-
Free Events for Adults
Discover events across the Library to celebrate Black History Month. From book discussions to painting, creative writing, and music groups, find out how you can get involved.
- Explore All Events
- Events from the Schomburg Center
-
Black History Month programs for kids and teens include special storytimes, STEAM activities, movie screenings, arts and crafts, comic book chats, and much more!
Explore All Events
-
Christian McBride with Nelson George: ‘The Movement Revisited’
Mon, Feb 26 | 7 PM | Stephen A. Schwarzman Building & Online
Grammy-winning bassist and composer Christian McBride will join critic Nelson George for a conversation about the intersection of art and advocacy, and the responsibilities we have to build upon the legacies of generations past.
-
Get Lit February Book Club with Tananarive Due
Wed, Feb 28 | 6 PM | Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) & Online
Join award-winning author Tananarive Due and WNYC’s Alison Stewart for a conversation about Due’s book, The Reformatory: a gripping, haunting work of historical fiction set in the Jim Crow South in the 1950s. Due will take audience questions and musical artist Jake Blount will perform after the conversation.
Exhibition | The Ways of Langston Hughes: Griff Davis and Black Artists in the Making
Through July 8 | Schomburg Center
Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes held friendships with artists across generations and disciplines, forging connections and building a network of Black creatives and intellectuals who responded to, and shaped, the current events of the time. During a visiting professorship at Atlanta University, Hughes met student and photojournalist Griffith J. Davis, who went on to become a longtime friend and Ebony magazine’s first roving editor. In this exhibition, Davis’ photography is complemented by archival material and letters from the Schomburg Center’s collections.
Learn More
-
Explore the new digital guide for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, now featuring readings of Arturo Schomburg’s essay “The Negro Digs Up His Past” and Langston Hughes’s poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” Plus, discover holdings relating to Black artists in the Library for the Performing Arts guide and new items showcasing Black achievements from the Polonsky Exhibition on the NYPL guide. Download Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app, to access these features and many more.
Learn More
-
Explore the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures with Library Experts
Hear Dalila Scruggs, Curator of the Photographs and Prints Division at the Schomburg Center, discussing Elizabeth Catlett's sculpture Political Prisoner, on view now in the Polonsky Exhibition.
Learn More
Treasures: Free Downloadable Activities for Kids
Celebrate Black History Month with these bilingual family-friendly exhibition worksheets. Explore the Polonsky Exhibition to solve a special treasure hunt, crossword puzzle, and word search!
- Crossword Puzzle (English)
- Crucigrama (español)
- Treasure Hunt (English)
- Búsqueda del tesoro (español)
- Word Search (English)
- Búsqueda de palabras (español)
Resources for All Ages
Discover book recommendations, articles, listicles, and research ideas from our expert librarians and staff.
- Book Pairings to Delve Deeper Into Images in the Digital Collections: Black History Month Edition
- Middle Grade and Teen Graphic Novels for Learning About Black History
- Lasting Impact: 25 Recent Picture Book Biographies for Black History Month
- Celebrate Black History Month with Poetry for Kids
- Explore NYPL's Black Culture blog channel
- See the full calendar of Black History Month events
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, one of The New York Public Library’s renowned research libraries, is a world-leading cultural institution devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences.
- Learn about the Schomburg Center’s research divisions and further resources.
- Visit the Schomburg Shop online.
- Sign up for the Schomburg Connection e-newsletter.
Researching Black History at NYPL
The Library offers myriad ways to engage with Black history, including hundreds of thousands of items in circulation, the archival collections of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, LibGuides, and more. Discover where to begin with iconic figures including Maya Angelou, Paul Robeson, Nat King Cole, and Zora Neale Hurston.
Learn More
Black History Month at the Library for the Performing Arts
Join The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts for events to celebrate Black History Month.
