As a celebration of art, history, and culture, Black History Month brings attention to fascinating figures from the past and present. President Gerald Ford officially recognized the month of February as Black History Month in 1976, and it continues to serve as a reminder of the amazing contributions that Black people have made to American culture. 

Black authors are especially important to the American literary canon. Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and more are fixtures in any library. And we have a list with some contemporary authors to inspire your reading for Black History Month. 

Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul by James McBride

In addition to writing award-winning fiction, James McBride is a trained musician with a special interest in the legacy of James Brown. Here, he traces Brown’s origins and how he ping-ponged around the country, explaining the history of the places he landed. McBride also conducted interviews with people involved in creating the sound, look, and mythos of James Brown for his depiction of a compelling figure.

Between Friends & Lovers by Shirlene Obuobi

This funny contemporary romance is perfect for anyone who has disconnected from their path and wants to make a change. Josephine Boateng exists on social media as Dr. Jojo, expert advice giver on love and life. In reality, she’s trying to pursue medicine and get over an unrequited crush on an old friend. When she meets Malcom, an author who needs her advice, an unexpected romance blossoms. 

When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Well-known romance novelist Alyssa Cole genre-hopped to write an impressive thriller. Sydney Green is a Brooklynite whose neighborhood is disappearing around her as she sees houses for sale every day, with the residents supposedly moving out of the city. She teams up with a new neighbor, and they realize that people aren’t simply moving — they’re disappearing without a trace. 

Colored Television by Danzy Senna

Jane is desperate to finish her epic novel and get some stability for herself, her husband, and their two children. While she’s house-sitting for a rich friend in Los Angeles and trying to finish her book, she grows more frustrated with her lot in life. She partners with a Hollywood producer who promises to bring her voice to television and let her realize her true vision. But since it’s Hollywood, appearances are deceiving. 

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

Beauregard “Bug” Montage is not making enough to support his family through his modest mechanic job, and his past as a getaway driver comes back to haunt him when he decides to participate in a diamond heist. It’s supposed to be one-and-done, but it rapidly spins out of control as the criminal life sucks him back in. This is an excellent road trip novel for anyone who likes a propulsive thriller. 

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead 

The recent movie adaptation of this novel is gaining major critical praise and awards attention. Two boys meet at a reformatory school in Florida in the 1960s. Elwood is an optimist, staunch in his belief that the world will change and ready to take on the challenges of the Civil Rights Movement. His friend Turner has been at the Nickel Academy for years and is the cynical opposite to Elwood. Their friendship defines the rest of their lives.  

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael Lopez

If you’re looking for a book to read as a family, Jacqueline Woodson has a fantastic catalogue of books for children to young adult readers. The Day You Begin follows Lyra as she learns to speak up and find her place in the world. Though she initially feels too different, Lyra learns that she can make connections with other kids over small things. 

More books to explore: 

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams 

Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

Creative Quest by Questlove

All That She Carried by Tiya Miles by Morgan Parker 

There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

How To Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle

King of Dead Things by Nevin Holness

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Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora

Something, Someday by Amanda Gorman, illustrated by Christian Robinson

It’s time for some myth-busting: The “C” in “vitamin C” does not stand for “citrus,” though the nutrient is famously abundant in citrus fruits. Science began exploring the unique capabilities of vitamins around 100 years ago, and named the essential compounds by highlighting their attributes and order of discovery. 

In 1920, Polish biochemist Casimir Funk coined the term “vitamin,” derived from the Latin word for life (vita) and “amine,” a nitrogen-rich compound. Before this coinage, in the 1890s, a compound was identified that prevented beriberi, a disease that commonly afflicted sailors. Due to this usage, it was eventually named vitamin B. Next up in 1918, vitamin A was identified as “fat-soluble A” by nutrition scientist Elmer McCullum. While conducting food experiments, he found an “accessory” substance in some fats, choosing “A” as its epithet. The name was changed to “vitamin A” in 1920 with the coining of Funk’s “vitamin.” Vitamins A and B established an alphabetic naming convention with 

vitamins C, D, and E following suit alphabetically and in order of discovery. In 1929, Danish scientist Carl Peter Henrik Dam identified a new compound that, if the standard were followed, should have been named “vitamin F.” However, Dam chose “vitamin K” in reference to the Danish word blodkoagulation (blood coagulation), emphasizing the vitamin’s role in this process.

