African Americans

 According to the latest Nielsen stats, the average American adult spends 11 hours per day with electronic media. Digital eye strain occurs after two or more hours of digital device use. Tech addicts would be well-served to give their eyes a rest with the easy-reading large print format.  Check out the newest releases now available in Large Print.

Channeling his inner Easy Rider, Serge Storms saddles up for his most epic, lethal, and hilarious road trip ever as he revvs off to find the lost American Dream . . . starting in the Florida Panhandle. Obsessed with the iconic Sixties classic Easy Rider, encyclopedic Floridaphile, lovable serial killer, and movie buff extraordinaire Serge A. Storms devises his wildest plan yet: finish the journey begun by his freewheeling heroes, Captain America and Billy, tragically cut short by some shotgun-wielding rednecks. Setting a course for the Florida panhandle, Captain Serge--with Coleman literally riding shotgun--mounts his classic motorcycle and hits the highway in search of the real America: the apple-pie-eating, freedom-swilling moms and pops of Main Street USA. But the America he finds in the rural burgs dotting the neck of the peninsula is a little bit different . . . and a whole lot weirder than anything Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper encountered. In a state where criminal politicians are more common than gators, Serge and Coleman discover one particular speed-trap locale so aggressively inept at corruption that investigators are baffled where to start. Expect nothing less than madness, mayhem, ingenious homicides, and mind-altering pharmaceuticals when Serge and Coleman's path intersects with the Sunshine State's hyper-dysfunctional rusticity. Where's Jack Nicholson when you need him?
 

"Brilliant, irascible and frequently frustrating to both his friends and his long-suffering bosses, John Rebus has made the dark places of Edinburgh his home for over two decades. The Beat Goes On collects all of Ian Rankin's Rebus short stories for the first time, including two never-before published tales written specifically for this collection. From his beginnings as a young Detective Constable in "Dead and Buried," right up to his dramatic, but not quite final, retirement in "The Very Last Drop," Rebus shines in these stories, confirming his status as one of crime fiction's most compelling, brilliant, and unforgettable characters. In these gripping, fast-paced tales, the legendary Scottish detective investigates the sinister cases that are his specialty, including a gruesome student death, the brutal murder of a woman at the crux of a love triangle, an audacious jewel heist, suspicious happenings at a nursing home, and an ominous email that brings a family's darkest secrets to light" -- provided by publisher.

African-American Musicians and Music

Celebrate African American history month by reading about African American music and musicians. 

We shall overcome: the story of a song by written by Debbie Levy ; illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Harlem's little blackbird by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Christian Robinson

Hey, Charleston!: the true story of the Jenkins Orphanage Band by Anne Rockwell ; illustrated by Colin Bootman

Charlie Parker played be bop [kit] by Chris Raschka

The Great Michigan Read 2011-2012

The Great Michigan Read 2011-2012 is drawing to a close. This year's selection has inspired displays and discussions across the states in public libraries and schools. The author, Kevin Boyle, received his undergraduate degree from University of Detroit-Mercy and his doctorate from University of Michigan. He is presently teaching at Ohio State University. Arc of Justice won the National Book Award in 2004 and was named Michigan Notable Book in 2005.

Arc of justice: a saga of race, civil rights, and murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle — the story of a Detroit physician of African-American descent, his family, and trying to move up in the world. The consequences of purchasing a home in a Detroit, middle-class neighborhood in 1925 by Dr. Sweet were terrifying and not a shining moment in Detroit's history.

Black History Month

We owe the celebration of Black History Month to Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the son of slaves who went on to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard. He launched Negro History Week in 1926 in order to bring national attention to the contributions of blacks throughout American history. Woodson chose the second week of February for this recognition because it marks the birthdays of two men whose lives greatly influenced the black American population — Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The celebration evolved into Black History Month in 1976.

Black Americans Making Their Stamp on History

In honor of Black History Month stop by and view our display case near the receptionist desk. It includes an authentic USPS Black Heritage stamp collection and portraits on loan from the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Also showcased are just a few of the many Black Americans that have given their lives to shape our world through leadership, inventions, medicine, arts & entertainment, civil rights, sports, education, and more.

Check out our wide selection of materials including books, videos, CD’s and cassette tapes noting the achievements and notable moments in history of those of African descent. Let’s celebrate Black History Month together here at your Canton Public Library!
(image from Kevin Fell at HOZA)

Subscribe to RSS - African Americans