Black History Month Community Events

Art Exhibitions

'Black Futures in Art: Ever Evolving'

The NAACP Boulder County is sponsoring several exhibitions featuring art by Black artists in our community. The collections, titled “Black Futures in Art: Ever Evolving,” are available throughout the county.

Participating venues:

• Dairy Arts Center (2590 Walnut St.)
  • Opening reception: Feb. 9, 2024. On view through April 6, 2024.
• First Congregational Church (1128 Pine St.)
  • On view through March 21, 2024.
• NoBo Bus Stop Gallery (4895 Broadway)
  • Opening reception: Feb. 2, 2024. On view through Feb. 25, 2024.

Find more information about the exhibitions on the NoBo Art District website

'An Insight Into the Life of an Educated Black American Male'

This exhibit, presented by Efilaf Art Department, presents a visual odyssey delving into the nuanced life experiences of a young Black man. Despite having ostensibly attained the American dream through scholastic endeavors, the artist uses varied mediums to deftly navigate and interrogate prevailing societal biases encountered by individuals of diverse backgrounds.

• NoBo Art District First Friday Celebration: Feb. 2, 2024, from 6 to 9 p.m. at NoBo Art Center (4929 Broadway Unit E)
• Exhibit on view at NoBo Art Center (4929 Broadway Unit E) from Feb. 2 through Feb. 27.

Learn more about the Efilaf Art Department exhibit

NAACP Boulder County Freedom Fund Celebration

The City of Boulder’s Health and Human Services Department’s Human Relations Fund is a sponsor of the NAACP Boulder County's annual Freedom Fund Celebration. Entertainer and musician Danielle Ponder will set the stage for an afternoon of celebration and featured guest Mr. Anthony Ray Hinton will share his powerful story of spending nearly 30 years on Alabama's death row for a crime he didn't commit.

Sunday, Feb. 18, at 3 p.m at Macky Auditorium Concert Hall (1595 Pleasant St.)

Get tickets for the Freedom Fund Celebration

Celebrate Black History Through Storytelling

Celebrate Black History Month by learning about artist Clementine Hunter then make your own folk art painting (for ages 9-13).

• Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, from 4 to 4:45 p.m. at the Louisville Public Library

Reserve a spot for folk art painting

Learn About Colorado's Black History

Explore Colorado's history through an African American perspective at the Proclaiming Colorado's Black History: 1840s - Today exhibit at the Museum of Boulder. Check out multimedia exhibit, educational curricula, Street Wise murals, oral histories, and a variety of programs. This project aims to amplify Black perspectives and resource Black historians to preserve and share Colorado’s rich and complex Black history.

On view at the Museum of Boulder (2205 Broadway) through September 2025.

Learn more about the Proclaiming Colorado's Black History Exhibit

Community members are also invited to join "Listen Backs" to hear oral histories of Colorado's Black community. As part of the Proclaiming Colorado's Black History exhibit, the museum's predominantly Black team has recorded and digitized over 25 original oral histories of Black Coloradoans. Listen to the oral histories and then engage in a facilitated dialogue with prominent Black Coloradoans at these upcoming Listen Backs:

• Feb. 29, 2024, at 6 p.m. at the Museum of Boulder. Featured speaker: Dr. Reiland Rabaka, Founder and Director of the Center for African & African American Studies and Professor of African, African American, and Caribbean Studies in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.
• March 28, 2024, at 6 p.m. at the Museum of Boulder. Featured speaker: Minister Glenda Strong Robinson, a long-time resident of Longmont who was an active participant in the Movement led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and who works to continue his legacy today through community service.

Read About Boulder’s Historic Black-Owned Businesses

Boulder’s Carnegie Branch Library has a collection called “Black Business Ventures.” The collection, created with the help of local middle schoolers, documents stories and profiles of Black-owned businesses in Boulder. While many of the stories are a reminder of the tenacity of Black entrepreneurs against institutional racism in the 20th century, the collection is also filled with celebrations of familiar everyday life: a beautiful plant in a business owner’s Pearl Street store, siblings smiling in front of birthday cake, and a musician rocking to a melody on stage.