Later, researchers identified various forms of vitamins within the letter categorizations. They identified and numbered them during the next few decades, beginning with the earliest discovery, vitamin B1, or thiamine, named after the Greek word for sulfur, theion. By the 1930s and 1940s, 13 essential vitamins — A, C, D, E, K, and the eight B vitamins — had been identified and named. This includes vitamin B7 or biotin, which comes from the Greek biotos, meaning “life,” and vitamin B9 or folic acid, which derives from the Latin folium, meaning “a leaf,” a nod to its abundance in green, leafy vegetables.

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While the names of vitamins might seem overwhelming or even arbitrary when you’re staring at the rows of numbers and letters at the drugstore, each was carefully selected to represent its order of discovery or reflect its unique properties. It’s more than just a letter; a vitamin’s name reflects its history.

On Valentine’s Day, you can show your love through a dozen red roses, a heart-shaped box of chocolates, or a love letter, but why not make your gesture a little sweeter with a box of Sweethearts conversation hearts? These classic treats are the only ones to state right on the candy how much you adore that special person in your life, sharing simple messages such as “Kiss Me” and “Be Mine” with your valentine. These heart-shaped confections originated in the mid-19th century, so let’s take a look back at the history of one of the most popular ways to share a Valentine’s Day message. 

In 1847, a pharmacist named Oliver R. Chase invented a machine to make cutting lozenges more efficient. The clove- and cinnamon-flavored treats that contained tons of sugar to mask the taste of medicine were a big hit. Eventually, the pharmacist cut out any medicine and started Chase and Company with his brothers to sell candy only.

The Chases conceived of new ways to market their products, including hand-printing messages on each lozenge (drawing inspiration from a British candy called “cockles,” which contained paper sayings tucked inside each one). In 1866, Daniel Chase developed a machine that made the printing process more efficient, using a felt roller pad and some vegetable dye to imprint messages on the candy. Around 1901, Chase and Company merged with several other candy companies to create the New England Confectionary Company — or Necco, as it was known throughout the 20th century until its bankruptcy in 2018. 

The messages were initially printed onto candies of various shapes, such as a scallop shell, a baseball, and a horseshoe. In 1902, the iconic heart-shaped variety made its debut. The earliest hearts were larger than the dime-size ones available today, with plenty of space for relationship advice. Examples of these early hearts read:  “Married in White, you have chosen right” and “Married in Pink, he’ll take to drink.” That type of advice disappeared as the hearts shrank in size, but shorter phrases from that era are still around today, including “Be Mine” and “Kiss Me.”

In a 2011 interview with TIME magazine, Necco marketing director Aimee Scott talked about how the company tried to incorporate a novel candy heart theme every year, adding in new phrases and carrying over some old ones. Scott claimed they “keep about 30 to 35 of the older ones” and “try to have about 20 new sayings,” which was largely dependent on popular flirtatious terminology at any given time.

Some past themes include weather (e.g., “Chill Out,” “Cloud 9”), technology (“Tweet Me” or “Text Me”), and also Spanish varieties (“Te Amo”). Some older candy hearts are clear relics of decades gone by, including groovy phrases from the 1970s and 1980s, such as “Dig Me” and “Hep Cat.” “Fax Me” notably debuted in the 1990s, though the candy heart phrase hasn’t appeared in recent years.

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While Necco declared bankruptcy in 2018, Spangler Candy acquired the company and began to produce candy hearts again in 2020. The treat almost immediately reclaimed its market share as the most popular non-chocolate Valentine’s Day sweet.  Continuing the Necco tradition of evolving on a theme, you can take your situationship one step further with Sweethearts “commitment” hearts, featuring messages such as “Marry Me” and “4EVER EVER?”

