This page offers a sampling of events taking place systemwide throughout Black History Month 2025. Some events are more specifically related to Black History Month, and others are events that center Black creators and student groups and organizations. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of events. Submit your University of Minnesota event by emailing [email protected]. Visit Where it Starts for stories of U of M students, faculty, staff, and alums.
Black History Month Events Systemwide
Crookston Events
Black History Month Film Series
Wednesdays in February | 7:00 PM
Centennial Classroom
The Black Student Association, in collaboration with the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Belonging, is hosting a Black History Month Film Series. Each Wednesday in February, they will screen a film that celebrates and highlights the Black experience in the United States and abroad. Light snacks will be provided, and discussions will follow each film.
Film Schedule:
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 | 7:00 PM
A documentary chronicling the life of young college professor Angela Davis and how her social activism led to her being placed on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.
Sarafina!
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 | 7:00 PM
A 1992 musical drama about a young South African girl navigating apartheid, featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo, and Miriam Makeba.
Till
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 | 7:00 PM
A 2022 biographical drama telling the powerful true story of Mamie Till, an educator and activist who pursued justice after the murder of her son, Emmett Till, in 1955.
This event is free and open to the public. No registration required.
Duluth Events
University of Minnesota Duluth Soul Food Night
February 15, 2025, at 5:00 pm
Kirby Ballroom, UMD
An evening of culture, community, and great food, hosted by the UMD Black Student Association. All are welcome to join in this celebration! Tickets: Early Bird: $8 | Students: $10 | Community: $15
Morris Events
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Campus Climate Survey Info Session
February 25, 2025, from 11:30 am to 1 pm
Alumni Room, Oyate Hall
Drop in for a hot beverage and learn about the upcoming systemwide spring survey, hosted by the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Intercultural Programs and the Equity and Diversity Committee. Everyone is welcome—this event is free and open to the public! For more information, contact liz thomson at [email protected].
Black Student Union's Annual Soul Food Dinner: Empowering Students
February 27, 2025, from 6 to 8 pm
Oyate Hall, Student Center
Morris Food Justice Event: Michele Huggins, Local MN Baker
February 28, 2025, from 7 to 8:30 pm
Turtle Mountain Café, Student Center
An evening of learning and community with Michele Huggins, a local Minnesota baker, hosted by Morris Food Justice, World Touch Cultural Heritage, and Environmental Studies. Everyone is welcome—this event is free and open to the public! For more information, contact Clement Loo at [email protected].
Rochester Events
Black Student Union's Annual Ebony Night: Celebrating Black Excellence
February 15, 2025, from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm
The Chateau, 15 1st St SW, Rochester, MN 55902
A Harlem Nights-inspired evening celebrating Black excellence through various performances, including singing, poetry, and a fashion show. Dinner will be provided. This year's theme is Harlem Nights/Roaring 20s. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the event page.
Trivia Night
Friday, February 7 | 5 p.m.
Student Life Center, Intercultural Student Center
Think you're savvy about history? Test your knowledge at our Trivia Night! Prizes available for top 3 winners!
"Still We Rise" Traveling Exhibit
Monday, February 10 - Friday, February 14
USquare, 3rd Floor
UMR is excited to again host a community-wide traveling exhibit, “Still We Rise: Rochester’s Legacy”.
Thursday, February 13 I Noon
Student Life Center, Intercultural Student Center
New this year, the traveling exhibit will also feature a digital display. Attend the unveiling of this new addition at noon on Thursday, February 13 in the Intercultural Student Center.
Ebony Night
Saturday, February 15 | 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
The Historic Chateau Theater
Join the Black Student Union for an enlightening night, celebrating Black excellence through performances, entertainment and more! Dinner will be provided. The theme this year is Harlem Nights/Roaring 20s! This event is sponsored in part by the Rochester Branch of the NAACP. RSVP to attend
Poetry Night
Thursday, February 20 | 5 p.m.
Student Life Center, Intercultural Student Center
Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend and welcome to share a favorite poem or one you have written. Sign up to share your poem.
Rhythm n’ Hues Community Art Night
Wednesday, February 26 | 6 p.m.
Griot Arts, 115 N. Broadway Avenue, Rochester, MN
Join us for some creative down time and communal art making! Bring your own projects or make something new in our space. We’ll have paint supplies, paper, small canvases, collage materials and more to play with! Suggested donation $10 or pay what you can.
The Sound of Gospel Music
Friday, February 28
Mayo Civic Center Presentation Hall
Community Resource Fair at 5:45 - 6:45 p.m.; Concert at 7 - 9:30 p.m.
