Selections honouring and celebrating Black History Month, available year-round through the Haliburton County Public Library. 

Documentary: 

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

A two-part documentary about the first ever Black Heavyweight Champion of the World, who earned his title during the height of the Jim Crow era in the USA. Available to stream for free on Kanopy.

Movie:

Hidden Figures

The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.

Non-fiction book and movie: 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Tells the life story of a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her enslaved ancestors, yet her cells — taken without her knowledge — became one of the most important tools in medicine. Available at the library in print, as an audiobook, a book club set and as a movie.

Canadian fiction: 

Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi

Spanning three continents, Butter Honey Pig Bread explores the reverberating effects of a Nigerian mother’s choices on her twin daughters’ lives.

Young adult:

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon

Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teen love to this interlinked novel of charming, hilarious, and heartwarming stories that shine a bright light through the dark.

Children:

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o & Vashti Harrison

A picture book that tells the tale of a little girl who has a darker skin tone than her family and school friends. All she wants is to be lighter, until one night she goes on a magical adventure, and her mind opens up to her natural beauty.

Compiled by Tessa Iles
Haliburton County Public Library