Truxal Library Special Topic Guide: Black History: Positive Impact on America

"The remarkable story of how a group of inspired mavericks made an unlikely marriage of hip-hop and history the biggest musical show in America...and are getting ready to conquer the world."

"Charles Fuller is the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his drama A Soldiers Play. "

"Eleven African-American first-grade children initiated the desegregation of previously all-white elementary schools in Nashville, Tennessee on Sept. 9 and 10, 1957. Nashville was one of the first cities in the South to act on the Supreme Court 1954 decision, Brown vs. The Board of Education. The film compares the Nashville story with events that took place the same week at Little Rock High School. Some of their parents discuss the events of those first two days, including the bombing of one of the schools, and the courage required to respond to the Court's landmark decision. The story is told through the use of first-person narratives, and archival photos and footage."

"In the 1960s, Ruby Bridges became the first African-American student to integrate into an entirely white public school system in New Orleans. She joins Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who followed in Bridges' footsteps 60 years ago and desegregated the University of Georgia along with Hamilton Holmes, to discuss racism and civil rights in the modern era."

"A young black man gets hired at one of the biggest radio stations in the country in 1968. Don Whitehead never planned to work in radio. He wanted to work in theater in New York. Yet, he became the first African-American hired to be on air on a CBS affiliate radio station that reached from Canada to the Caribbean."

"Before Denzel and Halle won the Oscar. Before Jamie Foxx riveted audiences with his spot-on portrayal of Ray Charles, there was a time when Black actors and actresses were limited in what they could portray in motion pictures. In many roles they were reduced to subservient roles such as maids, cooks and nannies. But even as Jim Crow pervaded in the mainstream film industry, there were more than 400 Black-produced motion pictures made between 1915 and 1950. And one man, Oscar Micheaux, was responsible for more than 10 percent of them. Enjoy the powerful story of how Micheaux dared to defy the stereotypes at a time when many Blacks lacked basic civil rights. "

"This documentary explores the history and scope of the Hip-Hop dance style. The movement is also studied as a global marketing phenomenon: despite its popularity, Hip-Hop struggles to define its historical lineage, concept, origins, aesthetics, and generational acceptance."

"In the wake of protests against systemic racism in the U.S., many industries are reexamining past practices and facing questions about their own racial biases. One new effort puts a spotlight on the world of publishing. Jeffrey Brown reports and talks to Simon & Schuster’s Dana Canedy, the first Black person to head a major publishing house, for our ongoing series about arts and culture."

"Documents the dramatic life and turbulent times of the pioneering African American journalist, activist, suffragist and anti-lynching crusader of the post-Reconstruction period."

"Inside Buffalo, an Award-winning feature film documentary, tells the story of the 92nd Buffalo Division, the all African American segregated combat unit that fought with outstanding heroism in Italy during the Second World War, those who survived found that their contributions went unnoticed upon their return to the United States of America."

"Who was the first African American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? The answer is Ralph Bunche. As the United Nations Undersecretary General, Bunche successfully negotiated armistice agreements between Israel and four neighboring nations and developed peacekeeping strategies and operations around the globe. "

"The first African-American female principal dancer talks about her incredible rise, the challenges of overcoming stereotypes, and her experiences performing in some of the most coveted roles of ballet."

"First popularized as a genre of literature in the 1920s, for decades science fiction was dominated by white male authors. That is until Octavia Butler, an African American woman, rewrote the script."

"Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Woman elected to Congress, addresses the US House of Representatives to argue in support of a controversial women’s rights bill; the Equal Rights Amendment."

"You hold in your hands a backstage pass to one of the most extraordinary concert events ever filmed. Featuring musical legends James Brown, B.B. King, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, and a host of others, SOUL POWER documents the three-night Zaire '74 music festival planned to coincide with the now-legendary and epic "Rumble in the Jungle" between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman."

In 1963 Michigan State Head Coach Duffy Daugherty and 23 African American young men seized the opportunity of a lifetime. The daughter of Minnesota Vikings football legend Gene Washington deepens her connection to her father as she uncovers how the first fully integrated college football team in America changed the game forever.

"BIOGRAPHY uses archival footage, period accounts and interviews with family members and colleagues to chronicle the monumental life of the first African-American to sit on the Supreme Court."

"Tupac Shakur's image is known around the world. He was one of hip hop's most photographed figures. But could just a handful of photos uncover new truths about someone we think we know? This episode throws a unique lens onto an extraordinary life, focusing on ten defining pictures, from iconic shots to private snaps. Their secrets are revealed by those who were there and those who knew Tupac best."

"This is a biography of Madame C.J. Walker, the child of slaves freed by the Civil War, who became America's first self-made millionairess."

"According to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the first Black Attorney General of the United States, There is a "direct line" from the 1960 lunch counter sit-in that took place in Greensboro, North Carolina to the election of President Barack Obama in 2008. "

"In this documentary by Ken Burns, follow Jack Johnson's journey from his beginnings as the son of former slaves, to his entry into the brutal world of professional boxing, where he was able to battle his way up through the ranks and become the first African-American Heavyweight Champion of the World. "

"Willa Beatrice Brown, the first African- American woman in the U.S. to be a licensed pilot, earned her license in 1937. "