Honoring Black History Month in Pennsylvania

Nearly one century ago, the preeminent historian Carter G. Woodson and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, conceived the country’s first Negro History Week, which was celebrated in 1926. Carter, whose parents had been enslaved and who worked as a coal miner in West Virginia before becoming the second African American to receive a PhD at Harvard after W.E.B. Du Bois, decided to launch the celebration during a week that included the birthdays of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln.

Almost 100 years later, that honoring of Black Americans has evolved into Black History Month. Gerald R. Ford was the first president to officially recognize Black History Month, during the country’s bicentennial celebrations in1976.

Nearly half a century later, the administration of President Donald Trump is abolishing official federal recognition of what a Department of Defense news release issued on Jan. 31 called “identity months,” specifically of Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month.

Trump and his administration also want to abolish the teaching of much of Black history in schools that receive federal funding. Trump has ordered schools to stop teaching “inappropriate content” and “radical, anti-American ideologies,” including what conservatives deliberately and misleadingly call “critical race theory.”

“Critical race theory” is a term for the academic study at the university level of the history and ongoing effects of white supremacy in the United States. Critics note that Trump and other Republicans often use the term as a catchall for whatever they don’t want to be taught in school, such as the history of hundreds of years of slavery and of the genocide of Indigenous peoples.

If schools don’t comply with Trump’s orders, they face losing their federal funding. 

In Pennsylvania, Democratic leaders announced their commitment to honoring Black History Month. 

“Black History Month is a time to celebrate the stories of Black Pennsylvanians who shaped our collective history and helped build our great Commonwealth,” Gov. Josh Shapiro wrote on social media. “As we celebrate this month, we’re recommitting ourselves to creating real opportunity and advancing real freedom for everyone here in Pennsylvania.”

A press release from Pennsylvania Senate Democrats called on residents to learn about the many Black artists from Pennsylvania, including playwright August Wilson; athlete, actor, author, scholar, and activist Paul Robeson; and Quinta Brunson, the creator and star of the television show “Abbott Elementary.”

Commemorations of Black History Month are scheduled to take place across the commonwealth. From visiting museums honoring Black Americans to learning about the commonwealth’s Underground Railroad stops, here are some of the ways you can honor Black history in Pennsylvania.

Visit the African American Museum in Philadelphia 

Founded in 1976 in honor of the country’s bicentennial, the African American Museum

weaves together stories of the African diaspora, the Civil Rights Movement, contemporary Black life, and more in permanent, temporary and online exhibits and programming for all ages. The museum hosts temporary online exhibits about the actress and singer Pearl Bailey and about Philadelphia youth activists during the Civil Rights Movement; offers a permanent exhibit that delves into the history of African Americans living in Philadelphia from 1776 through 1876; and features a temporary exhibit that showcases works by artist Shaheed Rucker. 

Specific Black History Month events at the museum include a Super Bowl watch party and a youth costume event.

Learn about Pennsylvania’s Underground Railroad sites 

Pennsylvania played an important role in the Underground Railroad, a network of people, institutions and places that helped enslaved individuals escape from slave states.

There are 56 Underground Railroad markers in Pennsylvania. Those markers can be found by clicking here. Visit Pennsylvania, the state’s tourism website, lists more information about the sites. From the Mother Bethel African Methodist Church, which was founded in 1794 by members of the Free African Society of Philadelphia, to the Lemoyne House in Washington, which was home to a Parisian doctor who became an abolitionist and women’s rights advocate in the U.S., there’s at least one Underground Railroad site in every Pennsylvania county.

To learn more about the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania, you can also head to the Underground Railroad Museum, located in the home of former abolitionist Judge Richard Peters, in Philadelphia; the Underground Railroad History Center in Blairsville; and the Kennett Square Underground Railroad Center. In Waverly, a small town about 10 miles north of Scranton, you can learn about the role the area played with self-guided or guided walking tours.

Film, music and fashion shows: Black History Month at Penn State

Every year, Penn State University rolls out a lineup of music, movies and other events for Black History Month. This February, campuses across the state will hold events — and if you don’t feel like heading into the cold, there are plenty of online options as well. 

Upcoming events include Douglass Day on Feb. 14, which honors the birthday of abolitionist Frederick Douglass; a “Black Chefs in the White House” presentation on Feb. 26, during which culinary historian Adrian Miller will discuss the lives of African Americans who served as cooks for U.S. presidents; a Feb. 26 performance by saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin; and the organization Queer and Trans People of Color’s fashion show on Feb. 27, when participants will celebrate the queer ballroom culture of the 1970s and 1980s.

For a full lineup, click here.

Honor a literary legacy at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center in Pittsburgh honors the legacy of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson and celebrates the rich history of Black American literature. In addition to its many exhibits, including one dedicated to Wilson’s life and works, many set in his hometown, the center hosts numerous events centering Black artists. On Feb. 20, it will host a free and public opening of its “Envisioning a Just PIttsburgh” exhibit, which explores how Pittsburgh can become a more inclusive city for everyone.

Tour Harrisburg’s Old Eighth Ward 

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the neighborhood known as Harrisburg’s Old Eighth Ward was one of the capital city’s most diverse areas and was home to Black, Jewish and other immigrant communities. However, those families were displaced and homes, businesses, schools, churches, and other community mainstays were demolished as part of a Capitol grounds expansion project that began in 1911. You can learn more about the families who once called this vibrant area home by taking a virtual tour of the Old Eighth Ward. Those in or near Harrisburg can head to the “A Gathering at the Crossroads” monument, which is located at North 4th and Walnut Streets in the Old Eighth Ward. The monument pays homage to Harrisburg’s Black history. Learn more about the Black abolitionists, suffragists, poets, lawyers, and others who have called Harrisburg home in the book “One Hundred Voices: Harrisburg’s Historic African American Community, 1850-1920,” which can be downloaded for free by clicking here.

A civil rights champion’s home in Pittsburgh

Daisy Lampkin, born in Reading in 1883, dedicated her life to fighting for civil rights and women’s rights. After moving to Pittsburgh in her early 20s, Lampkin became an activist with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as the co-chair of the organization’s anti-lynching campaign in Pennsylvania in 1929. In 1924, she was the only woman in a group of African Americans invited to meet with President Calvin Coolidge for a discussion about racial violence and discrimination. You can see the house where Lampkin lived and worked in Pittsburgh; a marker recognizes her achievements at the home at 2519 Webster Ave. For a miniature version of Lampkin’s house, head to the Miniature Railroad and Village at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.

Celebrate Black history in Scranton 

For years, Scranton native Glynis Johns has worked to showcase her hometown’s Black history by founding and continuing to lead the Black Scranton Project. Each year, the nonprofit hosts extensive Black History Month programming. This year, the organization is hosting film screenings, storytelling events, and more. For a complete lineup of events, click here.