Hutchins Library News Blog

Welcome to another edition of "From Our Shelves" where I read a book from our collection, and give you a short review to help you decide if you want to read it or not. Today we have another selection for Black History Month, but again, this is one you can read anytime. Today's book is How Not To Get Shot: And Other Advice From White People by D.L. Hughley. I will say up front that you may not want to laugh when reading this, but you probably will anyways as Hughley combines serious race and social commentary with some deep biting satire. Hughley's mission for the book is a simple one: to distill the essence of the important information from White people that Blacks (and other minorities) need to know to avoid problems like getting shot. Hughley takes the very serious issues of racism in the United States, and in ridiculing them, adding some sarcasm and hyperbole, gets you to laugh even as you are outraged. The book may be humor and satire, but it is seriously grounded in real facts and solid information. This is a book that everyone should read, so I am providing the library catalog details below so folks can go check it out.

How Not to Get Shot by D. L. Hughley; Doug Moe

Call Number: Stacks 827.92 H894h 2018

ISBN: 9780062698544

Publication Date: 2018-06-26

The fearless comedy legend--one of the "Original Kings of Comedy"--hilariously breaks down the wisdom of white people, advice that has been killing black folks in America for four hundred years and counting. 200 years ago, white people told black folks, "'I suggest you pick the cotton if you don't like getting whipped." Today, it's "comply with police orders if you don't want to get shot." Now comedian/activist D. L. Hughley -one the Original Kings of Comedy-confronts and remixes white people's "advice" in this "hilarious examination of the current state of race relations in the United States" (Publishers Weekly). White people have been giving "advice" to black folks for as long as anyone can remember, telling them how to pick cotton, where to sit on a bus, what neighborhood to live in, when they can vote, and how to wear our pants. Despite centuries of whites' advice, it seems black people still aren't listening, and the results are tragic. Now, at last, activist, comedian, and New York Times bestselling author D. L. Hughley offers How Not to Get Shot, an illustrated how-to guide for black people, full of insight from white people, translated by one of the funniest black dudes on the planet. In these pages you will learn how to act, dress, speak, walk, and drive in the safest manner possible. You also will finally understand the white mind. It is a book that can save lives. Or at least laugh through the pain. Black people: Are you ready to not get shot! White people: Do you want to learn how to help the cause? Let's go!

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce that the Feminist Artists of Kentucky (link to their Facebook page) are presenting their 2024 exhibit in the main floor of the library. The exhibit is in honor of Women's History Month. The exhibit runs throughout the month of February and into middle of March. It can be viewed during library regular hours. The exhibit is free and open to the public .

The Feminist Artists of Kentucky are:

• Pat C. Jennings
• Mary Ann Shupe
• Patricia Watkins
• Karen Tillquist
• Heather Dent
• And guest artist Jackie Pullum

The artists provided the following statement for the exhibit:

"We are still here...

We are still working...

We are still relevant...

2024

Welcome to our celebration of Women's History Month. We are pleased to return to Berea College Hutchins Library for another year celebration of women and art. We are a group of mature working artists who combine our efforts and talents to expand our creativity and create art for social justice causes.

As a group, we meet weekly to create, critique, and expand growth in our art. We enthusiastically support social justice and work to bring light to the needs of our community and our world.

We believe women and art can change the world.

If you wish to purchase the for sale art, commission a custom piece, or make a donation, you can message us and follow us on Facebook at feministartistsofky.

Thank you for coming and we hope you enjoy our exhibit."

This month Access World News*, also known as Newsbank, highlighted this article on "Movies to Watch for Black History Month." They listed nine movies. I went ahead and checked our library catalog, and I found that we have six of the nine films from the article. I am listing them below so you can check them out. In addition, if a movie is based on a book and/or has a companion book, and we have the book I am listing the book.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Call Number: Stacks 510.925 S554h 2016

ISBN: 9780062363596

Publication Date: 2016-09-06

 The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA at the leading edge of the feminist and civil rights movement, whose calculations helped fuel some of America's greatest achievements in space--a powerful, revelatory contribution that is as essential to our understanding of race, discrimination, and achievement in modern America as Between the World and Me and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The basis for the smash Academy Award-nominated film starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner. Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South's segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America's aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam's call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley's all-black "West Computing" group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens. Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA's greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country's future.  

 

You can find the film in our DVD collection with the call number: DVD 791.437 H6317 2017.

 

 

 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas; Amandla Stenberg (Foreword by)

Call Number: Young Adult T4517ha 2017

ISBN: 9780062498533

Publication Date: 2017-02-28

 Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does--or does not--say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

 

Find the film in our DVD collection with the call number: DVD 791.437 H3615 2018.