- Thurs, Feb 22 | 6 PM | Good is Powerful Beyond Measure:Book Launch and Discussion
- Wed, Feb 28 | 1 PM |The Dance Historian Is In: Performance as Research in the Afrofuture
-
Black History Month at the Center for Educators & Schools: Events
Discover free programs for educators and librarians to celebrate Black History Month.
- Wed, Feb 28 | 4 PM | Living History: Teaching About Emancipation, Celebration, and Black Joy
- Thurs, Feb 29 | 5 PM | Searching for Augusta Savage: Film Screening and Discussion
-
Teaching Tools and Recommended Reading
Explore teaching tools and titles recommended by our expert staff at the Center for Educators and Schools.
Teaching Tools
- To Make Public Our Joy: Black New Yorkers Commemorating Emancipation, 1808–1865
- Teaching Histories of Black Americans During World War II with The New York Public Library
Recommended Reading
- Vibrant Voices
#SchomburgSyllabus
The #SchomburgSyllabus is an archive of new and recent educational resources relating to Black studies, movements, and experiences. By connecting these materials to the Schomburg Center’s collections, we honor and recognize the source and strength of Black self-education practices, collective study, and librarianship. The #SchomburgSyllabus is curated by Schomburg Center staff and organized into 27 themes to foster a greater understanding of the Black experience.
Learn More
Explore the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List
For nearly a century, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has preserved, protected, and fostered a greater understanding of the Black experience through its collections, exhibitions, programs, and scholarship. In response to the uprisings across the globe demanding justice for Black lives in 2020, the Schomburg Center published its Black Liberation Reading List. The 95 titles on the list represent books we and the public turn to regularly as activists, students, archivists, and curators, with a particular focus on books by Black authors and those whose papers we steward. Explore the lists for kids, teens, and adults, and discover which titles are available in accessible formats.
-
Adults
-
Kids
-
Teens
Black History Month: More Suggested Reading
Explore these thematic reading lists that complement and expand on the Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading Listand discover the lives and legacies of influential Black figures, key moments in the history of Black America, and picture books for younger readers celebrating Black characters and families.
- History Writing
- Black Women in History
- Picture Books
-
Online Exhibitions
Explore web exhibitions presenting an array of special materials from the Schomburg Center.
- Georgia on My Mind: Black Politicians in Congress
- Femmetography: The Gaze Shifted
- Watercolors Amongst Friends
-
Watch Now: Past Events
Discover a series of special conversations with creative storytellers—composers and pianists, photographers, educators, and art critics.
- In Defense of Teaching Black Studies: Reading, Writing & Justice
- LIVE from NYPL | Dilla Time: Dan Charnas and Jason Moran
- Been Seen: The Photography of Zora J. Murff
- “And the Category Is…” with Ricky Tucker
-
Get Updates from the Schomburg Center
Sign up for the latest news, events, exhibitions, and programs from the Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Learn More
-
Schomburg Shop
Visit the Schomburg Shop and see a selection of books, clothing items, tote bags, mugs, and more created by Black and Brown artists for all ages.
-
Support the Schomburg Center
Are you passionate about our mission to celebrate and preserve Black culture and history? Join the Schomburg Society today for discounts, invitations to exclusive events, and more.
Learn More
-
Get a Digital Library Card
With a digital library card you get free access to the Library’s wide array of digital resources—including e-books, databases, educational resources, and more.
- English
- العَرَبِية
- বাঙালি
- 简体中文
- Français
- Kreyòl Ayisyen
- 한국어
- Polski
- Русский
- Español
- اُردُو
-
Download the NYPL App
Get the power of The New York Public Library, anytime, anywhere. With the NYPL app, you can access everything the Library has to offer from home or while you’re on the go.
- English
- Español
- 简体中文
- Русский
- বাংলা
- Français
-
Get Started with SimplyE
Download SimplyE, the Library's free e-reader app, which makes it easy to borrow e-books and audiobooks from a catalog of more than 300,000 titles.
Information available in:
- English
- Español
- 简体中文
- বাংলা
- Русский
