5 Things Friday
All ThAT Black History Goodness.
Handsworth, Birmingham. Self-portraits from the @handsworthselfportrait project by Brian Homer, Derek Bishton, and John Reardon (1979) via @blackarchives.co
Happy Black History Month! There's so much great info and joyful celebration going around, putting together this week's 5 Things was a breeze—except that it was hard to pick only 5! So, to sneak in a couple more we'll just slip in the good news that both Stacey Abrams and The Black Lives Matter Movement have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Here are your 5 Things.
SIGN UP FOR THIS. Get a comprehensive piece of Black History in your inbox every evening by signing up for 28 Days Of Black History, a "virtual exhibition of 28 works that celebrate Black legacy in the U.S." from Anti-racism Daily. With an emphasis on the voices of Black LGBTQ leaders and Black leaders with disabilities often diminished in our nation’s history, don't expect the same old Martin and Rosa reruns.
BUY THIS. Don't you love when your anti-racism work involves buying a cute new shirt? Dr. Akilah Cadet has a request for all the allies this Black History Month: "I've asked non-Black people to wear this "Do The Work" shirt and share how they are doing the work. Allyship is an important part of the continued humanity equality that all of us Black people deserve. We all need to hold each other accountable! You can share where you are in your journey by purchasing the Do The Work shirt from Black owned @shopmcmullen AND support my public education. Use #changecadetand share how you are doing the work!"
FOLLOW THIS. Fill your feed with beautiful, diverse images of Black culture spanning the entire 20th century. Founded in 2015, by Renata Cherlise, Black Archives is a multimedia platform that brings a spotlight to the Black experience. Through an evolving visual exploration, Black Archives provides a dynamic accessibility to a Black past, present, and future. Over on the website you can get lost in decade specific photo collections, purchase gorgeous archival photo prints and dig into their multimedia projects.
READ THIS. For a little piece of local Black History, dig into this story about Amelia Ashley-Ward, publisher of San Francisco’s oldest Black newspaper. The Sun-Reporter was founded in 1944 by Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett and has been publishing weekly ever since. “We are a trusted voice in the community when it comes to political campaigns and elections,” said Ashley-Ward. “People call and they wait for our recommendation to see what they must do.” The paper is trusted because it covers issues that its readers actually care about, readers who have historically been neglected by the mainstream press. “We are able to plead the cause for people who normally would not have a voice in the daily papers,” Ashley-Ward said. “We don’t want others speaking for us.” Read the full story right here.
DONATE TO THIS. The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco announces the start of an ambitious online fundraising campaign entitled Future Forward: Centering Black Art and Culture. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, MoAD wasn't able to host its annual Afropolitan Ball last fall, an essential fundraiser for the Museum that raises more than $1.5 million each year. By giving to the Future Forward fund, you will help to secure the future of this incubator for Black art, culture, and creative expression.