 

 

 

Selma (2015). Summary: "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historical struggle to secure voting rights for all people. A dangerous and terrifying campaign that culminated with an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1964." Find it in our DVD Collection with call number DVD 791.437 S468 2015.

  Daughters of the Dust (2000). Summary: "Story of a large African-American family as they prepare to move North from the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia at the dawn of the 20th century." Find it in our DVD collection with call number DVD 791.437 D238 2000.

   Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013). Summary: "A butler tells the story of a White House [butler] who serves eight presidents over three decades. During his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society." 

  Glory (2000). Summary: "Two idealistic young Bostonians lead the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, America's first Black regiment in the Civil War." Find it in the DVD collection with call number DVD 791.437 G562 2000 Discs 1-2 .

*Access World News is one of our news databases. It provides "full text from nearly 3,700 U.S. and 2,300 International newspapers. Direct links are available to search Kentucky and Appalachian Region newspapers, major metro titles, international resources, newswires, broadcast transcripts, America's news magazines, world and US newspapers." You can find and access the database from the library homepage under "Electronic Resources." If you are off-campus, you will need to authenticate and log in with your Berea College credentials and DUO.

Welcome to another edition of "From Our Shelves," where I highlight and write a short review of a book I have read from our collection. February is Black History Month, so this week I read Allow Me to Retort. In this book, Mystal takes on a big challenge: debunking the myth that the U.S. Constitution is an inclusive and infallible document. In reality, as Mystal demonstrates and carefully explains in the book, the U.S. Constitution is a document designed to preserve White supremacy at the expense of Black people, and pretty much every other "minority" group, but Mystal for now focuses on Black people, which is a big task in itself. This may also be a good book for reading groups and clubs. It offers good arguments supported with solid evidence, and it has just a touch of snark to make it easier to read.

See below for the book's library catalog details.

Allow Me to Retort by Elie Mystal

Call Number: Stacks 342.73 M998a 2023

ISBN: 9781620976814

Publication Date: 2022-03-01

Allow Me to Retort is an easily digestible argument about what rights we have, what rights Republicans are trying to take away, and how to stop them. Mystal explains how to protect the rights of women and people of color instead of cowering to the absolutism of gun owners and bigots. He explains the legal way to stop everything from police brutality to political gerrymandering, just by changing a few judges and justices. He strips out all of the fancy jargon conservatives like to hide behind and lays bare the truth of their project to keep America forever tethered to its slaveholding past. Mystal brings his trademark humor, expertise, and rhetorical flair to explain concepts like substantive due process and the right for the LGBTQ community to buy a cake, and to arm readers with the knowledge to defend themselves against conservatives who want everybody to live under the yoke of eighteenth-century white men. The same tactics Mystal uses to defend the idea of a fair and equal society on MSNBC and CNN are in this book, for anybody who wants to deploy them on social media. You don't need to be a legal scholar to understand your own rights. You don't need to accept the "whites only" theory of equality pushed by conservative judges. You can read this book to understand that the Constitution is trash, but doesn't have to be.

February is Black History Month in the United States and other parts of the world. This is a time when libraries often offer suggested reading lists to help the community learn more through reading. Today I would like to highlight some graphic novels and comics that may be of interest for Black History Month as well as throughout the year. These are available in the library's graphic novels collection located in the library's main floor. These are listed in no particular order.

The March series by John Lewis. This is his story and a look at his journey and struggles for civil rights in the United States. The series is in three volumes. I've read it, and it is one I can highly recommend.

March: Book One by John Lewis; Andrew Aydin; Nate Powell (Illustrator)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 741.5 L674m 2013 bk. 1

ISBN: 9781603093002

Publication Date: 2013-08-13

#1 New York Times Bestseller Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon and key figure of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president. Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis presents March, a graphic novel trilogy, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and New York Times best-selling artist Nate Powell (winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for Swallow Me Whole). March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Book One spans John Lewis' youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall. Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1958 comic book "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story." Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.

