The Big Apple has big plans for Black History Month, starting with the parks and green spaces scattered across the five boroughs.
There will be celebrations galore throughout New York City in February, but Black History Month is also a chance to learn about, remember and reflect on the Black experience. Take a look:
Brooklyn and the Abolitionist Movement. Join the Urban Park Rangers on a walk discussing Brooklyn’s significant history to the abolitionist movement in the United States. Sunday, Feb. 9. Brooklyn Bridge Park
The Legacy of Former “Colored” School No. 4, a talk by Eric K. Washington. This illustrated talk by historian Eric K. Washington visits an unassuming building in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood that, in shedding light on 19th-century Gotham’s forgotten past, has excited wide media attention. Hidden in plain sight on W. 17th St. is the former “Colored” School No. 4, the last of a network of racial-caste public schoolhouses that once were relegated to New York’s African American teachers and students. Thurs., Feb. 13 at Van Cortlandt House Museum (in Van Cortlandt Park), The Bronx.
Science Fiction and the Natural World. Explore the connection between the natural world and science fiction with this storytelling hike featuring the works of science fiction writer Octavia Butler, the first science fiction author to be granted a MacArthur fellowship. Van Cortlandt Nature Center (in Van Cortlandt Park), The Bronx.
Audre Lorde Walk. Join park rangers on the Audre Lorde Walk at Silver Lake Park as they honor the famous poet and draw inspiration from the surroundings as by creating your own poetry. Feb. 23 in Silver Lake Park, Staten Island.
Black History Month: Black Pioneers in STEM. Learn about prominent African Americans who helped shaped the course of history and the sciences at the house of the person who gave us the carbon filament light bulb—Lewis Latimer. Feb. 23 at the Lewis H. Latimer House, Queens.
Women in Black History. Join NYC Department of Parks and Councilmember Selvena Brooks Powers for the viewing of an inspiring Netflix movie, “The Six Triple Eight,” the story of the only US Women’s Army Corps unit of color stationed overseas during WWII. March 20, Sorrentino Recreation Center, Queens.
For more on historic happenings in NYC parks—including the birth of Hip Hop—visit their website.
Photo by Jim Henderson
You May Also Be Interested In…
Exploring America’s Black Heritage
