This month, NHFPL Deputy Director Luis Chavez-Brumell discusses his current read, Pulitzer-winning biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight.
Happy Black History Month! The New Haven Free Public Library is celebrating Black entrepreneurship during the month of February. Black history happens every day, but it is important to celebrate Black entrepreneurship and how it has impacted American history. A perfect example of this is the life of Frederick Douglass who is known as a celebrated abolitionist, writer, orator, and statesman but also was indeed an entrepreneur.
I discovered this as I read the Pulitzer winning biography of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight. Growing up I learned of Douglass as a near mythical historical figure who fought for freedom with his words and writings, but I did not realize that, as Blight states, “he would be paid to speak and face hatred, resistance, and violence as he launched his more than fifty-year career as an orator.”
Douglass’s success as an orator and his ability to tap into abolitionist fundraising networks led Douglass to publish his own abolitionist newspaper, the North Star. Blight writes that “Douglass plowed all of his money into the North Star buying a printing press” and that “the paper was to be a proud black enterprise.” Douglass continued to work with newspapers and would provide paid lectures throughout his life. The takeaway for me is that Douglass was an entrepreneur but is often not remembered as one. Most importantly, Douglass saw the important intersection between literacy, education, entrepreneurship as being liberating for all. Let us remember and celebrate Black entrepreneurship in all its forms and move forward together.
This month NHFPL staff bring you a couple of lists in celebration of Black entrepreneurship throughout history, past and present with new books and incomparable classics that represent voices across age, time and experience. We have also included a list of books by great Black authors that have just hit the shelf. All are available now at the New Haven Free Public Library.
Black Entrepreneurship In History
This list features classics and recently published books about central Black entrepreneurs in the last century to the present. From New Haven’s own William Lanson — leader, engineer and community builder — to the history of Black Wall Street, and the fight and inspiration of Black innovators and entrepreneurs against institutional racism today, this is only a small fraction of the important books on these topics:
- Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires by Shomari Wills
- America’s Black Capital : How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy by Jeffrey Ogbar
- American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress by Wesley Lowery
- Built from the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, America’s Black Wall Street by Victor Luckerson
Here’s the full book list in NHFPL’s catalog.
Books On Leadership And Entrepreneurship By Black Authors And Leaders
Wisdom from Black entrepreneurs and leaders across industries who have much to impart about getting yourself started, harnessing your talents, building self-motivation, confidence and inclusivity in leadership today:
- Never Far from Home: My Journey from Brooklyn to Hip Hop, Microsoft, and the Law by Bruce Jackson
- You Owe You: Ignite Your Power, Your Purpose, and your why by Eric Thomas Ph. D
- It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated Into Your Greatest Advantage by Arlan Hamilton
- First, Best: Lessons in Leadership and Legacy from Today’s Civil Rights Movement by Steven L. Reed
Here’s the full book list in NHFPL’s catalog.
Books for Children About Black Entrepreneurs And Leaders
Stories about Black leaders and entrepreneurs you know and some that you may not know — for the young ones:
- Fighting with Love: The Legacy of John Lewis by Lesa Cline-Ransome
- Extraordinary Magic: The Storytelling Life of Virginia Hamilton by Nina Crews
- Holding her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes by Traci N. Todd
Here’s the full book list in NHFPL’s catalog.
And, here’s a list of new books by Black writers for adults.
Here’s a list of new books by Black writers for teens.
Here’s a list of new books by Black writers for children.