ICYMI: The Last Week in Black Writing and Culture (2/13-2/19)

Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning book To Kill a Mockingbird, has passed away at the age of 89.

Director Stanley Nelson has created a Black Panther Party documentary: The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. PBS aired the documentary for the first time on February 16th.

Alyssa Rosenberg of the Guardian argued that the Black Panthers are still misunderstood 50 years later. She writes, "The Black Panthers represent a missed opportunity, a moment when people in positions of power looked at a response to injustice and saw only the extremity of the response, rather than the desperation that produced it."

Anthony Berteaux of the Huffington Post wrote about the importance of learning Black history in order to learn from it to make changes. Black History is American history -- by educating ourselves, he says, "we can make America realize that black history isn't about 'them.' It's always been about us."

Henry Louis Gates responded to the inquiry, "Why is My White Ancestor Listed as Black in the Census?"

Local news: in honor of Black History Month, the University of Kansas's basketball team is wearing throwback jerseys.

Kevin Powell spoke at the University of Kansas on February 17th. Powell spoke about the necessity of education to help eliminate many of the problems we face today, such as racism, sexism, and xenophobia. A recap of the talk is coming soon!

On February 18th, Project HBW held its annual Black Literary Suite. This year's theme was Sports Figures with a Kansas Connection. A recap of this event is also coming soon, but you may also view the exhibit online through KU Library's Scholarworks. (a KU login may be required).