Check out Shelves, a Black-owned bookstore in Charlotte (online only during COVID-19)

Black History Month began on Feb. 1 as a celebration of the achievements of African Americans in the United States. It was created by historian Carter G. Woodson (as Negro History Week). It was expanded to a month in 1976, and it pays tribute to the adversity of generations of African Americans in this country.

Through the years, much of Black history has been systemically erased from history books (there’s a reason you didn’t hear of Juneteenth or the Tulsa massacre until you were an adult). If you’d like to start or continue in a journey of unlearning what you were taught, now is the perfect time. Keep in mind, a month will only scratch the surface of knowledge, but it’s a start.

Here are some Black History month virtual activities, programs and resources, local and beyond:

What to do

• Join a free virtual lunch-and-learn session Feb. 23 from noon-1 p.m. about former Negro League baseball player Bill “Wali” Cathcart, who is from Rock Hill, SC, as part of Queens University of Charlotte’s Black History Month series.

• Tune in to Lift Every Voice on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. in February on Charlotte’s classical public radio station WDAV 89.9. Charlotte Symphony bassoonist Joshua Hood will host hour-long programs celebrating contributions Black artists have made to classical music.

• Learn about the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and more from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

• The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is offering a virtual Meet Black Creatives event every Tuesday in February from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Each week will feature different guest speakers, including Black Business Owners of Charlotte founder Cathay Dawkins, marketing and creative director Carlithea Abrams, Joy Network founder Joy K Alston and many others.

• The Charlotte Museum of History is holding a virtual event Feb. 18-28 to explore the 1920s-era Siloam School and learn about plans for its restoration. The building is one of Charlotte’s last remaining Rosenwald schools for Black children. The event will feature a kick-off program Feb. 18, along with a virtual 360-degree tour. Tickets start at $25.

• Expanding the Pantheon: Women R Beautiful, a free virtual exhibit at the Mint Museum, is a collection of diverse images of women. It’s on display through June 20.

• On Facebook, join the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room, which is Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s special collection of historical and genealogical resources. You’ll see daily posts about lesser known and notable Black Charlotteans throughout the month.

• The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture has unveiled Vision & Spirit | African American Art Works From The Bank Of America Collection, which showcases prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures and mixed-media works by 48 Black artists over the past 100 years.

• Also at the Gantt, free virtual exhibits hosted via Google Arts and Culture include Welcome to Brookhill, a collection of images of the Charlotte neighborhood and the people in it by Alvin C. Jacobs Jr., and A Woman’s Work: Selections from the John and Vivian Hewitt Collection of African American Art. Jacobs also recently talked to Emma Way of Axios Charlotte about a video he released about his own financial struggles and concerns about facing homelessness. “We don’t really understand … how individuals got there. Well, this is what it looks like,” he told Way.

What to read

• Bakari Sellers, a Charlotte attorney and CNN commentator who was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives at 22, tells the story of America’s forgotten Black working class through his autobiography, “My Vanishing Country.”

• Learn about the power of change. Order a copy of “Change Sings,” a picture book by inaugural Youth Poet Laureate and activist Amanda Gorman (you know her from the poem she recited at President Biden’s inauguration ceremony).
• “Julian Bond’s Time to Teach” shares the late social justice activist’s lecture notes from the class he taught at the University of Virginia on the history of the civil rights movement. Learn about key events from one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
• Pre-order a copy of “Just as I am: A Memoir” by actress Cicely Tyson, who was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2016. She died Jan. 28.
  
  

PRO TIP — SUPPORT LOCAL: All of these books are available at Shelves Bookstore, a Black-owned online and mobile pop-up bookstore in Charlotte (currently just online due to COVID-19).

Each week in February, you can tune in to the virtual Black History Month Read-In, highlighting Black children’s authors from North Carolina including Tameka Fryer Brown, Kelly Starling Lyons, Eleanora E. Tate and Carole Boston Weatherford.

You can also explore local Black writers and bloggers to widen your perspective on what’s happening in the Charlotte community. We are living history, after all. UNC Charlotte has compiled a reading list of Black literature, as well.

What to watch

• “13th” (2016)

• “Hidden Figures” (2016)

• ”I am MLK Jr.” (2018)

• ”Just Mercy” (2019)

• ”King in the Wilderness” (2018)

• “Mr. SOUL!” (2018), screening free via CineOdessey on Feb. 11 from 7:30-9:30 p.m.

• ”Selma” (2014)

• “The Underground Railroad” (2021)

Support a Black-owned business

Armed with accurate historical knowledge, you can now begin to understand why it’s so important to support local Black-owned businesses. Now’s a great time to put that knowledge to work. Charlotte is home to many Black-owned bakeries, plant stores, face mask creators and scores of restaurants and other small businesses.

Just a few to consider:

• BW Sweets Bakery, which is opening a third location this spring.
• Some of West Charlotte’s new vegan food spots, including Boss of Vegan, Dee’s Vegan To-Go or Exposed Vegan.
• The Cheesecake Studio CLT, which offers delivery for COVID-19 safety.
• Charlotte FIT, where you can take a virtual fitness class.
• AlphaMale Nail Care, which also offers gift cards.

• Romeo’s Vegan Burgers, the food truck that always has a line around the block and is worth it. It’s so popular that the owners are already looking for a permanent location.

For more, check out the story behind Charlotte Black Owned, a new Instagram account that was created last summer to promote Charlotte’s Black-owned businesses.

And if you have a Black-owned business, Grow with Google Digital Coaches will lead digital skills workshops, highlight successful businesses and share insights in a livestream event Feb. 25 from 1-4:30 p.m. Charlotte career consultant Latesha Byrd will speak from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. on using YouTube to grow your business.

Anti-racism training

Pssst: Hey, white people:

• Join the six-week program at Myers Park Baptist Church, “What does it mean to be white?”
• Take a course on Unconscious Bias free through a trial of LinkedIn Learning to help you recognize your biases and adjust your personal and organizational decision-making process.
• Consider how you can become a better white ally with online resources and direction from activists such as Claire Tandoh, founder of the Charlotte group Kidz Fed Up.
• Subscribe to the Anti-Racism Daily newsletter, which offers practical tips and anti-racism perspectives on current events.

This story was originally published February 7, 2021 at 10:00 AM.