 

March: Book Two by John Lewis; Andrew Aydin; Nate Powell (Illustrator)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 741.5 L674m 2015 bk. 2

ISBN: 9781603094009

Publication Date: 2015-01-20

After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence - but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the deep south, they will be tested like never before. Faced with beatings, police brutality, imprisonment, arson, and even murder, the movement's young activists place their lives on the line while internal conflicts threaten to tear them apart. But their courage will attract the notice of powerful allies, from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy... and once Lewis is elected chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, this 23-year-old will be thrust into the national spotlight, becoming one of the "Big Six" leaders of the civil rights movement and a central figure in the landmark 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

 

March: Book Three by John Lewis; Andrew Aydin; Nate Powell (Illustrator)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 741.5 L674m 2016 bk. 3

ISBN: 9781603094023

Publication Date: 2016-08-02

 By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear. Through relentless direct action, SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but for every step forward, the danger grows more intense- Jim Crow strikes back through legal tricks, intimidation, violence, and death. The only hope for lasting change is to give voice to the millions of Americans silenced by voter suppression- "One Man, One Vote." To carry out their nonviolent revolution, Lewis and an army of young activists launch a series of innovative campaigns, including the Freedom Vote, Mississippi Freedom Summer, and an all-out battle for the soul of the Democratic Party waged live on national television. With these new struggles come new allies, new opponents, and an unpredictable new president who might be both at once. But fractures within the movement are deepening ... even as 25-year-old John Lewis prepares to risk everything in a historic showdown high above the Alabama river, in a town called Selma.

 

 

 

The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks; Caanan White (Illustrator)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 940.403 B873h 2014

ISBN: 9780307464972

Publication Date: 2014-04-01

From bestselling author Max Brooks, the riveting story of the highly decorated, barrier-breaking, historic black regiment--the Harlem Hellfighters In 1919, the 369th infantry regiment marched home triumphantly from World War I. They had spent more time in combat than any other American unit, never losing a foot of ground to the enemy, or a man to capture, and winning countless decorations. Though they returned as heroes, this African American unit faced tremendous discrimination, even from their own government. The Harlem Hellfighters, as the Germans called them, fought courageously on--and off--the battlefield to make Europe, and America, safe for democracy.   In THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS, bestselling author Max Brooks and acclaimed illustrator Caanan White bring this history to life. From the enlistment lines in Harlem to the training camp at Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the trenches in France, they tell the heroic story of the 369th in an action-packed and powerful tale of honor and heart.

 

 

 

Black History in Its Own Words by Ron Wimberly (Artist)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 973.049 W757b 2017

ISBN: 9781534301535

Publication Date: 2017-02-14

A look at Black History framed by those who made it. BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN ITS OWN WORDS presents quotes of dozens of black luminaries with portraits & illustrations by Ronald Wimberly. Featuring the memorable words and depictions of Angela Davis,Jean-Michael Basquiat, Kanye West, Zadie Smith, Ice Cube, Dave Chappelle, JamesBaldwin, Spike Lee and more.

 

 

Invisible Men: the Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books by Ken Quattro

Call Number: Stacks 741.597 Q25i 2020

ISBN: 9781684055869

Publication Date: 2020-12-15

Hear the riveting stories of Black artists who drew--mostly covertly behind the scenes--superhero, horror, and romance comics in the early years of the industry. The life stories of each man's personal struggles and triumphs are represented as they broke through into a world formerly occupied only by whites. Using primary source material from World War II-era Black newspapers and magazines, this compelling book profiles pioneers like E.C. Stoner, a descendant of one of George Washington's slaves, who became a renowned fine artist of the Harlem Renaissance and the first Black artist to draw comic books. Perhaps more fascinating is Owen Middleton who was sentenced to life in Sing Sing. Middleton's imprisonment became a cause celebre championed by Will Durant, which led to Middleton's release and subsequent comics career. Then there is Matt Baker, the most revered of the Black artists, whose exquisite art spotlights stunning women and men, and who drew the first groundbreaking Black comic book hero, Vooda! The book is gorgeously illustrated with rare examples of each artist's work, including full stories from mainstream comic books from rare titles like All-Negro Comics and Negro Heroes, plus unpublished artist's photos. Invisible Men features Ken Quattro's impeccable research and lean writing detailing the social and cultural environments that formed these extraordinary, yet invisible, men!

 

 

Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Afua Richardson (Cover Design by); Ta-Nehisi Coates; Roxane Gay; Yona Harvey; Jack Kirby (Illustrator)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 741.597 G285b

ISBN: 9781302906504

Publication Date: 2017-06-13

The world building of Wakanda continues in a love story where tenderness is matched only by brutality! You know them now as the Midnight Angels, but in this story they are just Ayo and Aneka, young women recruited to become Dora Milaje, an elite task force trained to protect the crown of Wakanda at all costs. Their first assignment will be to protect Queen Shuri... but what happens when your nation needs your hearts and minds, but you already gave them to each other? Meanwhile, former king T'Challa lies with bedfellows so dark, disgrace is inevitable. Plus, explore the true origins of the People's mysterious leader, Zenzi. Black Panther thinks he knows who Zenzi is and how she got her powers - but he only knows part of the story! COLLECTING: BLACK PANTHER: WORLD OF WAKANDA 1-6

