Black History Month 2024 February is Black History Month in the U.S., and this year's theme is "African Americans and the Arts." We're compiling stories, music performances and podcasts related to the Black experience.
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Dillon Howl/Courtesy of the artist
World Cafe
Black Futures: Nailah Hunter forges her own dark fantasy on 'Lovegaze'
WXPN
February 15, 2024 The Los Angeles-based harpist and composer talks about approaching her instrument in new ways on her debut album.
Known as The Godfather of House Music, Frankie Knuckles helped revolutionize electronic music in the '80s. The Frankie Knuckles Foundation hide caption
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The Frankie Knuckles Foundation
World Cafe Words and Music Podcast
Black Futures: How house music took center stage in the '80s
WXPN
February 13, 2024 For Black History Month, World Cafe correspondent John Morrison walks us through the synth-driven boom of electronic music in the '80s.
John Morrison on World Cafe
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Nadine Chapman (left) and Rachel Perić are residents of the Rollingwood subdivision who are working together to publicize and memorialize the Rollingwood Burial Ground for Enslaved People in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Dee Dwyer for NPR hide caption
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Dee Dwyer for NPR
Their journey to unearth a cemetery for enslaved people led to communitywide interest
February 9, 2024 Urban development has erased many Black cemeteries around the U.S., but now a movement to find and memorialize them is underway.
Martin Luther King Jr. makes his last public appearance, at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968. The following day, King was assassinated on his motel balcony. Charles Kelly/AP hide caption
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Charles Kelly/AP
5 MLK speeches you should know. Spoiler: 'I Have a Dream' isn't on the list
February 7, 2024 Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech is well known, but there are several other key speeches that also resonate as historical signposts of the Civil Rights Movement.
Stanley Wade (from left), Harold Wade, Earl Young, Robert Upchurch and Jimmy Ellis of the disco band The Trammps pose for a portrait in 1977. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
World Cafe Words and Music Podcast
Black Futures: How disco set the stage for dance and electronic music
WXPN
February 6, 2024 For Black History Month, World Cafe correspondent John Morrison dives into the rise of disco in the '70s and the genesis of dance and club culture.
John Morrison on World Cafe
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A lone shopper heads into a Target store on Jan. 11 in Lakewood, Colo. David Zalubowski/AP hide caption
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David Zalubowski/AP
Target pulls Black History Month book that misidentified 3 civil rights icons
February 2, 2024 The magnet book mixed up W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington and Carter G. Woodson. Target said it will no longer sell the book in stores or online and that it notified the publisher of the errors.
From left: Sekou, Dua Saleh, Alemeda and McKinley Dixon Braden Lee & Christopher Behnen; Randijah Simmons; David Muessig/Courtesy of the artists hide caption
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Braden Lee & Christopher Behnen; Randijah Simmons; David Muessig/Courtesy of the artists
World Cafe
For Black History Month, World Cafe looks forward to 'Black Futures'
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February 1, 2024 World Cafe turns its ear toward the future with a spotlight on up-and-coming artists blazing their own path beyond genre.
Brittni Robertson Powell, with the New Orleans-based bookstore Baldwin & Co. looks through her choice for Black History Month: I Am Ruby Bridges. Aubri Juhasz/Aubri Juhasz hide caption
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Aubri Juhasz/Aubri Juhasz
6 books to help young readers learn about Black history
February 1, 2024 Five authors, librarians and book shop owners suggest turning to literature to help teach kids about Black history, culture and themes for this Black History Month.
Perspective
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James Baldwin's Shadow (Throwback)
February 1, 2024 James Baldwin believed that America has been lying to itself since its founding. An insightful commentator on Black identity, American democracy, and racism, he saw something deep and ugly and stubborn in American culture, and never hesitated to call it by its name — to bear witness, regardless of what it cost him. As the United States continues to reckon with all aspects of its history, writer and professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr. guides us through the meaning and purpose of James Baldwin's work, and how his words can help us navigate our current moment.
James Baldwin's Shadow (Throwback)
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Don Scott, speaker the Virginia House of Delegates, has had a meteoric rise in the Statehouse. The Delegates unanimously voted him in as speaker on Wednesday. Shaban Athuman/VPM hide caption
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Shaban Athuman/VPM
Don Scott becomes first Black speaker in Virginia Legislature's 400-year history
January 10, 2024 Del. Don Scott, a rising star among Virginia Democrats with a unique personal story, was voted in as speaker of the Virginia Statehouse.
Don Scott becomes first Black speaker in Virginia Legislature's 400-year history
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Large crowds gather at the Washington Monument and around the reflecting pool to demonstrate for civil rights on Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C. AP hide caption
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AP
Black History Month 2024 has begun. Here's this year's theme and other things to know
February 1, 2023 The annual celebration started out in 1926 as Negro History Week and expanded to Black History Month in the 1970s. This year celebrates "African Americans and the Arts."
More from Black History Month 2024
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