Black History Month

FEBRUARY 1-28, 2026

Additional Resources | Programming

Black History Month Challenge

Join the Milwaukee Public Library in celebrating Black History. From February 1 to 28, 2026, participants of all ages can engage by completing activities on a bingo board or completing the reading challenge on Beanstack. Whether you have a blackout board or 5 in a row, a completed board counts as an entry submission for a prize drawing.

Complete and return a bingo board to any MPL location or track your progress online by March 1, 2026. All residents of the City of Milwaukee are encouraged to participate.

Calling all child care, K-12, and college educators! Complete the challenge with your students, fill out this quick online entry form, and be automatically entered in a drawing for a chance to win a $50 Niche Book Bar gift certificate for your classroom.

Read a book about Black History.
Read a book by a Black author or illustrator.
Watch a movie or documentary on a Black History change-maker, or unsung heroes.
Listen to an audiobook by a Black author or about Black History.
Use a library database such as Hoopla, Overdrive's Libby app, the Wisconsin Digital Library, Kanopy, or ABC-CLIO American Mosaic - The African American Experience.
Attend a Black History Month program at your Milwaukee Public Library.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

PROGRAMMING - [Flyer]

Crowning Glory Exhibit
February 3-21
Atkinson Branch

Explore a rare display of historic Black hair and beauty artifacts from the collection of The Whatnot Museum.

Open a Book, Open a World
Tuesday, February 3, 6-7 p.m.
Capitol Branch
Create a book-inspired art project exploring Black History Month (February), Women's History Month (March) and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May).

Documentary Films - Black Culture and History
Wednesdays, 1-3 p.m.
Washington Park

Celebrate the rich and sometimes little-known history of the African American experience. We’ll show one documentary each week during February to enrich us all. There will be popcorn.
February 4 - Al Jarreau: Bring your Life to the Stage (2015)
February 11 - Wade in the Water: A Journey into Black Surfing and Aquatic Culture, (2023)
February 18 - How it Feels to Be Free (2021)
Looks at trailblazers Cicely Tyson, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln, Pam Grier, Nina Simone and Diahann Carroll and how these women changed American culture.
February 25 - Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People (2014)

Black History Month Book Tasting
Friday, February 6, 3-5 p.m.
Villard Square Branch

Black History Month Book Tasting
Friday, February 6, 3-5 p.m.
Center Street Branch

Taste test snacks from local and national Black-owned businesses, enjoy a story time, and sample a curated menu of books that highlight Black history and Black voices. All ages welcome!

There Was a Party for Langston
Saturday, February 7, 1:30-2:15 pm
Martin Luther King Branch

Monday, February 23, 4-4:45 p.m.
Central Library

Come celebrate 100 amazing years of Langston Hughes! We'll read together, learn about the his life and poetry, listen to the jazz music that inspired him and work on our own poetry.

Black History Month Challenge Kickoff
Saturday, February 7, 12-4 p.m.
Martin Luther King Branch

Celebrate BHM with the Milwaukee Public Library! Special Story time featuring the work of Langston Hughes, family crafts, special presentation by author Zaire Lanier, a writer at Compulsion Games.

Novel Ideas Book Club
Monday, February 9, 6-7 pm
Blessed Sacrament Church, 3100 S. 41st St.

Please join us for a discussion of The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict.

Collage & Culture: Black History for Kids
Tuesday, February 10, 4-5 p.m.
Atkinson Branch

Celebrate Black History through art! Come make your own colorful collage using fun pictures, words, and craft supplies. You'll learn about amazing Black heroes and role models while getting creative.

Art Cafe Paint and Sip
Tuesday, February 10, 4:30-6 p.m.
Washington Park Branch

Celebrate Black History Month and find inspiration from Black artists throughout art history. Bring out your creative side and make your own design. Light refreshments will be provided.

Black History Bingo
Tuesday, February 10, 5-6:30 p.m.
Mitchell Street Branch

Get your thinking caps on for Black History Bingo! A fun event for the family to enjoy together, all while learning facts about prominent historical black figures and leaders.

