DC Public Library proudly celebrates Hallowed Grounds: Places of African American Memory during its annual Black History Month festivities from Feb. 1-29.
Enjoy a variety of programs like lectures, concerts, story times, a play and many more. You are also encouraged to use library resources like Historic Black Newspapers and FreedomFlix. Programs and resources are available to children ranging from ages birth to 12, teens ages 13-19 and adults.
Events
Click HERE to view all programs.
Featured Events:
February 9, 7:30 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Lost in the Stars: an Evening with the Washington National Opera
In partnership with the Washington National Opera, DC Public Library presents a discussion of the upcoming Kennedy Center program, Lost in the Stars.
Tom Minter and members of Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist program offer a preview of the company’s upcoming production of Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars, based on the novel Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. Artists will perform musical excerpts with live piano accompaniment. Two pairs of tickets to see the live production will be raffled courtesy of the Washington National Opera.
February 20, 2 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Screening of “Through a Lens Darkly” with Director Thomas Allen Harris
We are excited to have Director Thomas Allen Harris with us as we screen his documentaryThrough a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People. The film brings to light previously hidden and largely unknown images by both professional and vernacular African American photographers which add to our understanding of history by providing a window into lives, experiences and perspectives of Black families that is absent from the traditional historical canon.
Following the screening, Harris will speak about the importance of personal archiving and his involvement in the community engagement project the Digital Diaspora Family Reunion Roadshow, which collected 6000 images from personal family archives across the USA.
This event will be held in conjunction with the launch of the DC Public Library’s new Memory Lab, a DIY space for personal digital archiving.
Online Resources
Your Library has a wealth of online resources that can help enrich your African-American history, life and culture, from Colonial times and slavery, to the Civil War, to the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights movement. It all can be found in Black Studies Online Research.
