GWCF Celebrates Black History Month

February is Black History Month and there is so much to celebrate. We collected a number of videos, art and articles that we wanted to share with you. They celebrate important cultural icons, explore the history of race relations in our country and shine light on lesser-known American heroes.
We hope you enjoy!

Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas. Her works earned her many honors and fans throughout her 83-year life, most notably the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for “Annie Allen.” She was the first African-American poet to win the award. The Poetry Foundation honors her legacy with an animated adaption of her recitation of 1959’s “We Real Cool.”

This less celebratory but equally important animated video explains the history of mass incarceration in the black community. The sociologist Bruce Western explains the current inevitability of prison for certain demographics of young black men and how it's become a normal life event. "We've chosen the response of the deprivation of liberty for a historically aggrieved group, whose liberty in the United States was never firmly established to begin with," Western says. We highly suggest reading with The Atlantic's October 2015 cover story in which Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the impact of mass incarceration on the black family.

From Bill Withers to Cameo, Drake to Bruno Mars there's something for everyone on this fun playlist from Spotify called "The Cookout." We highly suggest saving it for summer backyard barbecues.

We saw this awesome video from the National Parks Service celebrating special places in the African American Experience and wanted to share it with you all in celebration of our country's history of overcoming and rising together.