Black History Month at the library

When Joanna Breen suggested I write this week’s column about Black History Month here at BHML, I wasn’t sure I had the knowledge base to pull that off.

“I don’t know much about black history. Or anything about black history in Maine,” I said.

She smiled and handed me a book called “Maine’s Visible Black History.”

“That’s why we have these,” she replied.

Well holy moly, there is a ton I didn’t know!

Growing up in Maine, you hear a lot that we’re the whitest state in the union (we are, followed closely by Vermont and New Hampshire). But a small percentage of a population isn’t zero, and Maine has an African-American history that extends at least as far back as its European history.

“Black Mainers are as much a part of the ethnic weave of Maine as any other people,” H.H. Price and Gerald E. Talbot write in ‘Maine’s Visible Black History,’ “yet they have been invisible in terms of history and cultural acceptance. History did not record their presence or value with the same spotlight that shone on whites.”

Go back and re-read that last sentence folks, because I’ve never seen a more succinct response to the question of why we celebrate Black History Month.

We have more books and movies. If you haven’t seen or read Hidden Figures, about the African-American women who helped land the first astronauts on the moon, then that’s a must this month.

In the Children’s Room we have a bunch of titles from the best-selling Who Was/Who Is series, including “Who Was Maya Angelou” and “Who Was Muhammad Ali.” One of my favorite biographies in the kids’ room is a picture book titled “Vision of Beauty,” about a little girl who was orphaned at seven and grew up to found a company and become one of the richest women of her time.

I haven’t read the middle-grade fiction work “As Brave as You” by Jason Reynolds, but the cover is plastered with so many award stickers you can barely see the title, so I’m guessing that’s pretty stellar.

As for me and my continuing education, I’m taking the DVD Chi-Raq home next week; it’s a retelling of my favorite ancient Greek play Lysistrata, this time set in Chicago’s South Side (sub title: No Peace, No Piece).

And for books, I’ve got dibs on “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (my favorite writer at The Atlantic.)

Come by this month or any time to learn more!

Upcoming events

Refreshing the Whodunit: Sat., March 10, 10:30 a.m. “Dance Hall of the Dead” by Tony Hillerman.

Monday Night Book Club: Mon., March  12, 7:30 p.m. “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” by Brad Ricca.

Story Hour: Fridays, 10:15 a.m. Hear a story, make a craft, and sing a song!

February Artist of the Month: Sandy Harper, oils on display in the upstairs Community Room.

Minecraft Play Club: Wednesdays, 1:45- 3 p.m.