Exhibition Resources
Museum staff have assembled a list of resources to expand our understanding of the personal, political, historical, and cultural importance and implications of the exhibition’s content. Although this is not an exhaustive list, we hope these resources are informative, illuminating, and inspire conversation with others.
On Racism, Incarceration, and the Jim Crow Era
Books:
- “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness”, by Michelle Alexander, 2010
- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson. 2015
- The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois, by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, 2022
- Who Freed the Slaves: The Fight Over the Thirteenth Amendment by Leonard L. Richards, 2015, University of Chicago Press.
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. 2007.
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. 2004.
- How it Feels to be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston. 1928.
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. 1937.
Videos and Films:
- I Am Not Your Negro, Documentary, 2016, USA. Directed Raoul Peck. 1 hr 35 min.
- 13th, Documentary, 2016, USA. Directed by Ava DuVernay. Netflix. 1 hr 40 min.
- Always in Season, Documentary, 2019, USA. Directed and produced by Jacqueline Olive. 1 hr 29 min.
- Five Survivors Reflect on the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing 59 Years Later, WBRC.com, Birmingham, AL, Sept. 15, 2022
- 1964 NBC News Special Report: Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner. 58 min.
- Mississippi Burning, Film, 1989, USA. Directed by Alan Parker. 2 hrs 6 min.
- Klansville USA – The Rise of the KKK, Documentary, 2015, Edited by Chad Ervin. Daily Motion Documentary Library, PBS American Experience Films 54 min.
- The 13th Amendment: 150 Years Later, President Obama Reflects on the Abolition of Slavery, by Tanya Somanader, 2015. The White House: President Barack Obama
Articles:
- Rewriting the Story of Civil Rights, by Carroll Bogart, The Marshall Project, 4.30.2018.
- Birmingham Church Bombing, History.com editors, Jan. 25, 2021
- Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University
- Freedom Summer, by Arlisha Norwood, National Women’s History Museum Fellow
- This Week in history: Bodies of 3 Freedom Summer Workers Found in Mississippi, by Alison Martin, Chicago Sun Times, August 5, 2022
- 13 Amendment to the Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865), The National Archives.
Visit:
- The Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Montgomery Alabama
- The National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington D.C.
- Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI
On the Negro Baseball League
Video and Film:
- 42, 2013 Biographical sports film on the baseball player, Jackie Robinson. Directed by Brian Helgeland. USA. PG-13. Available on Apple TV and Amazon Video. 2 hrs 8 min.
- How the Negro National League Was Formed – Field of Dreams… Deferred, Part 1 of “Field of Dreams Deferred” by TBS Television Network. 2020, Bleacher Report. 6 min.
Visit:
- The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown NY
- The Negro League’s Baseball Museum, Kansas City, MO
For Learning with Children
- Teaching Black History Beyond Slavery and Black History Month, Glen Mourning, 2019, PBS Teachers Lounge.
- The Boundlessness of Black Joy: Reshaping the Narrative, Will Tolliver, Jr., 2022, PBS Teachers Lounge.
- The History of Baseball and Civil Rights in America, with timeline. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
- The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
- What was “Freedom Summer”?, PBS Learning Media. American Experience, © 2014 WGBH Educational Foundation.
- The Klu Klux Klan, National Geographic Resource Library
On the Tenements in Chicago
- What Was Public Housing? By Catherine Fennell, 2018, Public Books.
- Demolished: The End of Chicago’s Public Housing, photo essay by David Eads and Helga Salinas with photos by Patricia Evans. NPR, 2014
Further Reading & Resources
- The 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah Jones, New York Times Magazine, begun in 2019, ongoing.
- Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson