The library will host a full line-up of programs for Black History Month. Whether you watch a performance, attend a lecture, view a film, or participate in a book discussion, we hope you will visit the library over the coming weeks to learn with us about Black history and culture! Read on for a full list of upcoming events and recommended reads from our collection.
PROGRAMMING
- Bright Star Theatre: Black History’s Groundbreaking Geniuses
- Friday, February 2, 4-5PM at Twin Hickory
- Saturday, February 3, 10-11AM at Varina
- Black History is filled with amazing inventors, artists, and thinkers who changed the world. Be educated and entertained by professional acting troupe Bright Star Theatre as they bring Black History to life. We'll learn about scientists like surgeon Daniel Hale Williams, mathematicians like Dorothy Vaughan, writers like Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou, and artists like Alvin Ailey.
- Waters of Hope & Despair: African Americans and the Chesapeake Bay
- Saturday, February 3, 11AM-12PM at Tuckahoe
- Discover the history of Africans and African Americans in the Chesapeake Bay region from the early 1600s through today with Historian Wisteria Perry of the Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News.
- Bright Star Theatre: Meet Dr. King
- Saturday, February 3, 2-3PM at Fairfield
- Experience this theatrical adaptation of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., designed for children to learn about the legacy of Dr. King and the broader Civil Rights Movement. The play follows Dr. King's life from youth to adulthood: experiencing racism for the first time as a boy, meeting his wife, Coretta, becoming a pastor, and finally becoming a national inspiration.
- Black History Trivia
- Saturday, February 3, 3-4PM at North Park
- Best for grades K-5. Test your knowledge and learn more about Black History. If you are lucky, you may win a prize courtesy of the Friends of the Library.
- Elegba Folklore Society: The Talking Gourd
- Monday, February 5, 6-7PM at Fairfield
- Thursday, February 8, 6-7PM at Glen Allen
- Attend an interactive and culturally enriching presentation from Richmond's Elegba Folklore Society. Learn about Mother Africa's global contributions and influence through oral histories, music, and ceremony. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
- Hip Hop: A History
- Tuesday, February 6, 6-7PM at Fairfield
- Thursday, February 8, 6-7PM at Libbie Mill
- Learn all about Hip Hop's roots from Richmond's Hip Hop Historian, JayQuan, who has been performing and documenting Hip Hop history since the 1970s.
- Supreme Court Case: Green v. County School Board of New Kent County (1968)
- Tuesday, February 6, 6:30-8PM at Tuckahoe
- Associate Professor of History at VCU, Dr. Brian Daugherity, will discuss his original research on the 1968 United States Supreme Court caseGreen v. County School Board of New Kent County. This case was important to school integration efforts in Virginia.
- Teen Art Studio: Black History Month Edition
- Tuesday, February 20, 6-8PM at Varina
- For this edition of Teen Art Studio, we will explore Black brilliance, innovation, and creativity of contemporary artists for Black History Month with some fun, hands-on cultural activities! All artistic skill levels are welcome and materials will be provided. Books will be available for checkout to continue learning at home.
- Explore Virginia Hip Hop History
- Thursday, February 22, 6:30-7:30PM at Libbie Mill
- Learn about William & Mary's Hip Hop Collection with Jay Gaidmore, Director of Special Collections in Earl Gregg Swem Library. The collection includes oral histories committed to preserving and documenting Virginia’s rich Hip Hop past, as well as recordings of Hip Hop music, publications, and ephemera created by Virginia and Virginia-based artists, collectives, and businesses from the 1980s to the present.
FILMS
- Black History Month Film Festival at Twin Hickory Library
- During this year's festival, our focus is on the multi-talented actor, writer, producer, and director Jordan Peele.
- Feel Good Films: Hidden Figures
- Monday, February 12, 10AM-1PM at Twin Hickory
- Black Film Spotlight at Fairfield Library
- Feb. 14, 6-8PM: Eve’s Bayou (1997, R, 108 min.)
- Feb. 21, 6-8PM: Pariah (2011, R, 86 min.)
- Feb. 22, 6-8PM: Summer of Soul (2021, PG-13, 118 min.)
- Feb. 28, 6-8PM: Waiting to Exhale (1995, R, 124 min.)
- Black History Month Filmathon
- Friday, February 16, 10AM – 5PM at Libbie Mill
- Join us for a day-long filmathon that will immerse you in powerful stories, captivating performances, and thought-provoking narratives that pay tribute to the rich and diverse stories of Black culture and history. Light snacks will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
- 10AM: Race (2016, PG-13, 135 min.)
- 12:30PM: The Woman King (2022, R, 135 min.)
- 3PM: Get Out (2017, R, 103 min.)
BOOK DISCUSSIONS
- Libbie Mill LGBTQIA+ Book Discussion
- Tuesday, February 6, 7-8PM at Libbie Mill
- The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
- Tuckahoe Afternoon Fiction Book Discussion
- Thursday, February 8, 1-2PM at Tuckahoe
- Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
- Gayton Evening Book Discussion
- Monday, February 12, 7-8PM at Gayton
- The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
- Savvy Sandston Book Discussion
- Wednesday, February 14, 7-8PM at Sandston
- The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
- Fairfield Black Authors Book Discussion
- Tuesday, February 20, 7-8PM at Fairfield
- You Are the Best Thing by Tarana Burke
- Libbie Mill Afternoon and Evening Book Discussions
- Wednesday, February 21, 1-2PM and 7-8PM at Libbie Mill
- Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
- North Park Evening Book Discussion
- Monday, February 26, 7-8PM at North Park
- How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? By N.K. Jemisin
COLLECTION
EASY (PICTURE BOOKS)
- Abdul’s Story by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
- All Because You Matter and We Are Here by Tami Charles (also available on Hoopla)
- Bright Brown Baby: A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney (also available on Hoopla)
- Harlem at Four by Michael Datcher
- Joy Takes Root by Gwendolyn Wallace
- Jump In! by Shadra Strickland
- Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña (also available on Hoopla)
- Magic Like That by Samara Cole Doyon
- There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds
- Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual by Carole Boston Weatherford
KIDS
- Ada Twist, Scientist series by Andrea Beaty (also available on Hoopla)
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
- Curlfriends: New in Town by Sharee Miller
- Dragons in a Bag series by Zetta Elliott
- Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
- So Done by Paula Chase (also available on Hoopla)
- Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
- Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (also available on Hoopla)
- Young, Gifted and Black by Jamia Wilson (also available on Hoopla)
- Your Legacy: A Bold Reclaiming of Our Enslaved History by Schele Williams (also available on Hoopla)
TEENS
- The Awakening of Malcom X by Ilyasah Shabazz
- Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert (also available on Hoopla)
- Brooms by Jasmine Walls (also available on Hoopla)
- Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado (also available on Hoopla)
- Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas (also available on Hoopla)
- Cool. Awkward. Black. by Karen Strong
- Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
- The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus
- The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
- Tales of the Talented Tenth series by Joel Christian Gill (also available on Hoopla)
ADULT
- All About Love by Bell Hooks (also available on Hoopla)
- Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor (also available on Hoopla)
- Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk (also available on Hoopla)
- The Ground Breaking: The Tulsa Race Massacre and an American City’s Search for Justice by Scott Ellsworth
- Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen by George McCalman (also available on Hoopla)
- Lot Stories by Bryan Washington
- Magical Negro: Poems by Morgan Parker
- My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby
- The Neighbor Favorby Kristina Forest
- The Talk by Darrin Bell
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- Well-Read Black Girl by Glory Edim