The Berkeley High School Library spotlights Black History Month through book displays, which is done by the library for every heritage and awareness month. The library does this as a part of the district\u2019s Black Lives Matter resolution, which aims to share books that are \u201cintended to highlight, uplift and affirm the rich history and contributions of the Black community.\u201d For Black History Month (BHM), Allyson Bogie, librarian at Berkeley High School, recommends \u201cDeath of The Author\u201d by Nnedi Okorafor and \u201cThe Girls Who Grew Big\u201d by Leila Mottley. \u201cBlack history is American history and shouldn\u2019t be seen as separate,\u201d Bogie said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Washington Elementary School prioritizes Black History Month through organizing assemblies, read-alouds, and special projects. Jackie Overlid, the librarian at Washington, makes displays of selected books to highlight stories of joy, as well as narratives that are not commonly heard. Overlid also promotes engagement in the material through formats popular with elementary school students, such as graphic novels. \u201cSo it\u2019s a format that kiddos love, and then it kind of sneaks in those stories to hook them into the history,\u201d Overlid said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Overlid recommends poetry books by Nikki Grimes, historical fiction, and books about activism, such as \u201cMarley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You!\u201d \u201cI feel like publishing is doing a great job of really finding people who made a difference in ways that, when I was little, we never learned about,\u201d Overlid said.<\/p>\n
The Berkeley Public Library is hosting many upcoming events to honor Black History Month, including an author talk with Oakland-based Angela Dalton, who wrote \u201cTo Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights,\u201d as well as a writing workshop with Wendy M. Thompson, an Oakland-born author of the poetry collection \u201cBlack California Gold.\u201d The library also organizes events targeted for a younger audience, such as A Valentine to Black Stories, a children\u2019s book fair held at the Central Branch on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. Senior Librarian in the Children\u2019s Department, Erica Dean Glenn, is planning a story time for Black History Month, to add to the many themed exhibits and book displays. \u201cWe\u2019re always trying to amplify voices that are not heard and stories that have not been heard before,\u201d Dean Glenn said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Berkeley Public Library suggests some recent young adult (YA) novels by Black authors, including \u201cAce of Spades\u201d by Faridah \u00c0b\u00edk\u00e9-\u00cdy\u00edm\u00edd\u00e9, a YA thriller about confronting institutionalized racism. Another recommendation for a Black History Month-related read is \u201cChildren of Blood and Bone\u201d by Tomi Adeyemi, a fantasy inspired by West African culture. Stephanie Torres, a teen librarian at the library\u2019s Central Branch, recommends \u201cA Small Place\u201d by Jamaica Kincaid and \u201cTheir Eyes Were Watching God\u201d by Zora Neale Hurston. As for graphic novels, Adult Services Librarian Emily Joelle suggested \u201cGirl on Fire\u201d by Alicia Keys.<\/p>\n
The Berkeley libraries aim to celebrate BHM by providing readers with books by Black authors, and about Black experiences and history. The libraries make an effort to engage the reader and encourage curiosity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Berkeley High School Library spotlights Black History Month through book displays, which is done by the library…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":{"0":"post-167573","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-oakland","9":"tag-oakland-headlines","10":"tag-oakland-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}