There’s so much to do and see throughout Black History Month.
Every February, museums, libraries, universities, media organizations, and other cultural institutions across the City and around the country highlight a trove of research, data, analysis, and archival media in support of Black History Month. In addition to the outstanding range of physical and digital resources that they’ve made available to the public, many of these institutions also host a range of events, in-person and digital exhibitions, and educational programs for people of all ages that provide additional insight into the Black experience in the United States
To help families learn more about these outstanding physical and digital resources, exhibitions, and opportunities, we’ve put together the following list of Black History Month-related interests available for you and your loved ones throughout February. Take a look at our selections below, and click any of our embedded links to learn more.
Which resources and/or events interest you the most? Have additional suggestions? Let us know in the comments section below!
BHM Events for Families in February 2022
Listed events are free of charge, unless otherwise noted. All in-person events are subject to visitor and masking/vaccine guidelines—for more information, please refer to each site’s website in the links below.
Monday, February 14
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., E.S.T.
Virtual event
After winning World War II, Black veterans continued their fight for freedom upon returning home to the U.S. This webcast by the National Museum of African American History and Culture explores stories and artifacts that reflect the reality and challenges Black veterans faced following the war while also detailing how they continued to serve America while working to benefit their personal lives and their communities.
No tickets or registration are required for this event—simply join the virtual event at its scheduled start time at 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, February 17
11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Manhattan—Seneca Village Site @ West 85th Street and Central Park West
Cost: $25 (20% off for Central Park Conservancy members)
Discover Seneca Village, the largest community of free Black property owners in pre-Civil War New York. During this tour, visitors will learn about this area as it existed before Central Park was built. Conservancy guides will also provide insight into the events that resulted in the displacement of Seneca Village residents during the construction of the Park.
Note that this tour will also be held on Sunday, February 27; Sunday, March 13; and Friday, April 1, 2022.
Can’t make it to Central Park? Attend the virtual Seneca Village Tour on February 17, at 2:00 p.m.–2:45 p.m. Conservancy guides will provide a virtual tour of Seneca Village via Zoom. Register online for $15
Thursday, February 17
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Virtual event via the Park Slope Library in Brooklyn
Join the Park Slope Library in celebrating Black History Month by participating in their virtual dance workshop for kids! Open to young children, tweens, and teenagers, this program connects African dance with its influences on Brooklyn hop-hop.
To RSVP for this event, visit the Brooklyn Public Library’s event page.
Saturday, February 19
12:00 p.m.—2:30 p.m., E.S.T.
Virtual event
Presented by the New York Public Library’s Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture, this virtual conversation will detail and discuss Black women’s cultural and academic contributions to Afrofuturism. Featuring Dr. Susana Morris, Dr. Kinitra Brooks, Dr. Esther Jones, Dr. Tiffany Barber, and Dr. Grace Gipson, this discussion is part of the Schomberg Center’s ongoing “Black Feminist Futures Series” that highlights the relationship between Afrofuturism and Black feminism in literature, film, art, fashion, community organizing, and other genres.
This event will be livestreamed on Vimeo and YouTube.
Sunday, February 20
11:30 a.m., E.S.T.
Online via Zoom
Gather the little ones for virtual story time! Join staff members from the New-York Historical Society for a special Zoom-based event featuring songs, dances, games, arts & crafts, and story book reading for children ages 3–6!
Sat., Feb. 19 – Sun., Feb. 27
Brooklyn Children’s Museum @ 145 Brooklyn Avenue
Cost: $13 (free for children under 1 year old)
Join the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and the Àṣẹ Dance Theater Collective for a week of reflection and future-forward fun inspired by Black History Month. Attendees can look forward to interactive dance performances, storytelling, a Genea-Djali workshop, tasty local food, quilting workshops, and more.
Tickets can be purchased online on the Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s website.
Wed., Feb. 23 – Sun., Jun. 19
Manhattan—The Africa Center at Aliko Dangote Hall @ 1280 Fifth Avenue
Cost: $15 General Admission for Adults; $7 for Youth (5–17 years of age)
Discounts available for select groups, including seniors, military personnel, and students
(optional Shoebox Lunch adds $14 to general admission)
The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD)’s new exhibition, “African/American: Making the Nation’s Table,” looks at Black Americans’ contributions to our nation’s culinary culture over the past 400 years. Black culinary traditions and choices have shaped much of what our country farms, cooks, drinks, and eats, and this exhibition helps attendees better understand that African American food is American food.
