A Message from Karyn

Though Black History month is highlighted in the month of February, Sweet Blackberry continues to share Black History stories all throughout the year. 

This month, Sweet Blackberry aims to highlight the love, hard work and sacrifice many women of color have had to endure throughout history and the current movements many are supporting to ensure equal justice to all. This is why for this month's activity, we are asking for you, our subscribers to share your stories about women you admire to be highlighted in next month's newsletter and our Facebook page. 

In addition, we are also looking to also highlight school teachers who find ways to incorporate Black History all year long. Be sure to fill out the form linked in this newsletter with your information and a chance to be featured in the newsletter and in our blog. 


Best, 
Karyn
Celebrating Women's History Month

For as long as we can remember, women have been the backbone of the way of the world. Despite the hardships many black women have faced being a double minority, they have found a way to persevere and make their mark in American history despite its wanting to overlook their momentous contributions. 

We're currently working to share the story of Bessie Coleman, an African American woman who was told she could not attend a flight school in the United States, never gave up on her dream of becoming a pilot. There are so many women, past and present who have used their voices to make changes and advocate fundamental human rights issues such as civil rights and equal access to healthcare. 

This month, Sweet Blackberry would like challenge its community with an activity highlighting a notable woman in your life. Simply submit a photo sharing your story to sweetblackberrynewsletter@gmail.com and we will highlight it in next month's newsletter. 

Read All About It! 

The New York Times - Chance the Rapper Donates $1 Million to Chicago's Public Schools

Vanity Fair - Michelle Obama Wrote Black-ish Star Yara Shahidi's College Recommendation Letter

Entertainment Weekly -  Oscars make history with most black winners ever

The Atlantic - The African American Roots of Betsy DeVos's Education Platform 

The Undefeated - 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' actress Karyn Parsons inspires kids with animated black history films

Tap into Union - "Garrett's Gift" Entertains and Educates
Support Sweet Blackberry with Amazon Smile
Did you know that when you purchase items through Amazon.com, Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charity organization? That's right! 

This month, we are continuing to encourage you to register Sweet Blackberry as your charity of choice through the AmazonSmile program. Simply register here: https://smile.amazon.com/
Spotlight: Chance The Rapper

The son of  Ken Williams-Burnett, the former aide of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and then-Senator Barack Obama, Chance the Rapper has pledged to donate $1 M to Chicago Public Schools. This came hours after Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner presented two options to provide $215 million to balance this year's budget. 

Rauner previously vetoed a bill that would give the school system the $215 M they need to close out the school year and only issued the two options as a response to Chance using his social platforms to put an eye on this issue. 

Here at Sweet Blackberry, we would like to shine the spotlight on Chance as he continues to use his platform to draw attention to an issue that would normally be overlooked by national media. 

Oscars Make History

This year's Academy Awards ceremony made history with the most Black winners ever. This came after last year's #OscarsSoWhite boycott brought by the lack of diversity in nominees. 

We would like to congratulate all of the winners for their amazing and well-deserved victories this year. 
Request For Educators: 
How did you celebrate Black History Month? 

Black History Month has come and gone, and we're curious to know how educators around the nation celebrated the month long holiday with their students. 

Submit photos of your students Black History Month activities to sweetblackberrynewsletter@gmail.com  by Friday, March 31st and we will share the photos on our blog and in next month's newsletter. 

Of course, Black history should be shared year-round! So tell us your plans for the remainder of the school year. What historical figures will you highlight in your curriculum? What books will your students read, or what videos will they watch? We'd love to know! 

Simply feel out this form, if interested, and you might just find your classroom featured in an upcoming blog post or newsletter.
Sweet Blackberry continues to raise funds for this exciting project sharing the story of the first African-American female pilot, Bessie Coleman. This animated short will surround Coleman's journey and determination to defy odds by moving to France from Atlanta, Texas to learn to fly. 

This Bessie Coleman project will join our collection of short films teaching children little known Black history stories such as the stories of Henry "Box" Brown, Janet Collins and Garrett Morgan. Each of these films are currently available on Netflix. 


We would like to thank the Sweet Blackberry community for their continuous support. We could not be more grateful!  
#SweetBlackHistory

My first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. 
I am the first African American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. 
I am an alumnus of Howard University and Cornell University.


Who am I? 
Tweet your answer to  @SwtBlackberry  for a shout out in next month's newsletter! 

The answer to last month's trivia question was Nikki Giovanni! Congratulations @MissShy875 and @AGsoul for answering correctly. 
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