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Black History Month: African Americans and Labor

This February, celebrate Black History Month with DC Public Library. The 2025 Black History Month theme, 'African Americans and Labor,' emphasizes the diverse and significant impact that all forms of work have had on the collective Black experience. From a traditional 9 to 5, to community building and activism, to creative and entrepreneurial industries, Black people's work, in all its forms, has been fundamental to shaping our lives, cultures, and histories, as well as the societies in which we live. Explore the contributions and impacts of Black labor through engaging events, recommended reads, online resources, and more with your DC Public Library card.

Upcoming Events by Type

See All Upcoming Black History Month Events

Black History Month Movie for Kids & Families

Our Friend Martin

Our Friend Martin

Black History Month Movie for Kids & Families

Our Friend Martin

5 - 12 Years Old

Read and Create

Featuring "Ruth and the Green Book"

Featuring "Ruth and the Green Book"

Read and Create

Featuring "Ruth and the Green Book"

5 - 12 Years Old

Cinema @ Northwest One

Rage in Harlem

Rage in Harlem

Cinema @ Northwest One

Rage in Harlem

AdultsSeniors

Stream Previous Black History Month Events

Research and Learn

NEW! HistoryMakers Digital Archive

The nation's largest African American video oral history collection containing content from thousands of individuals from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences and who have made significant contributions in American life or culture.

Historical Black Newspapers

This historical newspaper collection provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time. Coverage ranges between 1893 - 2010.

Kanopy

Stream Kanopy's Black History Month collection and over 30,000 movies & documentaries from hundreds of popular producers as well as thousands of independent filmmakers.

Ralph J. Bunche Oral Histories Collection on the Civil Rights Movement

Search over 700 transcriptions of interviews of individuals who made history in the struggles for voting rights, against discrimination in housing, for the desegregation of the schools, to expose racism in hiring, in defiance of police brutality, and to address poverty in the African American communities.

Fight for Racial Justice and the Civil Rights Congress

Search over 56,000 pages of the Civil Rights Congress (CRC) involvement in notable civil rights and civil liberties issues such as Willie McGee, the Trenton Six, Martinsville Seven and many others.

Jet Magazine Archive

Access the Jet Magazine Archive starting from 1970 through 2014. Jet Magazine Archive covers politics, education, and other social topics with an African American focus.

Exhibitions

Up from the People

Up from the People

Explore Up from the People: Protest and Change in D.C., the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library’s permanent exhibit. It is located outside The
The Negro Motorist Green Book

The Negro Motorist Green Book

Join us for the opening weekend of The Negro Motorist Green Book on Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library