Celebrate Black History Month

Every February, we celebrate Black History Month to recognize the contributions of African Americans to our history and culture. The roots of this celebration can be traced back to Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, who established a weeklong celebration in February of 1926 to coincide with the birthdays of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, opens a new window and President Abraham Lincoln. Since 1976, every February has been designated Black History Month with a special theme. The 2026 theme "A Century of Black History Commemorations", opens a new window highlights 100 years of honoring Black history, culture and achievements, and its impact across generations.

Library Events

• February 6 at 10:30 AM, Children's Library: Little Ones Storytime: Celebrate Black History Month!, opens a new window
• February 10 at 12 PM, Zoom: Brown Bag Book Club, opens a new window
• February 26 at 6:30 PM, Mitchell Park Library: ICYMI Movie Night, opens a new window
• February  28 at 2:30 PM, Children's Library: Mister Boom Boom, opens a new window

Booklists

• Black History Month: Picture Books
• Black History Month: Middle Grade Reads
• Black History Month: Teen Reads
• Outstanding YA Nonfiction for Black History Month, opens a new window
• Black History Month: Adult Reads

Anti-Racist Resources

• Get training on Allyship, opens a new window,  Anti-racism, opens a new window through LinkedIn Learning, opens a new window
• A Reading Guide to Fighting Racism
• Anti-Racist Books for Teens
• Anti-Racism Books for Kids 

Ebooks & Audiobooks

• Check out Libby's (Overdrive) collection of African American Fiction, opens a new window. 

Music

• Stream albums, opens a new window by Black artists on Hoopla
• View full length concerts, opens a new window from music legends such as Nina Simone on Qello concerts. 
• Enjoy jazz concerts and documentaries, opens a new window featuring Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Sarah Vaughan and more on Medici.TV.

Film

• Black Voices & Stories in Film, opens a new window
• Explore Kanopy’s collection of films and documentaries, opens a new window 
• Check out this YouTube playlist, opens a new window curated by PBS highlighting Black history, culture, art, and more.

Research

• Did you know Roy Clay Sr. was a pioneering computer scientist known as the “Godfather of Silicon Valley” who led Hewlett-Packard’s first computer division? Use Biography in Context, opens a new window to learn about the many individuals whose contributions shaped our world. 
• Access Ancestry, opens a new window and use this guide to get started researching African American family history.
• Discover diverse books and related instructional materials for PreK-12 with Teaching Books, opens a new window.  

To access most of these resources, all you need to do is log in with your library card, opens a new window. We hope you discover some great tools to continue celebrating and learning about Black history all year long!