 

In addition to World of Wakanda, our graphic novels collection features other titles in Marvel's Black Panther series, so come on over and check them out too. And if you want more Marvel Comics at this time:

 

Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man Ultimate Collection Book 1 by Chris Samnee (Illustrator); David Marquez (Illustrator); Brian Michael Bendis; Sara Pichelli (Illustrator, Cover Design by)

Call Number: 741.597 B458m

ISBN: 9780785197782

Publication Date: 2015-07-28

Miles Morales takes up the mantle of the Ultimate Spider-Man! Before Peter Parker died, young Miles was poised to start the next chapter in his life in a new school. Then, a spider's bite granted the teenager incredible arachnid-like powers. Now, Miles has been thrust into a world he doesn't understand, with only gut instinct and a little thing called responsibility as his guides. Can he live up to Peter's legacy as Spider-Man? Collecting: Ultimate Fallout 4, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (2011) 1-12, Spider-Men 1-5. Note the library does have the 3-volume set of this run.

 

 

 

 

Incognegro: a Graphic Mystery (New Edition) by Mat Johnson; Warren Pleece (Illustrator)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 741.597 J682i 2018

ISBN: 9781506705644

Publication Date: 2018-02-06

Zane Pinchback, a reporter for the New York-based New Holland Herald, is sent to investigate the arrest of his own brother, charged with the brutal murder of a white woman in Mississippi. With a lynch mob already swarming, Zane must stay 'incognegro' long enough to uncover the truth behind the murder in order to save his brother - and himself. Suspenseful, unsettling and relevant, Incognegro is a tense graphic novel of shifting identities, forbidden passions, and secrets that run far deeper than skin colour.

 

 

The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long; Jim Demonakos; Nate Powell (Illustrator)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 741.597 L849s 2018

ISBN: 9781250164988

Publication Date: 2018-01-02

A New York Times-bestselling graphic novel based on the true story of two families--one white and one black--who find common ground as the civil rights struggle heats up in Texas. This semi-autobiographical tale is set in 1967. A white family from a notoriously racist neighborhood in the suburbs and a black family from its poorest ward cross Houston's color line, overcoming humiliation, degradation, and violence to win the freedom of five black college students unjustly charged with the murder of a policeman. The Silence of Our Friends follows events through the point of view of young Mark Long, whose father is a reporter covering the story. Semi-fictionalized, this story has its roots solidly in very real events. With art from the brilliant Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole) bringing the tale to heart-wrenching life, The Silence of Our Friends is a new and important entry in the body of civil rights literature.

 

 

Big Black: Stand at Attica by Frank "Big Black" Smith; Jared Reinmuth; Ameziane (Illustrator)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 365.974 S647b 2020

ISBN: 9781684154791

Publication Date: 2020-02-18

A graphic novel memoir from Frank "Big Black" Smith, a prisoner at Attica State Prison in 1971, whose rebellion against the injustices of the prison system remains one of the bloodiest civil rights confrontations in American history. FOUR DAYS IN 1971 CHANGED THE COURSE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. THIS IS THE TRUE STORY FROM THE MAN AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL. In the summer of 1971, the New York's Attica State Prison is a symbol of everything broken in America - abused prisoners, rampant racism and a blind eye turned towards the injustices perpetrated on the powerless. But when the guards at Attica overreact to a minor incident, the prisoners decide they've had enough - and revolt against their jailers, taking them hostage and making demands for humane conditions. Frank "Big Black" Smith finds himself at the center of this uprising, struggling to protect hostages, prisoners and negotiators alike. But when the only avenue for justice seems to be negotiating with ambitious Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Big Black soon discovers there may be no hope in finding a peaceful resolution for the prisoners in Attica. Written by Jared Reinmuth and Frank "Big Black" Smith himself, adapted and illustrated by Ameziane, Big Black: Stand At Attica is an unflinching look at the price of standing up to injustice in what remains one of the bloodiest civil rights confrontations in American history.

 

 

Parable of the Sower: a Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler; Damian Duffy (Adapted by); John Jennings (Illustrator); Nalo Hopkinson (Introduction by)

Call Number: Graphic Novels 741.597 D858o 2020

ISBN: 9781419731334

Publication Date: 2020-01-28

In this graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the award-winning team behind the #1 New York Times bestseller Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, the author portrays a searing vision of America's future.  In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher's daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny . . . and the birth of a new faith.