Home | Calendar of Events | Smithsonian Institution Events
In celebration of Black History Heritage month, the Smithsonian Institution and places across the country honor the culture and diversity of Black Americans with exhibits, lectures and other events. Interested in listing your cultural event in celebration of Black History Heritage Month? Email us at EventRSVP@si.edu
| Alabama | California | Maryland |
| Michigan | Ohio | Pennsylvania |
| ALABAMA | |
| Location: | Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Birmingham |
| Date: | February 9, 2011 |
| Description: | Middle and high school students across the country will join together electronically for a National Youth Summit on the Freedom Rides and activism at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Freedom Rides veterans Congressman John Lewis, D-GA, Diane Nash, Jim Zwerg, and Reverend James Lawson will share how they became involved in the Freedom Rides and how their lives were affected by them. The discussion in Washington will be joined by five audiences at Smithsonian Affiliate museums around the nation as well as by registered viewers of the webcast. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute will welcome Catherine Brooks Burks, veteran Freedom Rider to the museum to participate in the discussion and coordinate with local schools to engage students. |
| Location: | Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Birmingham |
| Date: | February 27, 2011 |
| Description: | BCRI exhibits "A Fire You Can't Put Out: Visions of Embers," which offers a visual account of Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth's pursuit of equal rights for people of color. It features black and white images chronicling the past seven years of his life. |
| CALIFORNIA | |
| Location: | Japanese American National Museum (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Los Angeles |
| Date: | February 9, 2011 |
| Description: | Middle and high school students across the country will join together electronically for a National Youth Summit on the Freedom Rides and activism at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Freedom Rides veterans Congressman John Lewis, D-GA, Diane Nash, Jim Zwerg, and Reverend James Lawson will share how they became involved in the Freedom Rides and how their lives were affected by them. The discussion in Washington will be joined by five audiences at Smithsonian Affiliate museums around the nation as well as by registered viewers of the webcast. The Japanese American National Museum will welcome Thomas Hayden, veteran Freedom Rider to the museum to participate in the discussion and coordinate with local schools to engage students. |
| MARYLAND | |
| Location: | Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Baltimore |
| Date: | FFebruary 6, 2011, 3 pm |
| Description: | Historical Portrait Concert: The Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and the African-American Soldier, Oh Freedom, Oh Glory! Enjoy a musical concert with vocal artist Charles K. Sullivan as he creatively examines the Civil War through the eyes of Abraham Lincoln and the African American soldier. |
| MICHIGAN | |
| Location: | Arab American National Museum (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Dearborn |
| Date: | February 9, 2011 |
| Description: | Middle and high school students across the country will join together electronically for a National Youth Summit on the Freedom Rides and activism at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Freedom Rides veterans Congressman John Lewis, D-GA, Diane Nash, Jim Zwerg, and Reverend James Lawson will share how they became involved in the Freedom Rides and how their lives were affected by them. The discussion in Washington will be joined by five audiences at Smithsonian Affiliate museums around the nation as well as by registered viewers of the webcast. The Arab American National Museum will welcome Gordon Negen, veteran Freedom Rider to the museum to participate in the discussion and coordinate with local schools to engage students. |
| OHIO | |
| Location: | National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Cincinnati |
| Date: | February 9, 2011 |
| Description: | Middle and high school students across the country will join together electronically for a National Youth Summit on the Freedom Rides and activism at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Freedom Rides veterans Congressman John Lewis, D-GA, Diane Nash, Jim Zwerg, and Reverend James Lawson will share how they became involved in the Freedom Rides and how their lives were affected by them. The discussion in Washington will be joined by five audiences at Smithsonian Affiliate museums around the nation as well as by registered viewers of the webcast. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will welcome Thomas Rider, veteran Freedom Rider to the museum to participate in the discussion and coordinate with local schools to engage students. |
| Location: | National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Cincinnati |
| Date: | February 12, 2011 |
| Description: | Roland S. Martin, an award-winning and multifaceted journalist and author, will be at the Freedom Center for an evening discussing the historical context of civil rights, how the vestiges of said struggles manifest today, and what we all can do to take steps toward freedom in our own lives. |
| Location: | National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Cincinnati |
| Date: | February 15, 2011 |
| Description: | Join the Freedom Center for a panel discussion on the Little Rock Nine: Integration and the State of the US Educational System.Carlotta Wells LaNeir, the youngest member of the Little Rock Nine, will be sharing her experiences before and after the integration of Central High School, as well as her observations about the current state of the educational system as it relates to whether or not the United States' public school systems have lived up to the promise of Brown v. Board of Education. |
| PENNSYLVANIA | |
| Location: | African American Museum in Philadelphia (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Philadelphia |
| Date: | February 12, 2011, 11am – 1:30pm |
| Description: | Communities in Common: Using the Blueprint *Review Black History Context Study and Preservation Analysis with AAMP/PA Historical and Museum Commission Research team members.* Pennsylvania possesses a rich, diverse, and intriguing Black history, ranging from enslaved Africans held by founder William Penn to the Underground Railroad and the state's role in the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement. Recognizing significant contributions of black scientists, artists, scholars and public figures in Pennsylvania's past, the Black community has touched every part of the state. A central element of "Communities in Common" is a comprehensive historic resource survey and context study on eight Black communities in Pennsylvania available on a newly established Communities in Common/Black History website. The study serves as a model for locales across the Keystone State to examine the histories of their Black communities, analyze their historical significance, and evaluate and recognize related cultural and historic resources. |
| Location: | John Heinz History Center (Smithsonian Affiliate) |
| City: | Pittsburgh |
| Date: | February 9, 2011 |
| Description: | Middle and high school students across the country will join together electronically for a National Youth Summit on the Freedom Rides and activism at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Freedom Rides veterans Congressman John Lewis, D-GA, Diane Nash, Jim Zwerg, and Reverend James Lawson will share how they became involved in the Freedom Rides and how their lives were affected by them. The discussion in Washington will be joined by five audiences at Smithsonian Affiliate museums around the nation as well as by registered viewers of the webcast. The Senator John Heinz History Center will welcome Joan C. Browning and Winston Fuller, veteran Freedom Riders to the museum to participate in the discussion and coordinate with local schools to engage students. |