Handwritten letters are a long-cherished way to express one of the most profound human emotions: love. As seen in the hurried scribbles of soldiers on the front lines or the turmoil of unrequited love, these letters capture the essence of a universal language. While today’s romantic exchanges might take the form of acronyms and emojis, the sentiment remains the same, hearkening back to the very first love letters, crafted thousands of years ago.

Today, everyone is just a few clicks away, but communication throughout history has been much more complicated. For centuries, letters were the only way to bridge distances, and as such, people fell in and out of love through these lines.

The history of love letters traces back to the Bhagavata-purana, a 10th-century sacred Hindu text. In one story, Princess Rukmini writes a love letter to Lord Krishna, proclaiming her unwavering affection. Declarations of love through writing were common in other ancient empires, too. In Egypt, love songs from the Ramesside period (13th to 12th centuries BCE) survive on rolls of papyrus, chronicling firsthand accounts of the trials and tribulations of love.

In ancient Rome, Cicero, one of the empire’s most prolific writers, put his pen to love letters.  To his third wife, Calpurnia, he wrote: 

Tales of romance are among the most enduring in history, proving that even the most powerful and famous individuals are not immune to the vulnerability of love. Take, for instance, Napoleon Bonaparte, the military leader who conquered much of Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Historians estimate that Napoleon wrote over 250 love letters to his wife Joséphine. These letters convey not only his affection but also his grandiose nature. In March 1796, he wrote: “I thought that I loved you months ago, but since my separation from you I feel that I love you a thousand fold more. Each day since I knew you, have I adored you yet more and more.” 

Though better known for composing symphonies and sonatas, Beethoven poured his heart into a letter to the so-called “Immortal Beloved.” The recipient’s true identity remains a mystery, but the letter, which Beethoven kept with him until his death, is proof of a romance that likely never came to fruition. A famous excerpt from the 1812 letter reads: “Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, Be calm–love me–today–yesterday–what tearful longings for you–you–you–my life–my all–farewell. Oh continue to love me–never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.” He signed off with the words “Ever thine. Ever mine. Ever ours.”

Years later, the literary love affair of authors Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West produced some of the most beautifully written letters of the 20th century. Despite hiding their romance under the guise of friendship, the women’s correspondence reveals a deep emotional connection. In 1927, Vita wrote, “I am reduced to a thing that wants Virginia. I composed a beautiful letter to you in the sleepless nightmare hours of the night, and it has all gone: I just miss you, in a quite simple desperate human way.” 

Victorian-era love letters were essential to courtship in America and Great Britain, and etiquette manuals provided advice on crafting the perfect letter. It needed to be as eloquent as it was appropriate — one couldn’t be too forward. In a time when courting couples were not permitted private meetings until marriage, exchanging love letters was perceived as an intimate act, akin to holding a hand or sharing a kiss. 

This tradition found new prominence  during World War I, when young couples relied on love letters to maintain relationships as they were separated by thousands of miles and the experience of war. The romantic tradition persisted during World War II, as demonstrated by President George H. W. Bush’s 1943 letter to his then-fiancée, Barbara: 

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Today’s love letters undoubtedly sound worlds apart from their predecessors — one look at their salutations provides evidence. Translating an early Middle Ages letter into modern English gives us: “To my sweetest and dearest in everything, my honey-sweet girlfriend [insert name here]…” Today, a succinct “Hey, babe” via text message is far more likely.

It seems that over-the-top written expressions of affection have disappeared in the face of social media feeds and online status updates. Flowery prose has been sacrificed to keep up with our fast-paced lives. But just because the pomp and circumstance of pen and paper have faded doesn’t mean modern love letters have to lack intention. Instead of graceful penmanship, consider your carefully selected heart emojis. The human desire to connect is timeless, and digital communication can say just as much as parchment letters that have crossed the ocean.