In honor of Black History Month, members of the Department of English and Comparative Literature recommend poems, songs, speeches, novels, and more—find the list of recommendations below.
Listening:
Journey In Satchidanand : “Alice Coltrane (1937–2007) was the wife of John Coltrane, perhaps the greatest jazz musician in history. She suffered the ultimate blow, the death of her monumental husband in 1967. She staunched the wound and continued to make music of incredible dignity and purity of aesthetic purpose. This is the title song from her album Journey in Satchidananda (1971).” — recommended by David Ross
“The Dimensions of a Complete Life” by Martin Luther King, Jr. 1962 — recommended by Leslie Frost
“This is America” by Childish Gambino — recommended by Leslie Frost
Viewing:
Amend: The Fight for America on Netflix — recommended by Leslie Frost
Photos from the Kamoinge Workshop — recommended by Meta DuEwa Jones
Reading:
“African Burial Ground” by Yusuf Kumonyakaa — recommended by Leslie Frost
Black Boy by Richard Wright — recommended by Leslie Frost
Breath Better Spent: Living Black Girlhood by Damaris Hill — recommended by Meta DuEwa Jones
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David Blight — recommended by Leslie Frost
“Light Attire” by Courtney Faye Taylor— recommended by Meta DuEwa Jones
Mississippi Solo by Eddy L. Harris — recommended by Leslie Frost
When Washington Was in Vogue by Edward Christopher Williams — recommended by Leslie Frost