Painted Words. Spoken Images.
Exhibit Unveiling and Celebration
Friday, February 13, 4-6 pm
Martin Luther King Branch

Join Milwaukee Poet Laureate Shelly Conley for the exhibit unveiling of PAINTED WORDS. SPOKEN IMAGES, her first event of 2026. This immersive exhibit transforms community language into visual storytelling, blending poetry, painting, photography, and interactive experiences rooted in Bronzeville’s legacy.
What began as poetry grew through community participation at Bronzeville Fest and now lives on the walls—where words become art and community voices take center stage.

Alonzo Robinson - Wisconsin's First Black Licensed Architect
Saturday, February 14, 2-3:30 pm
Centennial Hall

UWM architectural historian Justin Miller will highlight and celebrate Alonzo Robinson’s prolific 40-year career. Robinson made notable and important contributions to Milwaukee’s Black community and the city as a whole. Some of Robinson’s well-known buildings include Central City Plaza and the Milwaukee Fire Department Administration Building. Original architectural drawings and other materials from MPL’s Archives will be on display.

Innovative Inventors
Monday, February 16, 4-4:45 p.m.
Central Library

This Black History Month celebrate with the book "Inventions to Count On: A Celebration of Black Inventors" by Dana Marie Miroballi and make an invention of your very own!

Adult Story Time
Monday, February 16, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Martin Luther King Branch

Why should kids be the only ones who get read to in the library? Come to the Community Room at King for a relaxing hour listening to a good tale.

Hidden Chapter Book Club
Tuesday, February 17, 6-7 pm
Central Library

From Percival Everett comes James, a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view. After discussion, discover special collections holdings that celebrate Black Milwaukee.

Book Discussion of Finding Freedom, the untold story of Joshua Glover, runaway slave.
Tuesday, February 17, 6-7:30 pm
Washington Park Branch

Join us as we discuss the book, Finding Freedom, The Untold Story of Joshua Glover, Runaway Slave. Follow Glover on his odyssey from slavery in St. Louis to his escape and life in Wisconsin. When his former owner catches up to him and Glover is jailed in Milwaukee under the Fugitive Slave Act, outraged Milwaukeeans bust him out of jail. Glover is then shuttled among Underground Railroad sites eventually boarding a steamer in Racine bound for Canada. The book uses primary and secondary sources to piece together Glover’s life and how he fared in Canada as a free man. This is a story of Glover’s courage and tenacity and a coming together of many to help Glover in his quest for freedom. Registration is encouraged.

CANCELLED History @ Noon: African American History in MKE 1835-1960
Wednesday, February 18
Zablocki Branch

Black History Month Book Tasting
Thursday, February 19, 4-5:30 p.m.
Mitchell Street Branch

Taste test snacks from local and national Black-owned businesses, enjoy a story time, and sample a curated menu of books that highlight Black history and Black voices. All ages welcome!

Crowning Glory: The Roots of the Black Hair Industry
Saturday, February 21, 2-3 pm
Atkinson Branch

Join us for an inspiring lecture with Maria Cunningham, owner and curator of The Whatnot Museum, highlighting the early trailblazers of the Black hair industry.

Harriet Tubman House: An Armchair Tour
Monday, February 23, 5-6 pm
Martin Luther King Branch
Enjoy this slideshow featuring the Harriet Tubman House in Auburn, New York.

Wisconsin's African American History
Monday, February 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Center Street Branch

Clayborn Benson, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society, will be speaking in response about Wisconsin’s unique African American history, from the frontiersmen of James Beckwith to the Bunger’s of the northwest, to the lead mines in southeastern Wisconsin, early settlers and laws that impacted African Americans. He will also discuss the efforts of African Americans to start their own businesses as early as the 1850s, to the Pan-American efforts of Jonathan J. Meyers who explored the opportunity to create a settlement in Nigeria, to the early civil rights efforts of William T. Greene to pass the public accommodation bill, that did pass. The efforts of Lucius Palmer the first elected representative of the 10th state district, which was the richest district in Wisconsin at the time, to Booker T. Washington’s visit, and his impact from the turn of the century to the 1960s. The desire of African Americans to have representation, prompted this vote.

Black History Story Quilt
Tuesday, February 24, 4-5 p.m.
Central Library

Create a story quilt-like collage inspired by Faith Ringgold this Black History Month.