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What to expect at Boston’s Museum of African American History this Black History Month
From poetry and wellness retreats to film screenings, MAAH is marking the 100th anniversary of Black History Month with a packed slate of free and ticketed events.
This February, the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket is marking a milestone: the 100th anniversary of Black History Month. With more than a dozen events across its Boston and Nantucket campuses, the museum is expanding its annual programming to honor a century of celebrating Black history.
Black History Month began in 1926 as Negro History Week, founded by hisorian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, according to ASALH. One hundred years later, ASALH continues that legacy — and MAAH is leaning into the moment with an ambitious slate of programming spanning art, history, wellness, and community.
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MAAH opened the month with a public forum on the battle for democracy, followed by weekend programming across both campuses. Events included a morning yoga class and children’s storytime at the Boston museum, while the Nantucket museum held a discussion on Black arts on the island.
The museum hosted one of its largest events of the month on Sunday — a walking tour tracing Boston’s earliest Black communities. The tour led participants from the North End’s historic New Guinea Settlement to Joy Street on Beacon Hill.
More events are scheduled throughout the rest of the month, though some have already sold out. Tickets are no longer available for the flower arrangement workshop with Pilon Fleur or the “Rooting & Rising” celebration, so attendees are encouraged to reserve spots early for upcoming programs.
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Below is a guide to what’s still on the calendar.
‘From Ideas to Institutions: The Process of Making Black History’
Location: Boston campus
Date: Friday, Feb. 13; 5:30-8:30 p.m.
How is Black history built, preserved, and sustained?
This panel brings scholars together to examine the vision, strategies, and stories behind the institutions dedicated to honoring Black history. The evening concludes with time for connection, music, and reflection.
Tickets are free and available here.
A panel about ‘Digging Deeper into Black Voices of the Revolution‘
Location: Boston campus
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 17; 5-7 p.m.
Dr. Nedra Lee and MAAH Chief Curator and Director of Collections Angela Tate lead a conversation examining Black voices during the Revolutionary era.
Lee, an associate professor at University of Massachusetts, Boston, researches the intersections of race, class, sex, and gender in African American history and co-led archaeological excavations at the Boston-Higginbotham House on Nantucket in 2014.
Tate’s research focuses on global and transatlantic histories of Africa and the African Diaspora, with an emphasis on material culture, memory, and museum collaboration.
Tickets are free and available here.
Children’s storytime: ‘Joy Takes Root’
Location: Boston campus
Date: Thursday, Feb. 19; 10-11 a.m.
MAAH welcomes families for a reading of “Joy Takes Root” with author Gwendolyn Wallace. The story follows a young Black girl who learns about herbal medicine, gardening, and mindfulness during a summer with her grandmother, centering intergenerational wisdom and care. Wallace will read aloud and engage children in conversation.
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Tickets are free and available here.
An afternoon of lunch and poetry
Location: Boston campus
Date: Saturday, Feb. 21; 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Food, poetry, and history come together in this collaborative event hosted by MAAH and Heritage Market. Boston poet Amanda Shea will perform live, followed by a full meal from award-winning chef Larry J of Larry J’s BBQ Cafe. The afternoon concludes with a curated museum tour connecting art, storytelling, and place.
Tickets are $40 (approximately $45 with fees) and can be purchased here.
Black Wellness Retreat with Haus of Glitter
Location: Boston campus
Date: Sunday, Feb. 22; 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Designated for adults 18 and over, this wellness retreat invites participants to focus on rest, creativity, and connection through movement, storytelling, and shared meals. Led by Haus of Glitter — a dance company and performance lab — the retreat offers space to recharge and build community.
Tickets are $40 (approximately $45 with fees) and can be purchased here.
A panel on ‘suite for a minor meeting’
Location: Tufts University Art Galleries
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 25 from 6-7:30 p.m.
This panel discussion centers on the work of featured artist Jonathan González, with MAAH’s Angela Tate and playwright Phillip Howze joining the conversation.
González, an artist and educator based in Philadelphia and New York, works across performance, prose, and time-based media to explore the transnational currents of Black life and systems of power.
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Tickets are free and available here.
Screening of ‘In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters’
Location: Boston campus
Date: Thursday, Feb. 26; 6-8 p.m.
This 35-minute documentary uncovers a lesser-known chapter of Phillis Wheatley Peters’ life, focusing on her marriage, pursuit of freedom, and political agency in Revolutionary-era Boston.
Drawing on new archival research by historian Dr. Cornelia Dayton, the film reframes Wheatley as an abolitionist navigating the political, economic, and racial constraints of the era.
Tickets are free and available here.
A performance of ‘suite for a minor meeting’
Location: Boston campus, African Meeting House
Date: Saturday, Feb. 28 from 5-7 p.m.
Tufts University Art Galleries and MAAH present “suite for a minor meeting,” a new site-specific performance by Jonathan González.
Inspired by González’s exhibition of “Magical Thinking, of Systems and Beliefs,” the performance draws from architecture, music, abolitionist history, and contemporary scholarship. Featuring vocalists Ifeanyi Epum, Ogechi Okoye, and Valentine Umeh, the work guides audiences through the building’s architecture and layered histories.
Tickets are free and can be reserved here.
Celebration of Black Women’s History
Location: Boston campus
Date: Sunday, March 1; 2-4 p.m.
This program honors the legacy, leadership, and living history of Black women through music, historical readings, archival displays, and community reflection.
The event highlights the work of the National Council of Negro Women and its Greater Boston Section, featuring a panel of past and present leaders and displays of organizational artifacts. Light refreshments will be served.
Tickets are free and can be reserved here.
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