Black History Month—2025
February is nationally recognized as Black History Month, although it always bears repeating that Black history is integral to U.S. history and is part of every month.
NCMPS is again celebrating Black History month by sharing some of the ways we and others in the Montessori community have engaged with works representative of Black/African-American history and experience over the past year.
We hope our selections are useful to you. If you’d like to contribute to our post next year, send your selections our way!
Books
You don’t have to be vegan to appreciate or cook from Afro-Vegan by Bryant Terry. Sure, you can buy the Kindle version, but you would be robbing yourself of the vibrant photos Terry includes. And, you may have a Kindle Colorsoft, but the physical book is bound by kente cloth on the outside. Inside, you’ll find autobiographical content from Terry about his life and cooking, vegan recipes that represent the African diaspora a la Terry, and song/album/book recommendations to accompany each recipe.
Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie is a beautifully written novel with a thoughtful, compelling story addressing themes of race and identity. In the book Noriko, daughter of a Black American GI and Japanese mother, navigates prejudice in post-war Japan and within her Japanese family. The novel delicately portrays the enduring impact of racism while celebrating the resilience of the human spirit. The story was unique and fascinating and I couldn’t put it down.
Tochi Onyebuchi’s Goliath, Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti and Remote Control, and N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, and The Stone Sky are Black and African speculative fiction, bringing voices and perspectives that have historically been marginalized or underrepresented in this genre. These authors explore themes of cultural representation, resistance, and reclamation by blending folklore, religion, politics and technology, and invite readers to reframe history and reimagine the future in ways that challenge stereotypes and upend conventional storylines.
Jo Ann Allen Boyce’s The Promise of Change, co-written with Debbie Levy, is an autobiographical account of her experience as one of the first Black students to integrate schools in Tennessee. Told in moving verse, this poignant and accessible story offers a powerful glimpse into the struggles for civil rights in our country. This book would be a wonderful resource for both students and educators, offering a firsthand perspective on this pivotal moment in American history. I would recommend The Promise of Change to upper elementary and adolescent teachers.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and Take My Hand by Dolan Perkins-Valdez are important books for what they portray, respectively, about identity and a cruel history of medical experimentation. Beloved by Toni Morrison, is powerful and beautiful writing that stands head and shoulders above others.
Listening
Music highlighting the incredible impact of Black artists on a wide range of music:
Blackheart Man—Bunny Wailer (Island Records 1976)
Bunny Wailer was a founding member, with Peter Tosh and Bob Marley, of the Wailers, in a genre entirely created by Black people and partly deriving from early rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll, themselves genres heavily influenced by Black musicians (see below).
Foly!—Habib Koité & Bamada (Contre Jour, 2004)
Koité is a Senegalian-born Malian musician, singer, songwriter and “griot” (West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician) with a global following.
Genuine Negro Jig—Carolina Chocolate Drops (Nonesuch Records, 2010)
The Carolina Chocolate Drops are standard bearers for a movement highlighting the seminal and on-going contributions of Black musicians to American traditional, country, and old-time music, a genre often perceived as predominantly white-influenced. Founding member Rhiannon Giddons has gone on to push boundaries and break stereotypes in traditional music, including featuring on Beyoncé’s 2024 Grammy-nominated track, “Texas Hold ‘Em”.
A History of Rock and Roll in 100 Songs
Over the last year I’ve learned a great deal about the indispensable contributions of Black musicians and producers to American popular music via the podcast A History of Rock and Roll in 100 Songs by (white) English author and musicologist Andrew Hickey. Hickey is notoriously encyclopedic about his subject, and details the story of contributions and exploitations of Black creators through rock and roll history with precision and sensitivity.
Websites
228 Accelerator, founded by Caroline Hill, promotes the idea that learning communities can be transformed through intentional design. Subscribing to the site opens access to regular thought-provoking writings from Hill that address inequities and call readers to take part in some aspect of designing with equity in mind.
African American Policy Forum, co-founded by Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw. AAPF “promotes frameworks and strategies that address a vision of racial justice that embraces the intersections of race, gender, class, and the array of barriers that disempower those who are marginalized in society.” The AAPF holds a virtual and in-person multi-day Critical Race Theory Summer School. Last year’s lineup featured incredible scholars and activists such as Kevin Kumashiro, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Paul Ortiz.
Origin 101 is an interactive education lesson tool that serves as a companion site/tool to Ava DuVernay’s film Origin, a biographical drama about Isabel Wilkerson and her work writing Caste: The Origins of our Discontents. Origin 101 consists of four insightful lessons, resources, and a reading list. It’s a site that could be used in adolescent programs and Montessori teacher education.
@TheNutritionTea is an Instagram account run by Shana Minei Spence, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). Spence emphasizes body positivity and intuitive eating and debunks diet myths, promotes healthy relationships with food, and inclusive healthcare. I am looking forward to reading her book Live Nourished this coming year. One message that has stuck with me is around the idea that food isn’t inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ but rather that different foods nourish us in various ways – some provide essential nutrients, while others bring us joy and connection.
