The celebration of Black History Month as we know it today began in 1926, when it was monikered Negro History Week. We observe the occasion in February due to the birthdays of two significant abolitionists ― Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Black History Month has different themes from year-to-year, such as Black Health & Wellness in 2022, and The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity in 2020. According to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the 2025 theme is “African Americans and Labor.”

“The 2025 Black History Month theme, African Americans and Labor, focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people.” – asalh.org

Throughout this month, Libraries across the United States honor the contributions and progression of African Americans and the notable accounts of black citizens’ struggles for freedom and equality. Black History Month offers everyone the chance to uncover stories and facts about the events of our past so that we may continue to better our nation for all citizens. When we know better, we do better. 

To recognize the rich cultural heritage and history of African Americans and the contributions made to American and world cultures, the following ten titles, and many more, are available at the Salina Public Library.

The Message
The latest offering by best-selling author Ta-Nehisi Coates centers around three essays from his experiences on pilgrimages to Africa, South Carolina, and Palestine. Another powerful writing from one of America’s most gifted writers.

 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The semi-autobiographical Maya Angelou classic offers a simultaneously terrifying and touching account of the author’s childhood experiences in the South and adolescence in northern slums. 

How to Raise an Antiracist
National Book Award winner and author of “How to Be an Antiracist,” Ibram X. Kendi explores both his research and personal experiences as a parent aiming to guide children into building a more just and equitable world for all people. 

 

Beloved
The incomparable Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning Toni Morrison masterpiece follows the story of Sethe, an escaped slave, as she searches for reckoning and freedom in America. 

 

Black Like Me
See the indignities and atrocities of racism through the eyes of the author, a white man disguising himself as black and entering the Deep South in 1959. A life-altering read.

Their Eyes Were Watching God
The classic book on the journey of a Southern Black woman in the 1930’s, as she transitions from a free-spirited girl to a woman of independence and substance.

 

So You Want to Talk About Race
From the book’s synopsis: “A current, constructive, and actionable exploration of today’s racial landscape, offering straightforward clarity that readers of all races need to contribute to the dismantling of the racial divide.”

Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre
This beautifully illustrated Graphic Novel depicts the rise, demise, and eventual resurgence of the once affluent Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma (known as Black Wall Street), and the events surrounding the 1921 massacre. 

The Learning Tree
Native Kansan and extraordinarily talented Gordon Parks’ debut novel tells the semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale of Newt as he maneuvers through 1920s America;  a world designed to oppress young black boys like him.

Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life & Legacy of Ida B. Wells
Written by Wells’ great-granddaughter, this biographical and autobiographical read follows Wells from her rise out of slavery to pioneering journalist to the co-founding of the NAACP. A truly extraordinary life.