Continue reading

  • Happy Black History Month 2024: Celebrating African Americans and the Arts

    Happy Black History Month 2024: Celebrating African Americans and the Arts

    Though we celebrate the accomplishments of the people of the African and Black Diaspora all year, every February provides an opportunity to focus on and highlight the history and contributions of African Americans. Black History Month has a different theme each year, and 2024’s theme is African Americans and the Arts. There is not enough… Continue reading

  • Fiction Picks for Black History Month 2024

    February is Black History Month and this year, it’s got a special theme: African Americans and the Arts. It’s a great time to read books by and celebrating Black artists across form and genre, so here are some titles to check out centering stories of Black artists. Teju Cole writes thought-provoking, meandering philosophical fiction; his… Continue reading

  • Teen Novels for Black History Month 2024

    Teen Novels for Black History Month 2024

    Here are some brand new titles featuring Black teens and at least a bit of Black history. (Created January 2024) When the super strict principal of a tough charter school is found murdered, J.B., Ramón, and Trey are immediately under suspicion, and must find the killer before they are caught in Nick Brooks’ Promise Boys.… Continue reading

  • Local Heroes in Black History, Part Two

    Continuing on our tour of landmarks named for local Black heroes, here are just a few historical figures who should be household names in Seattle. Perhaps you’ve noticed new activity in the old fire station at 23rd and Yesler, across the street from the Douglass-Truth Branch Library. In 2020, the space was re-dedicated as the… Continue reading

  • Black History in Fiction

    Each February, many readers come to the library to check out the latest titles on Black history. Don’t read history books? No worries! Whether you enjoy historical or literary fiction, thrillers or fantasy, romance or mysteries, here are some recent books that immerse us in the lived experiences of Black Americans throughout our history. By… Continue reading

  • Local Heroes in Black History (and the Landmarks Named for Them)

    Just as Black history is American history, the history of Black people in Seattle is local history. Here are several ways to learn more about the Black historical figures who helped make Seattle what it is today, and to remind ourselves that Black History Month can, and should, be observed every month. A great way… Continue reading

  • Black History Month 2022: Black Teens in Love

    Black History month meets Valentine’s Day, and they make a sweet couple! Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender follows seventeen-year-old Felix, who feels he is one marginalization more than people can handle: Black, queer, trans. When someone posts his deadname and pre-transition pictures, Felix seeks revenge, but his search for his tormentor reveals some surprises… Continue reading

  • Black History, Black Presence, Black Futures

    This February at the Central Library’s fiction department we’ve added to our traditional Black History display with sections dedicated to Black Presence and Black Futures. Can’t make it to the library? Here’s a taste of what we’ve featured here, all titles from our list of favorite Black fiction books from 2021. Black History: Gone Missing… Continue reading

  • Black History Month 2022: Picture Book Nonfiction for Kids

    This Black History Month, celebrate Black lives, history, art, and accomplishments with these recent outstanding illustrated nonfiction books for kids! Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston by Alicia Williams illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara Luminous illustrations and a lively, conversational writing style tell the life story of writer… Continue reading

  • Soul Pole Stories: Q & A With Stephanie Johnson-Toliver of the Black Heritage Society of Washington State

      If you’ve been to the Library’s Douglass-Truth Branch lately, located in the heart of Seattle’s Central District at 23rd Ave. and E. Yesler Way, you might have done a double take. The Soul Pole, the totem-pole-like wooden sculpture that has stood on the lawn of the branch since 1973, is gone. The 21-foot sculpture,… Continue reading

  • Black History Month reading inspiration: short stories

    While February is a short month — too short — I decided to celebrate this Black History Month by reading a short story a day by Black authors. I have been rotating through a variety of anthologies and collections, delighted by the discoveries within: Heads of the Colored People: Stories by Nafissa Thompson-SpiresMy favorite story… Continue reading

  • Stream Oscar-winners from the past

    Stream Oscar-winners from the past

    Movie lovers rejoice! The Seattle Public Library recently added a film streaming service called Kanopy. Kanopy offers a collection of over 30,000 films with an emphasis on classic, independent and international films but also includes award-winning documentaries, selections from The Great Courses lecture series, and a wide ranging sample of some of the finest PBS… Continue reading

  • New African American Fiction

    New African American Fiction

    February is Black History Month, so the Reader Services department created a list of recently published African American fiction that we are loving — and we think you will, too. Here is a sampling of some of the books on the list which includes general fiction, mystery, fantasy and romance. Definitely something for every reader! Alyssa Cole’s An… Continue reading

  • Florynce “Flo” Kennedy: Black Radical Feminist

    It’s Black History Month, the perfect time to read about social justice trailblazers both celebrated and forgotten. Margo Jefferson’s wonderful memoir, Negroland, about growing up in a wealthy, elite African American family in the 1940s and ’50s, was my first introduction to Florynce “Flo” Kennedy, an outspoken Black feminist who inspired Jefferson and many others. Continue reading

  • NAAM Art Exhibit

    ~posted by Elizabeth S. and Carl K. Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, and Romare Bearden are among the notable artists featured in a traveling exhibit of 68 works at the Northwest African American Museum now through April 17th. The Harmon & Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art: Works on Paper includes drawings, etchings, lithographs, and watercolors,… Continue reading

  • Black History in Seattle

    ~posted by Abby B. At the library, every month is Black History Month. We get questions and requests for African American history, culture and fiction throughout the year. In honor of the nationally recognized celebration, we’re shining a spotlight on Black History in Seattle. Here are some great resources to explore if you want to… Continue reading