Black History Month Events 2023 in New York City
February is Black History Month. Throughout the month, take the time to celebrate the accomplishments and sacrifices of African Americans that have helped shape our world today. We’ve rounded up this list of family-friendly events all over New York to help you celebrate all month long!
Click on your preferred region to jump down to that section:
Psst… Check out these 10 Tips on How to Begin the Camp Search!
Manhattan
Harlem Renaissance: A Celebration of Black Brilliance
Children’s Museum of Manhattan, 212 W. 83rd St., Upper West Side
January 31-February 26, Tuesdays-Sundays, 10am-5pm
All ages
$16; $13 visitor with disabilities and seniors 65 and older; free for children younger than 1
The Harlem Renaissance, a golden age in African American culture, was rich in artistic activity. Literature, music, stage performance, and art erupted from the 1910s to the mid-1930s.
Artists proclaimed pride in Black life and identity, shared the truths of inequality, and shared their ideas for the changing modern world. CMOM invites you to participate in art and design workshops and activities that re-introduce us all to the many artists and art forms that came out of this era.
Museum of Ice Cream Celebrates Black History Month
Museum of Ice Cream, 558 Broadway, NoHo
February 1-28, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 11am-7pm; Fridays, 11am-8pm; Saturdays, 10am-8pm; Sundays, 10am-7pm
All ages
Tickets start at $25
Museum of Ice Cream New York City celebrates Black History Month by partnering with Mikey Likes It Ice Cream, a black-owned, pop culture-inspired ice cream shop.
Guests will enjoy unlimited samples of Mikey Likes It Ice Cream’s truffle shuffle ice cream made with milk chocolate ice cream, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and mini chocolate covered marshmallows.
COQUÍ CLUB: Honoring Black & Afro-Latino Artists
El Museo del Barrio, 1230 5th Ave., East Harlem
Saturday, February 4, 9:30-10:30am or second session 11am-12pm
Ages 0-5
Free.
Advanced registration required.
February is an opportunity to honor and highlight the accomplishments of many Black leaders in our community. This Coqui Club will be spotlighting some very special Black and Afro-Latinx artists and explore a little more about their identities as Black and Latino!
Enjoy a story, explore the gallery and take part in a special art-making activity together.
Living History: Meet an 18th-century Black Tradesperson
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park W., Upper West Side
Sunday, February 12, 1-3pm
All ages
Included with admission: $22; $17 seniors, educators, active military; $13 students; $6 ages 5-13; free for children younger than 5
Learn about 18th-century trades through the experiences of free black tradesmen such as potter Thomas W. Commeraw. Find out what life was like for these skilled artisans and create a craft to spark your interest in 18th-century crafts!
This program is presented in connection to the exhibition Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Free Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw.
Black History Month: Seneca Village
Central Park, 81st Street and Central Park West, Upper West Side
Sunday, February 19, 1-2:30pm
All ages
Free
Learn about the lives of Seneca Village’s residents in the 1800’s and the community’s place in pre-Central Park.
Valentines Day at the Jackie Robinson Museum
One Hudson Square Building, 75 Varick St
Saturday, Feb. 11, 12-3pm
All ages
Free with museum admission
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a special look at the loving partnership between Jackie and Rachel Robinson and the Robinson family. Take a peek at items from the Robinson Family collection not regularly on display, enjoy highlight tours of the Museum, and participate in story time and hands-on activities for children. Click here to learn more and get your tickets.
Jackie Robinson, All-Star! Midwinter Break Drop-in Activities
One Hudson Square Building, 75 Varick St
Friday, Feb. 24, 12-3pm
All ages
Free with museum admission
Meet Jackie Robinson, the All-Star athlete through interactive and creative activities to complement your Museum visit. Explore athletic challenges to rival Robinson’s record-setting feats, dig deeper into his experience as a multi-sport athlete, strike a pose in custom photo ops, and learn more about how Jackie Robinson and other African American athlete activists used their platforms to advance social change. Click here to learn more and get your tickets today.
Brooklyn
The Rock and Roll Playhouse Plays the Music of Beyoncé for Kids + More: Black History Month Celebration
Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg
Sunday, February 12, 12pm
Ages 0-10
$15; free for children younger than 1.
Celebrate the music of Black artists that have contributed to today’s music scene.
Black Future Festival
Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Ave., Crown Heights
February 19-26, 10am-5pm, daily
All ages
$13
Join the museum for a week of reflection and future-forward fun inspired by the national celebration of peoples of the African Diaspora and Black History Month.
