Great Short Videos on African American History

Posted by Speakeasy News > Saturday 04 February 2023 > Webpicks

Blackhistoryintwominutes.com is a site devoted to producing two-minute videos on just about any topic you could think of in African American history.  For Black History Month, we’ve selected a few that fit well with topics Speakeasy and Shine Bright have covered. The site is financed by African American billionaire philanthropist Robert F. Smith and the … Continue reading “Great Short Videos on African American History”

What’s Inside? Reading Guide: To Kill a Mockingbird

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 05 July 2021 > Pedagogy

In our series of author videos presenting our Reading Guides, here’s To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee presented by its author Lynda Itouchène.   Find out more about the guide on the site compagnon.

Celebrating Jackie Robinson Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 15 April 2021 > Celebrate

On 15 April every year, all professional baseball teams in America celebrate Jackie Robinson Day, in honour of the player who “broke the color bar”, becoming the first African-American player in Major League Baseball. In post-WWII U.S.A., professional baseball, like so many other things, was segregated. African-Americans could only play in the Negro Leagues, not … Continue reading “Celebrating Jackie Robinson Day”

Ruby Bridges, Civil-Rights Icon

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 23 February 2021 > Ready to Use

Ruby Bridges didn’t choose to become a civil-rights icon. It was her parents who, in 1960, chose to accept that their 6-year-old daughter would be the first African-American child to integrate a white school in the American South. But as an adult, Bridges, who was immortalised by Norman Rockwell, has fought indefatigably for civil rights … Continue reading “Ruby Bridges, Civil-Rights Icon”

African American History on the Web

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 15 January 2021 > Webpicks

This selection of sites and videos is useful for classes on African American history and culture, particularly the civil-rights movement and the Harlem Renaissance America’s Library is a minisite from the Library of Congress written for native-speaking children. It’s very simple and clear. It has sections about WEB Dubois (see our article on the Color … Continue reading “African American History on the Web”

Times Are Changing at NASA

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 08 July 2020 > In the News

The days when the public faces of NASA are only white men seem to be coming to an end. On 8 July, the space agency announced that it is renaming its Washington headquarters the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters in honour of one of the African American women mathematicians whose contribution to the space race … Continue reading “Times Are Changing at NASA”

School Integration Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 06 April 2018 > Webpicks

Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954 is remembered in the U.S. as a landmark moment in the fight for civil rights. The segregated school that seven-year-old Linda Brown attended while the case for desegregation made its way through the courts is now a National Park Service Historic Site. These videos and websites are … Continue reading “School Integration Webpicks”