In my inbox this morning was an article about MIT alumnus, Ken Granderson and his labor of love, the website, blackfacts.com

Originally launched in 1997, and relaunched in 2017, Granderson says of the site “We want to become the Black Wikipedia ... the one-stop shop for news, technology, culture, and anything Black. We want to inspire people of color across the globe, as well as friends from any culture. And we want to empower the Black community to take control of its own narrative so we can tell our own stories.”(1) 

Of course, as a librarian, I had to immediately check out the website. It’s awesome. There’s a date filter that will curate facts from across the web for any date you put in, like a customizable “this day in history” feature.  You can peruse Black history through “channels'' (Art, Cuisine, Literature, Science, etc.), watch the daily video “Black in the Day,” and get book recommendations on art, education, and more.

If you have a chance, check it out.  In the meantime, here’s this week in Black Facts:

February 1, 1902: Poet, novelist, and playwright, Langston Hughes is born.

February 2, 1839: Edmond Berger invents the spark plug. 

February 3, 1965: Sculptor Geraldine McCullough wins the Widener Gold Medal award.

February 4, 1913: Rosa Parks is born. 

February 5, 1952: Herbie Hancock plays the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 26 in D Major with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra...At age 11. 

February 6, 1961: Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee began a Jail-in movement in Rock Hill, South Carolina. 

February 7, 1926: Carter G Woodson launches “Negro History week,” precurser to today’s Black History Month.

Is there a Black author (writing fiction or nonfiction) that you love that we don’t have in our collection? Let us know by suggesting a purchase:  https://bbhlibrary.org/services/suggest-a-purchase/

(1. Shulman, Ken. “Building an Online Home for Black History.” MIT Alumni Association, 1 Feb. 2021, alum.mit.edu/slice/building-online-home-black-history.) 

Upcoming event: Thursday, March 4, 7 to 8 p.m. via Zoom, Join libraries across Maine and author Susan Conley as she discusses her new novel, “Landslide,” with Richard Russo!