The atmosphere of the SLOCA library is often the opposite of your traditional library. It is rarely silent. During a “normal” year, our school library is bursting with kids perusing books or playing board games; there are storytimes with Little Wonders and high schoolers chatting during their free period, and sometimes students using it as a shortcut to the Den to grab a snack. This year the library is sadly much quieter as kids have not been able to come in and use it to its fullest. They are encouraged to swing by during their lunch recess and request a book from a parent volunteer who will do their best to fill their request.
These changes, though necessary for this year, have still been hard and we eagerly look forward to the day the library is full of life again. However, until then, we have some additions to the library that we are excited about and want to share with you today. If you attended the On Being Human retreat, you may have been challenged to learn more about black history or you were encouraged to introduce your kids to influential African Americans (some who received a classical education just like them), but perhaps you didn’t know where to start. Well, as Susie Theule, our Executive and Visionary Director mentioned at our last parent meeting, this year’s library budget has been focused on expanding our library’s collection of books on the African American experience.
When we decided to cover more of the African American experience in our history this year, extending into the Civil Rights journey, we wanted resources for our teachers as well as books available for students to check out. Our training with Dr. Prather, Dr. Parham, and Jessica Hooten Wilson deepened our awareness of the impact of a classical education on the enslaved people who resisted their enslavement (Frederick Douglass) through the newly freedmen who attended schools. Teachers such as Anna Julia Cooper taught students from a classical approach.
-Edie Overduin, SLOCA Librarian & Curriculum Consultant
To celebrate these new books we wanted to give you a taste of some of the titles that will be available for our SLOCA families to check out soon from our library. This is a treasure-trove of quality books and many of them you may not find at your local library. Be sure to keep an eye on the display shelves in the library nearest the Den as these new titles will be popping up there in the weeks to come. And don’t forget, parents are allowed to enter the library and check out books during school hours.
Black Classical Authors:
- Phillis Wheatley: Complete Writings by Phillis Wheatley
- Caroling Dusk by Countee Cullen
- The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America’s 1st Black Poet and Her Encounters with the Founding Fathers by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
- The Portable Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
- Three African American Classics: Up From Slavery, Souls of Black Folk, and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Frederick Douglass
- Black Reconstruction in America by W.E.B. Du Bois
- Douglass Autobiographies by Frederick Douglass
- Du Bois Writings by W.E.B. Du Bois
- Olaudah Equiano: The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings by Olaudah Equiano
- A Voice From the South by A Black Woman of the South by Anna Julia Cooper
- The Voice of Anna Julia Cooper: Including A Voice From the South and Other Important Essays edited by Charles Lemert & Esme Bhan
- The Works of William Sanders Scarborough by William Sanders Scarborough
- The Autobiography of William Sanders Scarborough by William Sanders Scarborough
- The Educated Negro and His Mission by William Sanders Scarborough
- The Race Problem in America by Alexander Crummel
- Civilization the Primal Need of the Race, the Inaugural Address, and The Attitude of the American Mind Toward the Negro Intellect by Alexander Crummel
- Emmanuel Appadocca or Blighted Life Volumes 1 & 2 by Michel Maxwell Philip
- Moses, Man of the Mountain by Zora Neale Hurston
- A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
Books for Children thru Young Adult:
- I, Too, Sing America by Catherine Clinton
- The Dream Keeper by Langston Hughes
- Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History by Vashti Harris
- Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harris
- Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales by Nelson Mandela
- The Annotated African American Folktales edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. & Maria Tatar
- The Kidnapped Prince by Ann Cameron
- A Child’s Introduction to African American History by Jabari Asim
- Remember The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison
- The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis
- The Mad Man of Piney Woods by Christopher Paul Curtis
- The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
- The Well by Mildred Taylor
- Song of the Trees by Mildred Taylor
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
- Mississippi Bridge by Mildred Taylor
- Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred Taylor
- The Friendship by Mildred Taylor
- The Road to Memphis by Mildred Taylor
- The Gold Cadillac by Mildred Taylor
- All the Days Past, All the Days to Come by Mildred Taylor
- The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton
- The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton
- Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales by Virginia Hamilton
- In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton
- Many Thousands Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton
- M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton
- The People Could Fly: The Picture Book by Virginia Hamilton
- Bluish by Virginia Hamilton
- Zeely by Virginia Hamilton
- Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush by Virginia Hamilton
- The Planet Junior by Virginia Hamilton
Books for Educators:
- The Marva Collins Way by Marva Collins
- Ordinary Children, Extraordinary Teachers by Marva Collins
- Living in the Constellation of the Canon by Anika T. Prather
- Norton Anthology of African American Literature V1 Beginnings Through Harlem Renaissance, 3rd ed. by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
- Norton Anthology of African American Literature, V2 by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
- Grace Abounding: The Core Knowledge Anthology of African-American Literature, Music, and Art by Robert Shepherd
- Blacks in Antiquity by Frank Snowden
- Before Color Prejudice by Frank Snowden
- Race and Ethnicity in the Classical World by Kennedy, Roy, & Goldman
More Books…
- Cultural Liturgies by James K. A. Smith
- The Short Stories of Langston Hughes edited by Akiba Sullivan Harper
- The Best Short Stories by Black Writers 1899-1967 The Classic Anthology by James Baldwin
- The Hidden Wound by Wendall Barry
- How It Feels to be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston
- African American Heritage Hymnal by Rev. Dr. Delores Carpenter
Wow! That’s a lot of books! There are more coming and more on the wish list. We hope that you will take advantage of this bounty of books as Together We Read.
