This year’s official theme for Black History Month is “African Americans and the Arts.” There are too many legendary Black American musicians, visual artists, writers, architects, actors, dancers, and filmmakers to fit in one short list, so here are a few links that highlight some lesser-known greats:

 

From Moriah Alise’s YouTube channel: 10 Living Black Painters Who Shook the Art World

From African American Book Club: 95 Books by Black Authors Coming Out Soon

From L’Officiel: 30 Black Designers Who Shaped Fashion History

From Architizer: 12 Black Architects Making History Today and 10 Black Architects Whose Work Has Shaped America

From Udiscovermusic.com: Best Black Classical Composers

From local nonprofits to individuals to large corporations, these groups have found amazing ways to celebrate Black History Month with Cinnamongirl. We couldn’t be more proud, honored, and grateful for their support.

There are so many fun, creative, and non-traditional ways for individuals, corporate leaders, employees resource groups, and educators to engage and support Cinnamongirl. 

 

We encourage everyone interested in working with us to reach out so we can find the best collaboration possible. In the end, it’s a beautiful reminder that we are indeed a village and everyone can be a part of supporting young trailblazers.

Come and hear Cinnamongirls Chariot and Lea at their speaking event, On the Road to Freedom: Through the Eyes of Young Leaders, at the Commonwealth Club of California on Tuesday, February 20! Both girls won scholarships last October to go on a tour of important Civil Rights sites in the American South, and they will speak about their sometimes painful, sometimes inspiring, and undeniably life-changing experience.

 

Founded in 1942, the Commonwealth Club is the nation’s largest and oldest public affairs forum. Devoted to impartial discussion of public issues, they present over 450 talks every year on topics including politics, culture and society, and the economy. Past speakers have included luminaries such as Teddy Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jane Goodall, Ronald Reagan, and Ibram X. Kendi.

 

This in-person event will take place on Tuesday, February 20 at 5:30 PM at the Commonwealth Club’s Taube Family Auditorium in San Francisco. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased by clicking the button below. They are available for free if you type the code, “cinnamongirl.” We anticipate a sold-out house, so act quickly to secure a seat!

 

We are so proud of our Cinnamongirls and so very grateful to the Commonwealth Club for providing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

A unique feature of the Passport Book Club cohorts is that they are led by Cinnamongirls, themselves. This allows the the cohort members to be mentored by their peers, and gives the leads the opportunity to develop their leadership skills while doing something they love: reading and talking about books! We asked each of our cohort leads to answer these three questions:

 

1. What was (one of) your favorite books as a kid?

2. Please give us a book recommendation!

3. Why do you love Cinnamongirl and/or Passport Book Club?

Passport Book Club 📚

 

The 8-12 cohort met to talk about the award-winning Front Desk by Kelly Yang, about Mia Tang, whose parents run a motel that hides immigrants in their empty rooms. 

 

The 13-18 cohort read Me (Moth) by Amber McBride, the powerful 2021 National Book Award finalist about a girl grieving the death of her family who meets a boy searching for his roots.

 

Write Your Story ✍🏾

 

In January the Writergirls had two fantastic classes with middle-grade author Lisa Moore Ramée about how to write dialogue that jumps off the page; and poet Thea Matthews about how to “uncover the secret world of comparisons and soar with metaphor in their pockets!” 

 

In February they will have their last two classes with UC Berkeley writing instructor Kim Freeman and author Robin Claire Barnes, focusing on editing, revising, and polishing their writing.

Travelgirl ✈️

 

Big news! Travelgirl’s destination has changed. We are sad to say good-bye to our plans to visit Brazil, but very excited for our new destination: Peru! 

 

The Travelgirls will get to climb to the the ancient mountain sanctuary of Machu Picchu - one of the New 7 Wonders of the World; visit Lake Titicaca, the legendary birthplace of the Inca and the largest lake in South America, see the spectacular Rainbow Mountain; visit the cities of Lima and Cusco; learn to cook a classic Peruvian meal; and take an airplane tour of the mysterious Nazca lines.

Cinnamongirls Serena and Taylor Sky were both finalists in the selection of Berkeley’s first ever Youth Poet Laureate. Serena, appointed as Vice Youth Laureate for her thoughtful poem, We are the Change, selected as the title poem for last year’s Write Your Story anthology, I Am the Change. 

 

Read Serena’s poem in the official Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate Chapbook here! And read the poems Taylor submitted here.

If you think we should celebrate and study Black history all year and not just in February, please consider supporting Black organizations all year, too!

One way you can do this is to give a recurring gift. Giving monthly or quarterly helps us budget and plan for Cinnamongirl’s future. We always get a nice bump around the holidays, but our regular donors’ gifts are crucial during slower giving months. We need to keep the support going the entire year. 

 

Become a monthly donor— it’s beautiful way to give!