Together with festival curator Àṣẹ Dance Theater Collective, experience interactive dance performances, storytelling, genealogy workshops, art-making in the ColorLab art studio, tasty food, and more.
The 3rd Annual Black Creatives and Culture Market
Da Spot, 445 Albee Square West, Downtown Brooklyn
February 24-26, Friday-Sunday, 11am-7pm
All ages
Free
This three-day weekend long event will feature local creative Black-owned and POC brands at City Point BKLYN on Prince Street and inside Brooklyn Studios.
The curated market will include vendors in Fashion, Beauty, Wellness, Food and Lifestyle Goods as well as an art gallery, conversation series, special performances, exhibits and live DJ.
Black History Month: Herbert Von King Park History and Cleanup
Herbert Von King Park, 670 Lafayette Ave., Bedford Stuyvesant
Sunday, February 26, 1-2:30pm
All ages
Free
Celebrate Black History Month with the NYC Parks!
Participate in an afternoon of service in this local neighborhood park and learn about important African American activists Herbert Von King and Hattie Carthan; two remarkable leaders during the last century that helped to build community and inspired stewardship in the surrounding historic neighborhood.
Queens
Black History Month Trilogy #1 – The Chuck Berry Rock & Roll Concert Party
Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing
Friday, February 3, 8-10pm
All ages
$15
Flushing Town Hall kicks off its 2023 Black History Month Trilogy (also known as African-American History Month) by celebrating one of the founding fathers of Rock & Roll, Chuck Berry. His profound impact on the genre has named his music as the DNA of Rock & Roll itself.
Enjoy an energetic night celebrating Chuck Berry’s music and legacy performed by Keith “The Captain” Gamble.
A New York premier Vocalist and Blues Guitarist, Keith Gamble, who is also a Chuck Berry initiate, has performed with his band in Europe, Africa and in venues across America.
Hands On History: Supreme Black History
King Manor Museum, 150-03 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica
Saturday, February 18, 1-4pm
All ages
Free
Celebrate Black History Month with King Manor Museum as they highlight Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court Justice and lawyer in the Brown v Board of Education court case (1954), and current Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to be on the Supreme Court!
Rufus King, like them, was a lawyer and has a collection of wooden gavels made from the trees in his yard. Design your own gavel to hold your own mock trials and inspire a future career in the justice system.
Black History Month STEAM & Paint
Lewis Latimer House Museum at Laurelton Library, 134-26 225 St., Laurelton
Saturday, February 18, 3-4pm
All ages
Free
Lewis Latimer House Museum will be hosting a painting celebration where kids will learn about African Tribal Adinkra symbols. Families will use their own personal stories to bring their favorite symbols to life on canvas using acrylic paint.
In the end, participants will view their creations in the dark under a blacklight to see how they come to life and shine.
Black History Month: Flushing Freedom Mile
Daniel Carter Beard Mall, Northern Boulevard and Linden Place, Flushing
Saturday, February 25, 11am-12:30pm
All ages
Free
Celebrate Black History Month with the Urban Park Rangers.
Go for a walk of the Flushing Freedom Mile and learn about Queens historic landmarks including the John Bowne House, the Lewis Latimer House, the Friends Meeting House and their connection to freedom via the Underground Railroad, as well as activists instrumental in paving the way to universal human liberties.
Bronx
Rooted in Plants: Celebrate Black History Month
New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd., Bronx
January 17-February 28, Tuesdays-Sundays, 10am-5pm
Self-Guided Exploration: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Guided Activities: Weekdays, 1:30–4:30 p.m.; Weekends, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Storytime: 2:30 p.m. on weekends and holiday Mondays, weather permitting
All ages
$4-$30
Celebrate Black History Month by learning about the ways in which people of the African Diaspora have contributed to our understanding and uses of plants around the world!
Investigate seeds native to Africa and create your own plant maze light box experiment to learn about the amazing Black botanist Marie Clark Taylor, who was awarded the first science Ph.D. for a woman at Fordham University. Discover inspirational stories about Black STEM professionals from history and today.
Heroes Day Celebration: Dance, Music, & Theater Performances
P.S. 041 Gun Hill Road, 3352 Olinville Avenue, Bronx
Saturday, February 11, 7-8:30pm
All ages
Free
Advanced registration required.
Celebrate some of the icons, living legends and changemakers of Black History with performances by music, dance and theater students.
