Black History Month

DC Public Library celebrates Black History Month

This February, we’re turning up the energy to honor Black history, culture, and achievement all month long! Join us for exciting programs and events that celebrate the voices and stories that have shaped our world. Dive into our online resources, including curated reading lists, digital archives, and interactive content that you can enjoy from anywhere. Whether you’re discovering new authors, exploring historical milestones, or engaging with cultural treasures, DC Public Library is your hub for learning and celebration this Black History Month. 

Upcoming Events

See All Upcoming Black History Month Events

Ecology Book Club: Holy Ground by Catherine Coleman Flowers

On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope

Ecology Book Club: Holy Ground by Catherine Coleman Flowers

On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope

Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library
AdultsSeniors

Black History Month Coloring Drop-In

Black History Month Coloring Drop-In

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library - Central Library
Birth - 55 - 12 Years Old13 - 19 Years Old (Teens)AdultsSeniors

Cinema @ NW1: The Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975

Cinema @ NW1: The Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975

Northwest One Neighborhood Library
AdultsSeniors

Terrific Movie Tuesdays

'King Richard'

Terrific Movie Tuesdays

'King Richard'

Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library
AdultsSeniors

Research and Learn

African American Music Reference

Essays and images on blues, jazz, spirituals, gospel, rhythm and blues, hip hop and rap and other forms of African American musical expression.

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

Freedom and Resistance

Freedom and Resistance

In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month, the DC Public Library presents Freedom and Resistance: An Exhibition Inspired by
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
Barry Farm: Uplifting a Living History, Ensuring a Just Future

Barry Farm: Uplifting a Living History, Ensuring a Just Future

Consisting of six freestanding panels, this traveling panel exhibit, organized by Empower DC and the DC Legacy Project, invites visitors to learn
Alma Thomas: Life is Color

Alma Thomas: Life is Color

Visit the exhibit Alma Thomas: Life is Color, on view on Floor 2 of the MLK Library during the library’s regular public hours. On the same floor, view

Stream Previous Black History Month Events

D.C. History

Julius Hobson Papers on Federal Job Discrimination

This collection contains selected digitized materials that document the efforts of activist Julius Hobson to end federal job discrimination through the courts in the Hobson v. Hampton case and through Congress.

Poor People's Campaign Collection

The DC Public Library's Poor People's Campaign Collection includes correspondence, promotional materials, memorabilia, newspapers, and song books documenting the 1968 Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City protest encampment on the National Mall.

Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence Artifact Collection

The Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence Artifact Collection consists of posters, banners, clothing, photographs, and ephemeral objects attached to the Black Lives Matter Memorial Fence (BLM Fence) surrounding Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C, from June 2020 to January 2021.

Black History Sites: Washington, DC

African Americans have been central to the culture, heritage and civic life of Washington, DC. This website records nearly 300 places associated with African American history and culture in the District of Columbia. These sites span the city's history from its creation in 1791, through the Civil War and Civil Rights eras to 1974—when DC gained Home Rule—and beyond.

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