6 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month Through Movement and Stories
By Allison Yates
There are a million and one ways to celebrate Black History Month this February 2024—and more importantly, throughout the year—but here are just a few focused on movement and stories to jumpstart your action.
1. Make a Black History Month Book Report
This year marks the third anniversary of our call to have readers & runners make their own Black History Month Book Reports.
My former colleague Elisa invites folks on her Instagram to contribute their own grown-up book reports on Instagram for Black History Month. This year, Elisa made the theme “Uprising Resistance and Rebellion,” and lists these instructions:
Choose anything that fits the theme: Uprising, Resistance, or Rebellion
Choose any Black Liberation Movement
Compare and Contrast
Reflect and Share
Of course, your book report doesn’t have to be about Chicago, but bonus points if it is! There's nothing more fun than finding something that fires you up and sharing it with the world.
l invite you to take part (this month or any month of the year!), and when you share your "book report," tag Elisa and Read & Run Chicago on Instagram so we can reshare. You can see examples of some of my past book reports here.
2. Join Black Girls Read Book Club’s 12 Books By Black Chicago Women Reading Challenge
Our partner Black Girls Read Book Club is challenging readers to take part in their 2024 reading challenge, “12 Books by Black Chicago Women.”
“One of my favorite things about running Black Girls Read Book Club has been discovering the diverse perspectives of Black women writers from across the diaspora, both here in the United States and around the world. But there is a special place in my heart for books by Black women from Chicago. Think: Gwendolyn Brooks, Eve L. Ewing, Lorraine Hansberry, and many more. In so much of their work—whether poetry, fiction, or nonfiction—their love for this great, complicated, and historic city shines through,” wrote founder and organizer of BGR and Read & Run Chicago guide Cynthia Okechukwu on Instagram.
Buy books for the challenge on Bookshop.org and join the challenge via Storygraph.
3. Join Black Girls Run and Fleet Feet’s Share the Run Challenge
Fleet Feet, Saucony, and Black Girls Run teamed up again to host the Share the Run Challenge, a chance to “collectively walk or run 24,902 miles—enough to circle the globe—while inspiring our communities to make fitness and healthy living a priority.” Participants have the option to donate to Black Girls Run, and besides the benefits of joining a collective challenge and giving back to a good cause, you’ll also be entered to win prizes and get Fleet Feet Rewards.
Sign up here and read more on Fleet Feet’s website.
4. Support the L.Y.D. Foundation’s Ten in Ten Challenge for February
Read & Run Chicago guide and founder of the L.Y.D. Foundation Chris Smith is nearly midway through his Ten in Ten Challenge, a 10-month challenge to run one marathon every month for 10 months to raise money for his foundation’s important work.
Chris knows about the importance of stories and movement. Last year, Chris and I hosted a three-part series inspired by The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, in which we traced the story of Ida Mae Gladney, from her roots in Chickasaw County, Mississippi to Chicago and her witness to the city’s changing landscape over her lifetime.
Chris was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. The idea for L.Y.D. started over 15 years ago when he wanted to create a youth mentoring program that mimicked one from his youth to foster a sense of community in the young men and women in underserved communities. It finally came to fruition during the pandemic. L.Y.D. Is all about promoting health, financial and mental wellness. From youth mentoring, mental health advocacy, financial literacy, sports camps, college scholarships, fresh food initiatives, senior outreach and back to school giveaways, L.Y.D. wants to serve underserved communities in as many ways as possible. Through partnerships with other organizations, the flagship “Running for Something” campaign and community outreach, we aim to help create a more equitable society.
Donate to the L.Y.D. Foundation here and read more about the Ten in Ten Challenge on Fleet Feet’s website.
5. Run a Self-Guided Route Inspired by South Side Girls by Dr. Marcia Chatelain
Head to historic Bronzeville for Chicago Black history-focused self-guided route of one of our previous events!
This page has all the details about the route and information about our December 2021 Book Club Run of South Side Girls by Dr. Marcia Chatelain.
6. Support Black Women Bookstore Owners
Chicago is home to three Black women-owned bookstores: Rose Cafe owned by Iesha Malone, Da Book Joint owned by Verlean Singletary and Courtney Woods, Semicolon Books owned by DL Mullen, Call & Response Books owned by Courtney Bledsoe.
Follow on social media, buy books on their virtual bookstores, donate to support their operations, read the founders’ stories, and spread the word!