American scholar and leading civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois was born on this day in 1868. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University. Du Bois was a great thinker and researcher in many fields, including Sociology and History, and was leading Civil Rights advocate and opponent of Jim Crow throughout his adult life. He was the author of numerous works, including The Souls of Black Folk (1903) and Black Reconstruction in America (1935). Du Bois was a founding member of the NAACP in 1910, and its journal, “The Crisis.”
From September 2022 to the end of August 2023, Canadian libraries, especially school libraries, faced the highest number of book challenges ever for a 12 month period in Canada (source). The number of official challenge is likely just a small fraction of the challenges that go unreported– ALA studies suggest 82 -97% of challenges go unreported (source).
Intellectual freedom has been a pillar of library philosophy for nearly a century; and in our current climate, it is perhaps our most valuable tool in our efforts to amplify the voices of the most marginalized within our communities.
Canada’s Freedom to Read Week in 2024 is February 18-24.
Do you believe that you should be able to choose what you read? Or should other people be able to decide for you what you can read? Freedom to Read Week celebrates our fundamental freedoms as citizens of democracies and our fundamental rights as human beings. Freedom to Read Week also asks you to stand up for your rights and oppose those who want to take away your freedom to read.
February 15 is Flag Day, in commemoration of the day in 1965 when the red and white maple leaf flag was first officially flown in Canada. According to canada.ca, “Our national flag is a symbol that unites Canadians and reflects the common values we take pride in — democracy, inclusion and equity.” Is that true? Or has the flag been seized by a movement that doesn’t appear to celebrate those values?
Many of those that in the past few years have flown Canadian flags on their vehicles, and wave them at overpasses or in other public displays, have expressed values that don’t promote inclusion and equity. To many, those values are actually seen as threats to democracy. By association, flying the Canadian flag now suggests a very particular political point of view that isn’t shared by most Canadians. Can the flag be reclaimed as a symbol of pride for all Canadians?
To be fair, the Canadian flag has almost always been a controversial subject. The debates over if and how to change the Canadian flag from the traditional “Red Ensign” and Union Jack, were heated, if not bitter, and for some have never been resolved.
Yet another aspect to this issue is our reckoning with our colonial past. Indigenous peoples, in particular, might have very complex, if not difficult relationships with the flag. Our desire for shared pride in what we officially express as our values — democracy, inclusion, equity — may not ring as true when we look at the history of imperialism, racism and inequality in our country.
Is it possible to be a proud Canadian who looks to the flag as a symbol of positive values? How many steps away from positive expressions of national pride are displays of excessive nationalism, or jingoism, xenophobia and other sinister movements of fear and hate?
In the current political climate, many Canadians are hesitant to display a Canadian flag lest they be associated with political values that they cannot abide. Is it possible to change that?
In 2024 the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, Chinese New Year, and many other names, is observed on February 10. Canadians join with many millions of people in Asia, and millions more of Asian Heritage around the world, to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.
The celebrations around this event include many different local practices and are known by many names around the world, including Tet (Vietnam); Seollal (Korea); Koshogatsu or “Little New Year” (Japan). Multiday, and even multiweek festivals will take place around the world on the days and weeks surrounding the 10th.
In North America it is often called Chinese New Year, although the Chinese themselves are more likely to refer to it as the Spring Festival. Moreover, the term “Lunar New Year” is more reflective of the multi-ethnic and multicultural nature of the celebrations. In Canada this is especially important, as many Canadians trace their roots to many different parts of the world, including China, but also to many other places in East Asia such as Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan.
Reggae legend Bob Marley was born on this day in 1945 in Nine Miles, Jamaica. Sadly, he died far too young, at only 36 years old, in 1981. Marley was an international music superstar who helped catapult the Reggae sounds of Jamaica into the global consciousness. Marley was a revered symbol of the African Diaspora and was a strong voice for anti-racism and democratic rights. For more on the life of this amazing artist, take a look at some of the many books we have here in the school library.
Henry “Hank” Aaron was born on this day in 1934. Hank Aaron was one of the greats of the sport of baseball. He was a legendary home run hitter who would also win multiple Gold Gloves. Hank Aaron was a World Series Champion, a National League MVP, and was selected for an incredible 25 All-Star Games. More than that, he was a great human being.
The legendary Muhammad Ali, in his day considered by many to be the world’s most famous, if not greatest, athlete, said of Aaron, that he was the “only man I idolize more than myself.” (Baseball Hall of Fame).
In 1973 Aaron hit his 715th home run to pass the iconic Babe Ruth with the most ever. Aaron was under intense scrutiny as he approached the record, all the more because he was a black man who was about to break the record of a white hero, something that was unacceptable to the white supremacist ethos. Aaron faced intense racism, including death threats against him and his family. Remarkably, even in the face of such despicable conditions, he continued to perform on the field, crushing the all-time record, holding it for more than 30 years. For all who knew him personally, it was not surprising that off the field he continued to live a life of humility, dignity and integrity. Hank Aaron was an outspoken supporter of the Civil Rights movement, and spent his post-playing days working for many humanitarian and philanthropic causes.
One of the icons of the US Civil Rights movement looked an unlikely hero but proved to be someone whose strength of character belied her appearance. Rosa Parks was born on this day in 1934. In the face of the overt racism of 1950’s America, Rosa famously refused to give up her seat on the bus, as black people were expected to do for white people. She was arrested, and the resulting Montgomery Bus Boycott proved to be one of foundational events of the Civil Rights Movement.
Langston Hughes was born on this day in 1901. Hughes would go on to become a renowned poet, playwright, novelist and social activist. Langston Hughes was at the center of the the intellectual and cultural phenomenon that was the “Harlem Renaissance” of the twenties and thirties in New York.
February is Black History Month. Join us in the School Library as we explore, acknowledge and celebrate Black History, with an emphasis on the experience of Canadians of African descent, African-Americans, and other peoples in the world-wide African diaspora.
Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library 