Washington, D.C., is marking Black History Month with a significant investment in preservation, public programming and cultural storytelling.
Honoring History Through Preservation
Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Office of Planning (OP) recently announced a new partnership with two nonprofit organizations dedicated to protecting and commemorating historic African American burial grounds.
Through the newly established Paul E. Sluby, Sr. Historic Burial Grounds Preservation Program, the Bowser Administration awarded $250,000 to support the stewardship of sacred sites that are central to Washington, DC’s African American history. The initiative honors Paul E. Sluby, Sr., a respected genealogist and historian whose extensive research documented historic Black burial sites across Washington, DC and Maryland.
The two recipient organizations—the Black Georgetown Foundation and the Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association—oversee the only intact, historically African American burial grounds remaining in the District. These include the Mt. Zion and Female Union Band Society Cemeteries in Georgetown (dating back to 1808), as well as Woodlawn Cemetery in Benning Ridge, established in the late 19th century.
With the new funding, Woodlawn Cemetery will undertake landscaping improvements to enhance accessibility, remove hazardous trees, upgrade fencing for security and add interpretive signage. Meanwhile, the Black Georgetown Foundation will conduct tree and boundary surveys, modernize its online Cemetery Information System and host community programming around Juneteenth and Emancipation Day.
Calendar of Events Honoring Black Culture and History
Beyond preservation, D.C. is spotlighting Black history through a calendar of free, public events throughout February.
Freedom and Resistance: An Exhibition Inspired by The 1619 Project
When: Now through Sunday, March 15
Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street NW
39th Annual Black History Month Invitational Swim Meet
When: Friday, Feb. 13 – Sunday, Feb. 15
Where: Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van Buren Street NW
Jesse Owens & the Long Jump with Nyla Cherry
When: Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 4 pm
Where: Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Library, 3160 16th Street NW
2026 Black History Film Festival
When: Friday, Feb. 20 at 12 pm
Where: Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U Street NW
The Fire on the Mountain: The Life of James Baldwin
When: Monday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 pm (doors at 5:30 pm)
Where: Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U Street NW
Art & Sisterhood Community Session
When: Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 12 pm
Where: 200 I Street SE
An Industry Beneath Their Feet with Norman Kelley
When: Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6 pm
Where: West End Neighborhood Library, 2301 L Street NW
DC Reads Presents: Morning at the Museum with Dolen Perkins-Valdez
When: Saturday, Feb. 28 at 10 am
Where: National Museum of African American History and Culture, 1400 Constitution Avenue NW
Afro House: Spirit Fest 2026
When: Saturday, Feb. 28, 1 pm – 5 pm
Where: Grounded, the Go-Go Museum & Café, and Busboys and Poets Anacostia
