Ava DuVernay -- #blacklivesmatter Series

 

Last week I shared about two Black actors. Today we are sharing about a director, Ava DuVernay. If you missed it, yesterday I shared a tidbit about a Black teacher in my review of a quilt book. I may explore more about her life in the future. Today however we are looking at Ava DuVernay and the first thing I want to say is Happy Birthday, Ava!

Divided Hearts: A Civil War Friendship Quilt -- A Crafty Sundays Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Our country is divided right now. It is wearing on my heart. I usually try to ignore politics as much as I can. It keeps me more relaxed and at peace. However with everything going on right now and it being a presidential election year it is basically impossible to ignore. I have read articles about how our current politics are breaking up relationships--marriages, siblings, parent-child and friendships. This has not occurred before in our lifetime, but it did occur in our country. In fact our country had a civil war because of such differences. The Civil War divided families, neighbors and friendships. Perhaps that is what drew me to today's book. I feel we are in many ways at a similar point and finding a divide in our country. Today's book is Divided Hearts: A Civil War Friendship Quilt by Barbara Brackman.

Black Actors--Dorothy Dandridge & Canada Lee -- #blacklivesmatter

 

I decided to group a few of the Black people I am featuring together. Many of them are in the entertainment business and include actors, musicians, comedians and a director. I am breaking them into a few groups. Today I am focusing on two actors: Dorothy Dandridge and Canada Lee. Have you heard of them? We will start with Dorothy Dandridge.

A Look into Space with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dr. Mae Jemison -- #blacklivesmatter

 

Last week we had a relaxing and fun stay-cation. Stay tuned for some posts on things we did. Today I return somewhat refreshed to get writing my posts for you. This week for Black Lives Matter Series I thought we would look into space with two famous black scientists: Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dr. Mae Jemison. Both are on the list from my black teacher friends as people we should all know so here is your chance to learn about these amazing people.

Kamala Harris -- #Blacklivesmatter Series

My family is having a stay-cation this week so I may not post quite as often. I missed Crafty Sunday because I hadn't really crafted and was tired. We celebrated my birthday with my sister over the weekend. Hard to believe I am 50. Wow! Anyway, I do want to keep up my commitment to post about Black people every week. This week I returned to the list I received from my three Black teacher friends and am focusing on Kamala Harris. I will admit I knew nothing about her when I added her to the list, but of course she is in the news quite a bit now and maybe more so if she is picked as Biden's running mate. I will also add that I am not trying to make a political statement by featuring her. Although I tend to agree with the liberal side my husband is the opposite and yes the past couple of years have been tough when politics comes up more so than in the past. I usually can see both sides so I can stay somewhat neutral around him, but I have struggled with that recently. Anyway back to our post about Kamala.

Josephine Baker: Performer, Spy & Activist -- #blacklivesmatter

This week our focus for Black Lives Matter is Josephine Baker. She was a singer, dancer, spy and activist. Her story has a bit of it all. Read along to learn more about her amazing life and why it matters to us all.

Two of the Big Six: John Lewis and A. Philip Randolph #blacklivesmatter

As I thought about who to do next for our Black Lives Matter Series I realized I should do John Lewis since he passed away this weekend. He was last of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement to die. As I did my research I realized that A. Philip Randolph was as well so today I am going to share about both of them. The Big Six were Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young. They were instrumental in the planning of the March on Washington in 1963. 

We Are Power -- a Timely Book for Kids Aged 10-14

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This has been a crazy year. We are in the middle of a global pandemic and then the protests over the death of George Floyd and others began. I know Hazel has been watching the protests and riots with curiosity and questions. Today I am sharing a book about nonviolent activism suggested for kids aged 10-14. This book shares history as well as how nonviolent activism works. The book is We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World by Todd Hasak-Lowy. 