Black History Month: The Birthplace of Hip-Hop
Cedar Playground, West 179th Street & Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx
Saturday, February 18, 1-2pm
All ages
Free
Join the Urban Park Rangers at Cedar Playground as they highlight the site that birthed hip-hop. In 1973, hip-hop was born in the Bronx at a recreational room party and then moved to Cedar Playground.
Teen Design Space: Canvas Bag Design (Black History Month Edition)
Castle Hill Library, 947 Castle Hill Avenue, Bronx
Tuesday, February 28, 4pm
Ages 13-18
Free
Explore your creative side and design “Black History Month” inspired canvas bags! No experience is needed and all materials will be provided.
Staten Island
George Washington Carver’s Contribution to Agriculture
Fairview Park, at Englewood Avenue, W. Shore Expressway, Veterans Road W., Staten Island
Sunday, February 19, 1-2pm
All ages
Free
In celebration of Black History Month, learn about George Washington Carver, the agricultural scientist and environmentalist, and identify plant species throughout the park.
Kid Flicks: Celebrating Black Stories
Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island
Saturday, February 11, 2-3:30pm
All ages
$5-$12
Black stories take the spotlight in seven short films that share the joy, determination, resilience, and complexity of being Black and young. Explore a range of genres and styles in a program that spans the globe from the New York International Children’s Film Festival.
Long Island
AdvoKids: Black History Month
Long Island Children’s Museum, 11 Davis Avenue, Garden City
February 4-5, Saturday and Sunday, 11 am – 1 pm
Ages 4 and older
Included with admission: $17; $16 ages 65 and older
Learn why Black History Month began and the importance of why it is celebrated. Visitors will create a “peace plate” to display in their home.
Black History Month- The Art of Jean-Michel Basquiat
Connetquot River State Park Preserve, 4090 Sunrise Hwy., Oakdale
Saturday, February 11, 10am-12pm
Ages 12 and older
$4
Advanced registration required.
Basquiat painted many self-portraits. Through these works, he explored his identity as an African-American man. His paintings were also tributes to African American historical figures, jazz musicians, sports personalities and writers. Use his art as inspiration to create your own self portrait.
Space Craft
Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center, Jones Beach State Park 150 Bay Parkway, Wantagh
Saturday, February 18, 10:30am-12pm
Ages 7-10
$4
Advanced registration required.
Celebrate Black History Month with a nebula craft to acknowledge the scientific contributions of Katherine Johnson, Mae Jemison, and other scientists and engineers of color.
Black History Month: Superheroes
The Hampton Library, 2478 Main Street, Bridgehampton
Saturday, February 18, 1:30-3:30pm
All ages
Free
Advanced registration required
Curious about real-life and fictitious superheroes? Watch Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, play some games and make some crafts.
Black History: Build-A-Boat Workshop
The Whaling Museum and Education Center, 301 Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor
Tuesday, February 21 and Friday, February 24, 1 – 3 pm
All ages
$8; $6 seniors and children ages 4-17; free for members, active military with ID, and children 3 and younger PLUS $10 and $5 for members
Learn about African American whalers who designed, built and worked on whaling ships in the 19th century. Drop in to imagine, design and create unique wooden vessel models out of a variety of materials in this open-ended workshop.
Rockland/Bergen
Black History Month Story Time
Ho-Ho-Kus’s Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library, 91 Warren Avenue, Ho-Ho-Kus
Monday, February 6, 10:30-11am
Ages 2-5
Free
Advanced registration required
This story time for little ones will feature books in celebration of Black History Month.
African Clay Mask Making
Haverstraw King’s Daughters Public Library, Main Library, 10 W. Ramapo Road, Garnerville
Saturday, February 11, 1pm
Ages 8-15
Ages 5-7 with a caregiver
Free
Advanced registration required
Celebrate Black History Month with this introduction to African cultures through art, and explore your own creativity at the same time. In the workshop each person makes and decorates their own clay mask.
Then they inscribe the back with their name or any other message they choose and then hang it on the wall or give it to someone as a gift. The workshop includes storytelling from the Kingdom of Benin and the learning of Nigerian greetings.
Washington’s Birthday Celebration at the New Windsor Cantonment
New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site, 374 Temple Hill Road, New Windsor
Saturday, February 18, 2pm
All ages
Free
Learn the important role African American soldiers played during the American Revolution.
From Africa to Zydeco
Fair Lawn Library, 10-01 Fair Lawn Ave., Fair Lawn
Friday, February 17, 2-2:45pm
Ages 4-8
Free
Advanced registration required
Fit4Kids presents a music program to celebrate Black History Month. Professional musicians will perform an interactive show of roots music from Africa to Louisiana using guitar, piano & more.
