Since the start of the pandemic, I have become very interested in curriculum design and effective learning.
In addition, my time in the group reading Me and White Supremacy had me thinking about going over the books I have read and trying to sort out good groups of books for different topics.
I am not quite there yet, but it occurred to me that for Black History Month I could share different things that were close to my heart each day. I would also try and make the daily songs correlate, though I am not sure I will be able to keep that up.
It occurred to me after a few days that keeping track on the blog might be nice. Jotting down a small note daily that I already posted on Facebook and tweeted is significantly easier than writing a full post.
This is not a return to regular blogging, but I will do a week's worth on Wednesdays, until all 28 have been done. I don't know what will happen next; what's new?
February 1st
Before the Mayflower by Lerone Bennett Jr. (1964)
I found this book very moving. It covers important history, but does it with compassion and elegance that is hard to find.
Paired with "Black Man" by Stevie Wonder, also a trip through history.
February 2nd
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (1962)
Groundbreaking in depicting a Black child as the protagonist (and magical on its own), the book was a step forward in representation, and something that Keats tried to continue is his other books, where Peter and his friends have other adventures.
Paired with "Greatest Love Of All" by Whitney Houston (because "the children").
February 3rd
“Peanuts, Franklin, and Racial Representation in Cartoons”, Beyond the Scenes/ The Daily Show
I did not even know that The Daily Show had a feature where extended sessions on segments were done until a friend sent me this. Correspondent Roy Wood Jr. talks to writer Josh Johnson and cartoonist and friend of Charles Schulz Robb Armstrong.
I found it touching and interesting overall, but the most interesting part was that Franklin's creation came after concerted urging by a Los Angeles teacher, Harriet Glickman. Schulz initially did not think he should, worried that he was not the right person, but in addition to continuing to write to him, Glickman got friends to write to him.
Schulz did add Franklin, got push-back, and threatened to quit producing the strip. He needed encouragement, but once there he was determined.
So much of the pushing today is destructive shoving, but we can prod, kindly but firmly, and with reinforcements.
Paired with "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers.
February 4th
Invictus (2009)
I do love this movie, and I have seen other people react strongly to it, mostly in good ways. I also wanted to mention it in a last push to send people (at least ones in the Portland Metro Area) to Mandela: The Official Exhibition at OMSI through February 13th.
https://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2021/11/omsi-mandela-official-exhibition.html
Paired with "Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica" (the South African National Anthem, featured in the movie) as sung by the Soweto Gospel Choir.
February 5th
Hair Love (2019)
Matthew Cherry's short film also has a children's book. The book is from the daughter's point of view, while the movie is from the father's, as the father has to try and live up to the mother's skill with natural hair. There is a lot of heart in both, with more humor in the movie, but it might be a painful humor for someone with similar struggles.
Paired with "Don't Touch My Hair" by Solange and featuring Sampha.
February 6th
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down by Ralph Abernathy (1989)
A warm, insightful account of the work of the Southern Leaders Conference from Martin Luther King Jr.'s close colleague and friend, this was written twenty years later, with the benefit of hindsight. I think there is a lot to learn, even now, from this account, fortunately written shortly before Abernathy's death.
Paired with "Lift Every Voice And Sing" by Alicia Keys.
February 7th
Queen Sugar (2016 - )
I love this show. There are wonderful characters, who are not perfect (except maybe Hollywood), but they are still completely relatable and even lovable. Good dealings with grief, racism, forgiveness, masculinity, and many other subjects that are helpful to see.
Because they handle so many difficult topics in such a sensitive manner, and because the theme song is sung by Meshell Ndegeocello, paired with her cover of "Sensitivity".
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