Sunday, February 27
11:30 a.m., E.S.T.
Online via Zoom
Gather the little ones! Join staff members from the New-York Historical Society for a special Presidents Day-edition of virtual story time (ages 3–6) on Zoom featuring President Barack Obama’s book, “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.” Then after the book reading, participating children will be asked to create their own letters to the people that are important to them!
All month long
Online at nycgovparks.org
Virtual event
The Poe Park Visitor Center in the Bronx is hosting the selected works of five powerful and thought-provoking artists for its virtual 2022 Black History Month exhibition. Held exclusively online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this gallery features incredible work that communicates each artist’s personal views regarding the Black experience.
In this video, DOE Chancellor David Banks shares his personal favorite heroes from Black history. Who are your Black history heroes? Discuss your favorites with friends and family all month long!
Black History Resources and Online Exhibits
In what has become a yearly tradition, we’ve curated a list of outstanding book selections regarding Black history and the Black experience that City families and educators can read with their children all month long and beyond. This year’s list is divided into four grade levels (grades 3-K through 12), so City students of all ages will be able to join in on our citywide BHM celebration, one page at a time!
This collection of 100+ e-books and audiobooks is available free to DOE students and teachers via the Sora app. Some of the books in the collection even made our BHM booklist—simply log into Sora with your DOE credentials, and start borrowing!
Created by designing the WE, “Undesign the Redline” is a project that highlights modern-day structural inequities with explicitly racist origins that continue to have negative affects on Black communities across the country. At the core of this project is an interactive exhibit that invites participants to learn the history of redlining, interact with the stories, and begin undoing structural inequities.
On Undesign the Redline’s webpage, you can watch videos about the history of redlining and its modern-day legacy, and you can explore the project’s interactive exhibit virtually right in your browser.
This archive of new and recent educational resources relating to Black studies, movements, and experiences has been curated by staff members at NYPL’s Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture. Organized into 27 themes, this page features an exhaustive listing of the extensive scholarship, research, media, exhibits, and literature held by NYPL that are focused on African American, African diaspora, and Black experiences. From a virtual recap of NYPL’s Tenth Annual Black Comic Book Festival held earlier this year, to links to the Schomberg Center’s Black Liberation Reading Lists for adults, teens, and young children, the #SchomburgSyllabus is an incredible online resource that combines digital and analog resources for students and educators alike.
This online exhibition by NYPL’s Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture explores the 22 Black men who were elected to the U.S. Congress from 1870–1898 following the end of the U.S. Civil War. Learn about the Reconstruction era in which these men were elected to public office, and understand how the end of Reconstruction and the start of the Jim Crow era would bring about the end of Black representation in U.S. Congress for almost three decades.
This year, the National Museum of African American History & Culture is celebrating Black History Month through the lens of Black health and wellness. On the museum’s official BHM website, you can access stories about the historical significance of doulas and midwives to Black families and the importance of self-care, as well as online exhibitions like “Without Consent,” which features the story of Henrietta Lacks and the controversy surrounding the unethical use of her cells without her or her family’s consent to develop vaccines and other medical treatments long after her death.
Aimed primarily at K–12 educators, this resource page contains links to outstanding articles, lesson plans, curricular resources, and think pieces that can help ensure the integration of Black history and experiences across all subjects. From links to articles like “Five Things Not to Do During Black History Month,” and “Teaching Hard History,” to connections to BHM resources from Reading Rockets, this page can help lead to engaging and thoughtful conversations about Black history and representation both inside and outside the classroom.
____
We hope these event and resource suggestions will help you and your family to discover the wealth of outstanding research, literature, art, and history available throughout the month and beyond. On behalf of the DOE, we wish everyone a thoughtful and engaging Black History Month.
Banner photo by August de Richelieu. Used under Creative Commons license. Original can be found on Pexels.
One Comment
You must log in to post a comment.