Mamie Phipps Clark -- #blacklivesmatter -- the Black Psychologist Who Helped End Segregation in Schools

Today we are continuing our Black Lives Matter Series. Today we are getting to know about Mamie Phipps Clark. She and her husband, Kenneth B. Clark, helped end segregation in public schools. Kenneth often said he piggybacked on his wife's research and tried to give her more of the credit, but he often is the one who is credited still, so we are focusing on Mamie. I find her work and life so fascinating. She dealt with racism and sexism throughout her life and worked towards what we are still fighting for--equal rights. Even now her husband gets more credit for the work that was originally hers which he decided to participate in after she started it. Plus her most famous study was a doll test involving white and brown dolls. Now I have shared one of my biggest regrets of not saying something to a young Black girl at a store when she thought the white doll was more beautiful than the Black doll. This one hit me personally. Plus her work was used to end segregation. I think back to my own years of schooling and think of how much learning about other cultures from my friends of other races added so much to my life and still does. Plus to my own classrooms and how the mixed races always made the classes more interesting and a better experience. So with those thoughts, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark.

Claudette Colvin -- #blacklivesmatter

Do you know the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott? Who do you think ignited the Black people? If you say Rosa Parks, you are incorrect. There were actually two teenagers before Rosa Parks. The first was Claudette Colvin. At age 15 Claudette Colvin refused to give her seat up on the bus. She was arrested and put in jail and this was about nine months to the day before Rosa Parks does the same thing. Today I am going to share a bit about Claudette Colvin and her important role in the Civil Rights Movement as part of our Black Lives Matter Series. This post is late today because our public library now has curbside pickup and I was able to get a middle grade book about Claudette and I wanted to read it all today. It was amazing to learn so much different than I have been taught previously.

Bryan Stevenson -- Lawyer, Activist -- #blacklivesmatter

As we continue with our Black Lives Matter Series today we are looking at Bryan Stevenson. Now I will admit I knew nothing about him before researching him for this post. He is one of the names I was given by my black teacher friends when I asked for black people every American should know. From reading about Bryan Stevenson I have to say he is the perfect person to feature right now. His own experiences and those he fights for are examples of the injustice and prejudice in our country and society. I just watched the movie based off of Bryan Stevenson's memoir, Just Mercy. (The film and book have the same title.) If you have not watched it, you should. It is powerful. I cannot wait to get my hands on the book since I know the book is always better than the movie. This movie shows Bryan as a compassionate and intelligent man. He devotes his life to helping the poor and the people who have been charged with crimes they did not commit. 

Changing the Equation -- Meet 3 of the Mathematicians from this book #blacklivesmatter

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today we are continuing with our Black Lives Matter Series. In doing my research for Mary Eliza Mahoney I stumbled across Changing the Equation: 50+ US Black Women in STEM by Tonya Bolden. I was able to get a digital review copy of it. And WOW!! It is full of names some you probably heard of and others that you have not. These women are doctors, nurses, engineers, computer programmers/coders, mathematicians, scientists and so much more. I knew I had to share this book with you as quickly as I could. I wanted to make it even more meaningful to be part of our Black Lives Matter Series so I am going to review the book and share about three of the amazing women in the book and of course I picked the mathematicians. After all they are my sisters from my past life. 

Gwendolyn Brooks and August Wilson -- #blacklivesmatter

Disclosure: I was sent digital copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This week for our Black Lives Matter Series, I am going to share two people who are not on my list but who I found some relatively new picture books about. Last week I shared Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first trained black woman. Today I am sharing books about Gwendolyn Brooks, the first black person to win the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, and August Wilson, a black playwright who won two Pulitzer Prizes and a Tony Award. 

Mary Eliza Mahoney -- #blacklivesmatter

With our nation looking at racial relationships right now I wanted to take time to look at black lives. As I read the Facebook posts and articles and think about everything that is going on, I think about my life, my white privilege and how I have brought Hazel up. One of my biggest regrets happened years ago when I didn't say anything to a young black girl at a Macy's around Christmas time. She saw a black holiday Barbie and said something like pretty and then saw the white one and said something along the lines of prettier. I wanted to tell her no the white one is not prettier, but I got scared. What would the mother think of a white stranger talking to her young daughter? Would I scare the girl? My friend finished her transaction and we walked away. I was the only the adult who heard the young girl and by not saying anything I let that poor girl go on believing white was prettier than black which is so not true. This has weighed heavily on my mind for decades now. This has been stirred up again.