Black History Month Celebrations with Maryland Youth Ballet
Throughout the month, Maryland Youth Ballet will host virtual and in-person events. The organization is offering four free dance classes for age 10 and up, including a virtual Pilates stretch with Debbie Clark from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Afrobeat with Heinz Adjakwahn from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Friday and Umfundalai with Miriah Auth from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Feb. 28. There will also be a free panel discussion and film screening of Black Ballerina at 1 p.m. Feb. 23.
Throughout February, Maryland Youth Ballet, 926 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring
Strathmore Events
Strathmore is highlighting various Black artists taking the stage in The Mansion, the Music Center and elsewhere in the county. Two artists performing in February are violinist Maximilian Jacobs and five-time Grammy winner and singer Lalah Hathaway. Jacobs will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Feb. 26 and hold a workshop at 3 p.m. March 2. Concert tickets cost $32 and the workshop fee is pay what you can. Hathaway performs at 8 p.m. Feb. 22, and tickets cost $28-$124.
Beginning Wednesday, various times and locations
History Hour: Thurgood Marshall: A Trail-Blazing Civil Rights Victory in Montgomery County
Speaker Ralph Buglass joins Montgomery Parks at the Josiah Henson Museum and Park to discuss how civil rights leader Thurgood Marshall helped Black teachers gain equal pay in 1937 in Montgomery County. This case is seen as a step toward the Supreme Court’s landmark decision 17 years later to declare segregated schools unconstitutional. Tickets cost $5, and visitors can arrive at 5 p.m. to take a self-guided tour of the museum. Recommended for age 12 and older.
Feb. 20, 6 – 7 p.m., Josiah Henson Museum and Park, 11410 Old Georgetown Road, North Bethesda
Alpha Phi Alpha STEM Event and Charles McGee Scholarship
The Alpha Phi Alpha service fraternity is hosting an event for teens to learn about STEM careers and hear about the Brig. Gen. Charles E. McGee Scholarship as well as watch a film about McGee. The scholarship winners from 2025 will be in attendance and honored for their achievements. The event is free.
Feb. 22, 12 – 2 p.m., Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library, 900 Wayne Ave., Silver Spring
Film: Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round
This documentary showcases the five Black Howard University students that protested the segregation of the Glen Echo Amusement Park by sitting in its carousel in the 1960s. This sparked further protests and led to the eventual desegregation of the park. The showing is free and does not require registration.
Feb. 22, 1:30 – 3 p.m., Kensington Park Library, 4201 Knowles Ave., Kensington
Black History Month Workshop at Hammer & Stain
This activity allows guests to create personalized signs. Pre-registration by Feb. 15 is required. The event costs $75.
Feb. 22, 7 p.m., Hammer & Stain, 107B Gibbs St., Rockville
Black History Month Family Day at the Josiah Henson Museum and Park
Learn about Rev. Josiah Henson and what it was like to be a child in the settlement he created in Canada after traveling via the Underground Railroad. There will be hands-on activities. The event is family-friendly and costs $5, $4 for children and seniors.
Feb. 22, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Josiah Henson Museum and Park, 11410 Old Georgetown Road, North Bethesda
African American Authors Book Discussion
The African American Authors group will discuss books written by people of African, Caribbean and African American descent. The group meets every fourth Sunday. This event is free.
Feb. 23, 2:50 – 4:50 p.m., Germantown Library, 19840 Century Blvd., Germantown
Black Superheroes Celebration
Enjoy Black History Month with games, crafts, coloring pages and a book display celebrating Black superheroes. There will also be a showing of Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse! This event is free and popcorn will be provided.
Feb. 25, 4 – 5:30 p.m., Marilyn J. Praisner Library, 14910 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville
Black History Month: A Discussion Across Genres at People’s Book
Michael King of WAMU-FM will be moderating a Black History Month panel featuring authors Tony Kieth Jr., a Washington, D.C., native who is a poet, teacher and spoken word artist; Shannon Sanders, an award-winning author of short stories who lives in Silver Spring; and Steve Majors, an author, essayist and TV producer. Admission is free and seating is first-come, first-serve.
Feb. 27, 6 -7 p.m., People’s Book, 7014-A Westmoreland Ave., Takoma Park
