By Jaden Perry
Published February 11, 2026
Updated on February 11, 2026 at 9:39 am

This February marks 100 years of Black history commemorations in the United States. In the D.C. area, there are many events residents can attend to honor Black History Month.

You might not know that Black History Month began as a week-long celebration. In 1926, African American historian and author, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founded Negro History Week.

The celebration, which began on Feb. 7, was meant to extend the study of Black history and acknowledge the contributions of the “countless black men and women who had contributed to the advance of human civilization,” the Association for the Study of African American Life and History’s (ASALH) website said.

By the mid-1970s, the celebration had evolved into Black History Month.

NBC4 has compiled a list of D.C.-area events residents can enjoy this Black History Month.

Black History Month events in Washington D.C.

Black History Film Festival
Lincoln Theatre

Grab your popcorn for this all-day event. The Black History Film Festival spotlights African American stories with a series of feature and short film screenings, panels and performances. This year’s celebrity ambassador is actor, activist and D.C. native Lamman Rucker.

Registration is completely free. The event on Friday, Feb. 20, runs from noon to midnight. Find the screening schedule and reserve a spot on Eventbrite.

“Nick Cave: Mammoth”
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Artist Nick Cave’s Mammoth exhibit invites visitors to an immersive experience of crafted mammoth bones and hides. The exhibit opens Feb. 13 and lasts until next January. Admission is free and is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. There’s also a kid-friendly family day with activities set for Feb. 21.

“Mammoth evokes the fraught past and precarious future of the American landscape, his own experience as a Black man within it, and the roots of his creative impulse,” the Smithsonian’s description of the exhibit says. “Mammoth explores the fundamental entanglement of land and race in the American consciousness.”

For more details, visit the museum’s website.

Rooted in Resilience: Black History, Healing and Public Health — a guided museum tour.
National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Sisters in Public Health is hosting a guided walkthrough of the African American Museum in D.C. The walkthrough will explore the “intersections of Black history, healing and public health,” per the events Eventbrite page.

The event takes place on Feb. 21 from 10:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Attendees can register through the organization’s Eventbrite website. Tickets cost $2.83 for nonmembers.

Queer Black Broadway Tour
U Street Corridor

Off the Mall Tours, in collaboration with the Rainbow History Project, is hosting a queer Black Broadway tour in D.C. The tour will walk through the U Street Corridor, also known as Black Broadway in the early 20th Century.

The tour is from 2-4 p.m. on Feb. 28. The walk-through will start on T Street at the Howard Theatre and end on 14th St. at the Thurst Lounge, the first Black-owned queer bar in D.C. Registration is $30 for adults and can be purchased at Off the Mall Tour’s website.

Black History Month unity run for Ahmaud Arbery
Northeast D.C.

Here’s one for the runners — Black Men Run’s D.C. chapter and REI Co-op are hosting a special 5k run in honor of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old African American man who was fatally shot by three white men in 2020.

The run is free to attend. Runners can reserve a spot on the organization’s Eventbrite page. The run begins on Feb. 22 at 9 a.m.

Maryland

Fort Washington Park Black History Month Tours
Fort Washington Park

History buffs might enjoy this 45-minute guided tour taking guests through the history of Fort Washington while highlighting the role enslaved African Americans played in the fort’s history.

Tours are every weekend in February at 2 p.m. Admission is free and so is parking. Visit their website for more information.

#BowieSpeaks: Black voices in literature and poetry
Bowie City Hall

The City of Bowie is hosting a community conversation highlighting the power of storytelling as a tool to amplify African American voices. This event is free to attend. The discussion will take place on Feb. 19 from 7-8:30 p.m. For more information, visit City of Bowie’s website.

Heroes of Black History Puppet Show
Largo-Kettering Branch Library

Here’s another one for the kids – the Largo-Kettering Branch Library is hosting a series of puppet shows in partnership with Ebony Sonshine Puppets. The show will highlight the “inspiring stories of Black History makers who changed our world,” per the event page.

Show times include Feb. 11 and 25 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 21 from 1-2 p.m. Registration can be accessed through their events page and requires a library card number to sign up.

Curly hair care and culture: Wellness, Styling and Heritage
Laurel Branch Library

Visit the Laurel Branch Library for a live discussion on caring for curly hair textures. A live demonstration will also take place. The event is on Feb. 17 from 6-7:30 p.m. Registration is free, but seating is limited. Attendees can register on the library’s website.

Pages of History: A vintage Black magazine exhibit
Oxon Hill Branch Library

The Oxon Hill Branch Library is hosting an exhibit of Black magazines from the 1960s to the present day. Magazines are from community members’ personal collections. The exhibit is on Feb. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Registration is not required. Visit their website for more information.

Montpelier Black History Month Exhibition
Montpelier Arts Center

Admire the work of regional artists at the Montpelier Art Center’s Black History Exhibition. Through a variety of media, featured artwork will highlight “African Americans’ lives, stories and experiences,” per the event page.

The exhibition is every day until March 1. Registration is free; tickets are not required. Doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. Visit the event page here.

Northern Virginia

Black History Month celebration in Leesburg
Douglass Community Center

The Douglass Community Center is offering guests five hours of live music performances, a host of Black-owned vendors and activities to celebrate Black History Month. The event is on Feb. 21 from 12-5 p.m. Registration is not required. For details on performers and vendors, visit their Facebook event page.

Black History and Culture Fest in Sterling
Sterling Community Center

Sterling Community Center is hosting its third annual Black History Month celebration. The four-hour event will be packed with live performances, artists, exhibits and special speakers. Feb. 28 starting at 1 p.m. is when the event will take place. The event is free and open to the community. Visit their Facebook event page to learn more.

Self-guided tour through Duke Street’s Black history trail
Alexandria

If you’re looking for something more casual, try strolling down Duke Street to admire and reflect on the street’s African American history. With city landmarks like the bronze Edmonson Sisters Sculpture and the Shiloh Baptist Church, passersby are sure to discover something new about Alexandria’s African American history.

To see the full map, visit Alexandria’s website.

Visit the Slave Memorial and African American Burial Ground at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon

The Slave Memorial at Mount Vernon is a burial ground for both free and enslaved African Americans who worked at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in the 18th and 19th centuries.

“Oral histories suggest that the bodies were buried with their feet towards the east (the river), symbolizing individuals’ desire to return to Africa,” the memorial’s website said.

The burial ground was once unmarked, but through the efforts of community members and Howard University Architecture students, a memorial was established in honor of what’s estimated to be 87 unmarked graves.

Daily tributes are held at 11:15 a.m. now through March. General admission $16 for children and $30 for adults (free for toddlers and members). For more informtion, visit Mount Vernon’s website.