What to Know
- February is Black History Month
- The Exposition Park-based museum is temporarily closed, but has a number of free online happenings
- Talks, conversations, family time, and a screening are on the schedule
Honoring "Black creativity, history, and futures"?
The California African American Museum is dedicated to doing so all year long, through a rich and diverse line-up of events, conversations, art-focused fests, and craft-making family fun times, too.
The Exposition Park museum has been closed to in-person visits since the spring of 2020, like so many California museums, in response to the pandemic.
But one look at the museum's site tells a more hope-filled story: Curators, staffers, and volunteers have continued to bring CAAM's vibrant slate of ideas, projects, and entertaining offerings to people at home.
And as Black History Month begins on Feb. 1, that slate has taken on a new and celebratory dimension, even as the museum remains "... wholly dedicated to showcasing Black excellence every month."
First up on the bountiful February schedule?
An evening devoted to "Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619–2019," an epic book that examines "the four-hundred-year journey of African Americans from 1619 to the present."
Award-winning editors Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain will join contributors Kyle May, a UCLA Assistant Professor, and Martha Jones, Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, in a discussion about the book and "the importance of community history."
A host of other virtual events are on the February roster, with a celebration of Black Diamond Queens, the African American women of rock 'n roll, bringing the music joy on Feb. 9.
Look for a Family Story Time and Collage Workshop on Feb. 17 (the lauded children's book "Trombone Shorty," winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, is at the heart of the happening), while a discussion of Miles Davis is centerstage on Feb. 18.
"Talib Kweli: Vibrate Higher" gives insight into the star's memoir on Feb. 22, and the silent film "Body and Soul" will screen on Feb. 23.
"Men of Change: A Healing Circle" is on Feb. 27.
The final event on the Black History Month schedule will include a meditation and a focus on "... a world of heart-centered, compassionate, and connected Black men who have access to all parts of themselves."
Find the full schedule here, as well as ways to discover new CAAM content on Youtube.
