Bookmark-worthy Black History Month events in Boston

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As early as the 19th century, Fredrick Douglass held audiences at Faneuil Hall as he called for the abolition of slavery and expressed new ideals for Black life in America. Since that time, Boston has become a place where all kinds of influential Black speakers — from Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. to Melnea Cass and Mel King — have similarly held space to represent those unheard in their communities.

Black History Month is an excellent time to reflect on how these leaders shaped our city — and highlight Black people who are making waves today, whether it be onstage, in a lab or in their neighborhoods. From the symphony orchestra to the science museum, here are five Boston-based Black History month events you won’t want to miss.

Light design and human movement are at the center of “BLACK HOLE,” an Afrofuturist stage performance choreographed by artist Shamel Pitts.

What is Afrofuturism, you ask? The genre uses elements of sci-fi and fantasy to explore Black culture and liberation. You can find it across popular culture (think “Black Panther” and the musical works of Janelle Monae). Pitts, a 2020 Guggenheim fellow, along with his Brooklyn-based arts collective, TRIBE, will illustrate a narrative of unity and transformation through an exhibition of dance, spoken word and light projection. Admission is $20 for ICA members and $30 for nonmembers. Tickets are going fast, so grab one while you can.

The Museum of Science is planning to spotlight influential Black scientists and engineers all month. But on Saturday, Feb. 10 and Sunday, Feb. 11, there will be a full slate of events from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Museum of Science’s Celebration Weekend will feature musical performances by local artists Oompa and Cliff Notez, among others. There’ll also be a special exhibit titled “ReRooted: What’s Hair Got to Do with It?” in the museum’s Blue Wing. All Black History Month celebration weekend events are included in the cost of museum admission, which is $29 for adults, $25 for seniors and $24 for children.

Another plus: Movies in the giant-screen Mugar Omni Theater, which usually cost $6 to see, will be free to watch on Feb. 10. (Those tickets are first-come, first-serve and must be picked up in person.)

The Boston Conservatory Orchestra’s Black History Month program will feature music from historically significant Black composers like Margaret Bonds, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and William Grant Still, along with a contemporary, pandemic-inspired composition called “Seven O’Clock Shout” by Black flutist Valerie Coleman. The musical program will center around a recitation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s words in Joseph Schwantner’s “New Morning for the World,” read by renowned scholar and attorney Anita Hill.

Tickets are $17 for adults and $12 for students and seniors.

Giving a nod to community members who made a positive impact, the “Living Histories of Color” exhibit at the BPL’s Hyde Park branch features 13 “larger than life” images of Hyde Park residents, accompanied by videos of each honoree discussing how their work “is positively changing the landscape of Boston,” Marcia Kimm-Jackson, curator of the exhibit and leader of the The Forum for Racial Equity in Hyde Park, told me. “We want to show the Black and brown people making history today,” she added.

You can check the exhibition out for free during branch hours.

Here’s a way to learn more about Black history that doesn’t require an admission ticket: Take a self-guided tour of Boston’s Black Heritage Trail in Beacon Hill, the neighborhood where more than half the Boston’s 2,000 Black residents lived during the 19th century. You’ll visit 10 different notable stops in the neighborhood, like a memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment or the Abiel Smith School.

If you’d rather have a guided tour, consider following educator and researcher Joel Mackall as he takes you on a “Hidden History of Black Boston” tour. You can read more about Mackall’s unique city tours in this piece by WBUR’s Arielle Gray.

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