Black History Month at NYPL
The New York Public Library celebrates Black History Month throughout February with events and programs, recommended reading, and a wide array of resources for all ages.
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.
Free Events & Programs for Kids & Teens
Black History Month programs for kids and teens include special storytimes, STEAM activities, movie screenings, arts and crafts, comic book chats, and much more!
Celebrating 100 Years of the Schomburg Center
A national landmark and storied research center located in the heart of Harlem, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is dedicated to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diasporic, and African experiences. This year, we’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding! Join us all year long for a wide array of special events, exhibitions, and more as we celebrate this milestone and continue the legacy of Arturo Schomburg.
Celebrating James Baldwin
Join us as we continue to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of writer and activist James Baldwin with special exhibitions, free programs, a special creative contest for teens, and more.
Arturo Schomburg’s Letters
As a collector, scholar, and curator, Arturo Schomburg exchanged many letters that paint a picture of him as a highly regarded authority on Black culture deeply engaged with a global community. Over 2,000 letters from his archive at the Schomburg Center are available in NYPL's Digital Collections. Explore some of his correspondence on Bloomberg Connects and see how he earned his reputation as “the Sherlock Holmes of Negro history.”
Please note: Bloomberg Connects is a third-party mobile application. See privacy notice below.
Treasures: Black Expression and Enterprise
Delve deeper into the Library’s collections with the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures. Discover our special Black History Month exhibition guide on Bloomberg Connects, featuring Black artists, writers, and activists who pushed boundaries and defied conventions. Whether pioneering new styles, speaking out against prejudice, or creating space for themselves, these figures refused to accept the status quo.
Image: Portrait of Audre Lorde by Robert Giard, 1987. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, The New York Public Library.
Please note: Bloomberg Connects is a third-party mobile app. See privacy notice below.
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 and crossword puzzle!
Center for Educators & Schools
Discover free Black History Month teaching tools and resources for educators and librarians from NYPL's Center for Educators and Schools.
- Teaching with the Schomburg Center's Archives: Curriculum Series
- To Make Public Our Joy: Black New Yorkers Commemorating Emancipation, 1808–1865
- A History of NYPL’s 135th Street Branch: Reading and Archiving Against Censorship
- Teaching Histories of Black Americans During World War II
- Vibrant Voices Book List
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.
Resources for All Ages
Discover book recommendations, articles, listicles, and research ideas from our expert librarians and staff.
- Picture Books Celebrating Black Artists and Their Work
- 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
#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.
Explore the Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading List
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.
Black History Month: More Suggested Reading
Explore these thematic reading lists that complement and expand on the Schomburg Center’s Black Liberation Reading List and 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.
Online Exhibitions
Explore web exhibitions presenting an array of special materials from the Schomburg Center.
Watch Now: Past Events
Discover a series of special conversations with creative storytellers—composers and pianists, photographers, educators, and art critics.
- Christian McBride with Nelson George: ‘The Movement Revisited’
- Between the Lines: ‘What Have We Here?’ by Billy Dee Williams
- Dawoud Bey with Siddhartha Mitter: ‘Elegy’
- In Defense of Teaching Black Studies: Reading, Writing & Justice
- Dan Charnas and Jason Moran: ’Dilla Time’
- 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.
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 During Our Centennial
Are you passionate about the Schomburg Center’s mission to celebrate and preserve Black culture and history? Join the Schomburg Society today for discounts, invitations to exclusive Centennial events, and more. Receive a limited-edition Centennial tote when you join.
Multilingual Resources
The New York Public Library is here for everyone! At our 92 locations across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, we welcome speakers and readers of a wide range of languages. NYPL is committed to helping everyone navigate our free services and resources: get a library card, learn about Library offerings, search the catalog, and more in world languages.
Privacy Notice
Bloomberg Connects is a third-party mobile application (app) developed by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The app is not owned or operated by NYPL and therefore we encourage you to review the Bloomberg Connects privacy policy here. The policy can also be reviewed within the app on your mobile device. Once you have downloaded the app, we also encourage you to review the app’s specific privacy settings, found in the “Settings” menu on your mobile device.
For more information about NYPL’s third-party partners and vendors in general, please see Section 3 of NYPL's Privacy Policy describing “Third-Party Library Services Providers.”