Black History is everywhere, from the arts to museums, libraries, educational institutions, and even parks. Thursday launched Black History Month with a host of events, performances and exhibits to celebrate and highlight contributions from the African diaspora. The theme is chosen every year by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, whose precursor organization first designated a weeklong commemoration in 1926.
African Americans and the Arts is this year’s theme, and there is an unending array of events marking the contributions and expressions of Black artists from every discipline. Here is a sampling.
From the Victoria to the Village: A Visual History of Black Creative Spaces
Exhibit through April 30
Explores Black artists and creativity from the 1950s through the early 2000s via the work of photographer and gallerist Alex Harsley. Free and open to the public.
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria Theater, 233 West 125 St., First Floor, New York, NY 10027
The Ways of Langston Hughes: Griff Davis and Black Artists in the Making
Exhibit through July 8
This New York Public Library exhibit of the Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes juxtaposes archival material with photographs by Griffith J. Davis, a longtime friend of Hughes. Free and open to the public.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd., New York, NY 10037
Kwanzaa Film Festival presents “Celebrating Films That Heal”
Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
A daylong symposium of screenings, panel discussions and an award ceremony. Admission is free but pre-registration is recommended.
The Forum at Columbia University Auditorium, 601 West 125th St., New York, NY 10027
Feb. 9, 7 p.m.
“An Unsung Symphony”
Harlem musical group The Unsung Collective, plus members of the New York Philharmonic and soprano Nia Drummond, perform William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony and Jessie Montgomery’s Five Freedom Songs at New York State’s oldest African American church. Tickets are $30.
Mother AME Zion Church, 140-6 West 137th St., Harlem, NY 10030
Drunk Black History
Feb. 10, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)
Comedian Charles McBee will host a panel of “comedians who are skunked out of their mind trying to recap the biography of a historical black figure or event.” Watch in person for $30 ($20 early bird tickets available until Feb. 3) or via livestream for $10.
Caveat*, 21 A Clinton St., New York, NY 10002
The Harlem Chamber Players Black History Month Celebration
Feb. 15, 6:30-8 p.m.
Haitian flutist and singer Nathalie Joachim is joined by several musical artists. Free and open to the public but RSVP is required.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Taking Care: Artists and Scholars Discussion
Feb. 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6)
Artists Elissa Blount Moorhead and Bradford Young will discuss the exhibit Taking Care: The “Black Angels” of Sea View Hospital with scholars Debbie-Ann Paige, Rita Reynolds and Lisa Holland. The exhibit explores the work, lives and legacy of the Black nurses “who broke racial barriers and risked their lives to care for tuberculosis patients and administer the clinical trials that forever changed the trajectory of this horrific disease,” sponsor JP Morgan Chase says in its description. Limited capacity, registration strongly recommended.
$15 adults/$10 members. Free for students
Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor
Virtual Black History Month 5K
Feb. 17-24
The New York Road Runners Club invites runners to “celebrate the contributions of the Black community throughout history, including runners, pioneers, and trailblazers” by running a 5K anywhere between those dates. Worth checking out in tandem with the virtual run is the New York Historical Society exhibit through Feb. 25, Running for Civil Rights: The New York Pioneer Club, 1936-1976. Free.
New York Road Runners Club, Online
Brooklyn and the Abolitionist Movement
Feb. 18, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
New York City’s Urban Park Rangers will give a tour showcasing “Brooklyn’s significant history to the abolitionist movement in the United States,” the New York City Parks Department says. Free; registration begins on Feb. 7 and ends Feb. 16. NYC Parks has a host of events both online and off scattered throughout the month, and highlights Black history all around the city’s parks on its website.
Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Corner of Furman and Old Fulton Streets
African Diaspora Film Festival (ADFF)
Feb. 23-25
Films galore include documentaries, features and shorts showcasing Black artistry. Tickets for each screening are $13 general admission, 11 for students.
Teachers College, Columbia University
Harlem Fine Arts Show 16th Black Art Expo NYC
Feb. 23-25
This Black art expo also includes celebrations of African Americans in medicine and in finance. Tickets start at $34.12.
The Glasshouse, 660 12th Ave., New York, NY 10019
Black History Month Concert at Brooklyn Public Library
Feb. 24, 4-5:30 p.m.
Ashley Horne and Claire Chan on violin, William Frampton on the viola and Wayne Smith, cello. Free and open to the public, RSVP required
10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238
The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism
Feb. 25 (through July 28)
About 160 works of painting, sculpture, photography, film, and ephemera will explore Black artists’ portrayals of everyday modern life from the 1920s through 1940s and show the works’ central role in the development of international modern art. Free with museum admission.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
