Our effectiveness at the Foundation for Business Equity is tied to understanding the historical experiences of people of color in the United States. In honor of Black History Month, we invite others to learn more about the achievements, struggles, and contributions of Black Americans through a curated list of books, documentaries, podcasts, and articles.

Books

• Slavery by Another Name– Douglas A. Blackmon

A historical expose that examines the lost stories of enslaved persons and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation, and “The Age of Neoslavery.”

• Stamped from the Beginning– Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi explores how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society.

• The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story– Nikole Hannah-Jones

The 1619 Project reframes American history by centering slavery and its continuing legacy in our national narrative.

• The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X– Les Payne and Tamara Payne

An epic biography about Malcom X by Pultizer Prize winning investigative journalist, Les Payne, and his daughter, Tamera Payne.

• The Color of Law– Richard Rothstein

Rothstein delves into the history of systematically imposed residential segregation by the American Government.

• The Sum of Us– Heather McGee

McGee takes readers on a deep dive into inequality in America and the cost of racism for everyone.

Documentaries

• 13th

Scholars, activists and politicians consider the history of the criminilization of African Americans and the systemic racism within the industrial-prison complex.

• Boss: The Black Experience in Businesses

The untold story of Black entreprenuship and how Black entreprenuers form the backbone of America’s economic and social growth.

• John Lewis: Good Trouble

A look into the life of Representitive John Lewis and his 60-plus years of activism and legislative action on civil rights and other social causes.

• Reconstruction: America After the Civil War, presented by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

This PBS Documentary delves into the 12 year period that followed the Civil War known as the Reconstruction Era.

Podcasts

• Black History Year– Push Black

This podcast connects you to the Black history, thinkers, and activists that are overlooked in mainstream education and conversation.

• Code Switch– NPR

Hosted by journalists of color, Code Switch focuses on how race affects every part of society- from politics to entertainment.

• New Books in African American Studies– New Books Network

This podcast holds interviews with scholars of African American Studies about their new books.

Articles

• “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”– African Studies Center- University of Pennsylvania

An open letter written by Martin Luther King, Jr. while he was in Birmingham Jail after being arrested for protesting the treatment of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama.

• This Map Details More Than 200 Massachusetts Sites Connected to African-American History– Smithsonian Mag

The Smithsonian Mag details a history initiative led by faculty and students from Medford’s Tufts University, mapping hundreds of sites linked to more than 350 years of black history in Massachusetts.

Museums

• Museum of African America History, Boston | Nantucket

• National Museum of African American History & Culture, Washington D.C.