Image for Education, Connection & Celebration During Black History Month

Black History Month (BHM) has been honored each February since 1976. As a community-owned and community-serving cooperative, we want to share ways to learn about and celebrate the rich history and phenomenal achievements of Black Americans.

Every day, in every corner of the world, Black History is being written and celebrated. We are intrinsically linked to the stories, strength, and vibrancy emerging in our communities. Devoting this month to honoring and discussing the contributions of our community members of color is a tradition we cherish. Let’s continue fostering conversations that acknowledge the richness of Black History.

We hope you find the resources below useful, and we encourage you to share them among and beyond our co-op community.

The History of BHM

Community Celebrations

Feb. 1 – 2024 Black History Month: An Elder’s View Saint Paul Black History Month Committee

Feb. 3 – Black Citizenship Panel Discussion: Post Civil War Minnesota History Center

Feb. 8 – Meet at MIA: Celebrating Black History Minneapolis Institute of Art

Feb. 10 – Black History Month Celebration The Black Market

Feb. 13 – Celebrate Black History in the Twin Cities Magers & Quinn Booksellers

Feb. 19 – Black History Month Mixed Blood Theater Workshop Mississippi Market (East 7th Location)

Feb. 25 – Black History Month Lunch & Learn + Mosaic Workshop Mississippi Market (East 7th Location)

Education: Black History Book Recommendations from Dr. Artika Tyner

In this compilation of Black History book recommendations, Dr. Artika Tyner, a distinguished motivational speaker, author, educator, and founder of Planting People Growing Justice, provides curated reading suggestions for Black History Month. With a background in law and leadership, Dr. Tyner is committed to nurturing inclusive leaders dedicated to driving sustainable social change across diverse sectors. Explore the comprehensive list, featuring insightful information about each recommended book to provide a valuable resource for a deeper understanding of Black history through these carefully selected literary works.

We encourage you to support local by buying from one of the small, independently owned bookshops in the Twin Cities, and look for these and other books by Black and racially diverse authors at:

Black Garnet Books, a Black woman-owned bookstore in St. Paul.

Planting People Growing Justice Press and Bookstore, a bookstore with a curated selection emphasizing the discovery and exploration of leadership potential, fostering positive changes in personal, family, and work life while acting as change agents in the global community.

  • The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson
  • African Heroes and Heroines by Carter G. Woodson
  • General Harriet Tubman by Earl Conrad
  • Black Achievements in Business: Celebrating Oprah Winfrey, Moziah Bridges, and More by Robert P. Dixon Jr.
  • Black Achievements in STEM: Celebrating Katherine Johnson, Robert D. Bullard, and More by Dr. Artika R. Tyner

Education: Anti-racism Book Recommendations

This list is based on the anti-racism collection in our staff library.

We encourage you to support local by buying from one of the small, independently owned bookshops in the Twin Cities, and look for these and other books by Black and racially diverse authors at:

Black Garnet Books, a Black woman-owned bookstore in St. Paul.

Planting People Growing Justice Press and Bookstore, a bookstore with a curated selection emphasizing the discovery and exploration of leadership potential, fostering positive changes in personal, family, and work life while acting as change agents in the global community.

  • The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois⠀
  • How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi⠀
  • The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter⠀
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander⠀
  • Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad⠀
  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates⠀
  • White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo⠀
  • My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem

Supporting Black-Owned Businesses

Supporting local Black businesses is a way to safeguard livelihoods and empower Black entrepreneurs. If you’re uncertain about identifying businesses owned by your Black neighbors, you can find information from resources like: mnblackbusiness.com, Visit Saint Paul, and Explore Minnesota.

You can also support some of our community partners, such as:

  • Mosaic on a Stick is a Black-Indigenous-woman-owned business providing a community art space by selling quality supplies, teaching mosaic classes, and creating commissions.
  • Tommie’s Pizza serves authentic New York-style pizza just down the street from our Selby store.
  • Flava Cafe is a social enterprise community cafe invested in offering quality coffee, food, service, and programming that eliminates disparities for young women of color and gender-expansive youth one latte at a time.
  • The Coven fosters community through intersectional coworking spaces geared toward women, non-binary, and transgender individuals. Their first location symbolically opened on International Women’s Day (March 8), 2018.

Celebrate Soul Food with Chef Lachelle Cunningham

Chef Lachelle Cunningham continues to push the contemporary evolution of soul food, shedding light on its rich history and dismantling misconceptions surrounding its perceived unhealthiness. Find some friends and family to join in making this plant-based Jamaican Soul Curry. Deepen your experience by engaging in conversation around how learning more about food and recipes can help us better understand and honor the traditions of our past while living into a more just future.

Lachelle began her culinary career by launching Chelles’ Kitchen in 2012 and soon became known for her work as the founding executive chef of Breaking Bread Cafe (2015) in North Minneapolis. In 2018, Chef Lachelle began building the Healthy Roots Institute with a mission focused on healing and social justice through food education, culinary arts and entrepreneurship. Through the institute, Chef Lachelle curates cooking workshops and retreats, teaches culinary arts and food business classes, and provides human resources, menu development and operations consulting to local restaurants and foodservice establishments.

Find some friends and family to join in making this plant-based Jamaican Soul Curry. Deepen your experience by engaging in conversation around how learning more about food and recipes can help us better understand and honor the traditions of our past while living into a more just future.

Donate to Black Organizations & Charities

Create Positive Change each time you shop at the co-op this February by donating your 10-cent reusable bag credits and rounding up your purchases to the nearest dollar to support our February Positive Change Recipient:

Hallie Q. Brown Community Center: HBQ’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in the community by offering vital human services, nurturing and celebrating African American heritage, fostering personal growth, self-sufficiency, and self-determination, while cultivating and developing community leadership.

You can also support some of our non-profit partners, such as:

  • Planting People Growing Justice Leadership Institute (PPGJLI), was founded in the Rondo community as a direct response to addressing the literacy gap and ending the school-to-prison pipeline. PPGJLI engages youth at an early age in antiracist education and dialogue, leadership development, and multicultural books. By introducing these early in a child’s development, the program aims not only to create success for all children but also to plant the seeds of educational and learning opportunities.
  • Black Youth Healing Arts Center is a youth-co-created site focused on providing a safe space and healing opportunities for Black youth, other youth of color, and their families. Using Black cultural arts, they teach multiple ways to emotionally readjust during stressful moments and to meet injustices in a grounded fashion. The BYHAC is a space where youth and young adult leaders can reset to continue to fight for justice.
  • BrightSide Produce is reducing urban food insecurity by improving access to affordable fresh produce right where people live and shop – their neighborhood corner store. Since 2014, BrightSide has helped corner stores in underserved Twin Cities communities stock high-quality, low-cost fresh produce on their shelves.