BHM 2019: Home

Please Join the McCarthy Library in paying tribute to the African Americans who dared to pursue their dreams and contributed so greatly to our communities and greater society.

The theme for 2019 selected by ASALH,the founders of  Black History Month, is "Black Migrations". Beginning in the early 20th Century until the early 1950's, African Americans moved from the "Jim Crow" rural South to cities of the Northeast, Midwest and California. In what is known as the Second Great Black Migration, over 6 million African Americans moved from farms to industrial cities providing the labor for manufacturing and service industries. In California, they served as the "backbone" of the shipyards and munition factories during wartime as well as serving in the military. We honor their migration from poverty to being leaders in business entrepreneurship, politics, literature and the arts. Cultural contributions, rising from the migration, include jazz, blues and ragtime. In New York City, artists, writers, musicians, actors and dancers ignited an explosion of creativity known as the Harlem Renaissance.

African American workers in World War II defense workplaces had to fight for their jobs. Photo courtesy of Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University, People’s World collection.

Trivia Challenge

• What is the name of the landmark California Supreme Court  Decision that reversed the policy of "separate but not equal" unions?
•  A shipyard, built in the muddy flats along the waterfront of an historic fishing town, employed 20,000 workers with blacks comprising 10 percent of employees. Which Bay Area county hosted this shipyard?
• The California Supreme Court decision "gave blacks status in the  eyes of their white companions."​​  Who authored the Th.D. thesis which provided the quote? hint: chapter 7 of book in this LibGuide contains note 40 which will provide the answer.    Questions 1 and 2 can be answered by exploring links on this LibGuide or in the book featured under books in this guide . Provide library staff with the  title of the book at the circulation desk and you may borrow it for Lib Use Only.                                                                                                                                                                                                 Prizes:

1 correct answer NVC Cafe large coffee or beverage

2 correct answers NVC large coffee or beverage and pastry or snack

3 correct answers NVC Cafe meal up to $5.00

Send answers to Stephanie Grohs, Librarian sgrohs@napavalley.edu Professor Grohs will respond to your email. If you gave correct answers  you can go to the front desk in the Library the following day, give your name and you will be given a reward card for the Napa Valley College Cafe. Trivia Challenge ends Friday March 8th.

The McCarthy Library invites African American students to share their family's story of how they migrated and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. We will be displaying pictures, memorabilia (recipes, records from the Jazz age, etc..) and written accounts on a portable display board in the library . We will be adding stories all throughout February. Please contact: Librarian Stephanie Grohs sgrohs@napavalley.ed

Photo credit: Willie Long, President of of the Original 21ers, labor and civil rights activist. (See book: Standing Tall in this guide)

Although Stephanie has retired, her work still lives on with her LibGuides.

Doyle Lane was an African-American ceramist known for his innovative, tactile glazes. His work ranged from delicate vases and ceramic sculptures to large scale clay paintings and mosaics. Born in New Orleans Doyle moved to East Los Angeles in the 1950's.