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Category: Authors
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Published: Monday, 31 January 2011 12:24
February is Black History Month.
From its roots in Africa and slave songs, to the birth of the blues to hip hop, this book traces the history of African American music.
Click here to listen to Care's interview with Michele Wood, illustrator of "I See the Rhythm of Gospel", from this week's 4:30pm Wednesday Bookmark, brought to you by Salem Storehouse!
20% off! Call 613-727-0203 to reserve your copy or visit Salem Storehouse (1558 Merivale Rd, 839 Shefford Rd or 315 Lisgar St) Offer only valid for one week from the interview date.
The writing is rich in imagery, powerful, creative and evocative; complemented by stunning illustrations, full of emotion and drama that captures both the feel of the music and the times. Each two page spread also includes a brief description of the musical style, and a marvelous timeline that sets that musical period in its larger, historical context. As well as the bonus music CD included in this emotional and compelling book.
About Black-History Month:
As a Harvard-trained historian, Carter G. Woodson, like W. E. B. Du Bois before him, believed that truth could not be denied and that reason would prevail over prejudice. His hopes to raise awareness of African American's contributions to civilization was realized when he and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), conceived and announced Negro History Week in 1925. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The response was overwhelming: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers demanded materials to instruct their pupils; and progressive whites, not simply white scholars and philanthropists, stepped forward to endorse the effort.
By the time of Woodson's death in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African American life and substantial progress had been made in bringing more Americans to appreciate the celebration. At mid–century, mayors of cities nationwide issued proclamations noting Negro History Week. The Black Awakening of the 1960s dramatically expanded the consciousness of African Americans about the importance of black history, and the Civil Rights movement focused Americans of all color on the subject of the contributions of African Americans to our history and culture.
The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the nation's bicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history." That year, fifty years after the first celebration, the association held the first African American History Month. By this time, the entire nation had come to recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story. Since then, each American president has issued African American History Month proclamations. And the association—now the Association for the
Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—continues to promote the study of Black history all year.