Join the Rochester Branch of the NAACP for this musical anthology depicting the rich history and evolution of gospel music. Learn more or purchase tickets now.
Twin Cities Events
EXHIBITION | Seeking for the Lost
On display until February 16, 2025
Edith Carlson Gallery, Weisman Art Museum
This exhibition elucidates the eponymous Seeking for the Lost column from The Appeal, a Black-owned and operated St. Paul newspaper. The column printed ads from those seeking family members who had been sold or “lost” during slavery and through the post-Reconstruction period. Informally, small ads started appearing in the paper in 1888, and in 1891 The Appeal published the ads as a permanent column. The Appeal was not the first paper to print such ads, but in this newspaper the ads were free, signaling its significant commitment to help readers find family at no cost as well as its resolve to uplift a new post-Reconstruction generation desperate to reconnect with loved ones lost to slavery.
Each painting by Christopher Harrison in the exhibition imagines what a missing subject described in “Seeking for the Lost” might have looked like. By portraying each lost family member with a distinct perspective and personality, Harrison’s art emphasizes kinship as a unifying power and literacy as a means of endurance.
Embracing Our Roots: Rooted & Rising With Dr. Haki Madhubuti & Chaun Webster
Saturday, February 1, 2025, from 1 pm to 3 pm
Elmer L. Andersen Library, 222 21st Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Dr. Haki Madhubuti and Chaun Webster in a conversation on self-determination in Black writing, publishing, and distribution. Elder Madhubuti a widely published author and poet, and is the founder of Third World Press, the oldest Black Publishing house in the world. Chaun Webster is also a widely published poet and graphic artist. This event continues a series of intergenerational discussions between African American creatives and is co-sponsored by More Than a Single Story, The Givens Collection of African American Literature and Life, the In Black Ink publishing arts initiative, Givens Foundation For African American Literature, and University of Minnesota MFA Program in Creative Writing with funds from the Edelstein-Keller Endowment. Light refreshments will be served. Please register if you plan to attend!
Black History Month Film Series: Just Mercy
Saturday, February 8, 2025, from 12 pm to 8 pm
Coffman Memorial Union, Whole Music Club
Presented by Student Unions & Activities, an engaging afternoon filled with food, activities, and meaningful conversations. From noon to 2 pm, enjoy lunch and drinks, then explore student group and university department tables, live music, snacks, a photo booth, and interactive activities from 2 to 6 pm. Wrap up the day with a screening of Just Mercy (2019) at 6 PM, a powerful film that will inspire. Don’t miss this chance to connect, unwind, and learn something new! Feel free to come and go as you wish.
Celebrate Black History Month with the Givens Collection
Tuesday, February 11, 2025, from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Elmer L. Andersen Library, suite 120
A free and open-to-the-public workshop focusing on Black family history, led by genealogist Mica L. Anders of Anders Genealogical Services. Workshop participants will learn to identify and evaluate primary sources related to African American life. Materials from family archives in the Givens Collection of African American Literature and Life will be on display. Davu Seru, Curator, will provide a brief welcome to the University Libraries and the history of the Givens Collection. Register here.
Black History Month Film Series: Black Panther
Saturday, February 15, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 9 pm
Coffman Memorial Union Theater & Commuter Lounge
Kick things off with free lunch and drinks from 11 AM to 1 PM, then dive into the excitement with student group and university department tables, live music, snacks, a photo booth, and fun activities from 1 to 4 PM. At 4 PM, grab a seat for the groundbreaking Black Panther (2018), and stay for the epic sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), starting at 6 PM. Come for the fun, stay for the inspiration—this is a day you won’t want to miss!
MURP Speaker Series: Where the Hood At? Fifty Years of Change in Black Neighborhoods.
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at 2:30 pm
Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Josie Johnson Room, HHH 180
Substantial gaps exist between Black Americans and other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., most glaringly Whites, across virtually all quality-of-life indicators. Despite strong evidence that neighborhood residence affects life outcomes, we lack a comprehensive picture of Black neighborhood conditions and how they have changed over time. Lens examines the characteristics and trajectories of Black neighborhoods across the U.S. over the fifty years following the passage of the Fair Housing Act. The presentation will be followed by a conversation with the audience. Light refreshments will be provided.
Off Campus Events
Minneapolis
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Market
February 1, 2025 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
56 Brewing
Come by to celebrate Black History Month with community, enjoy delicious food and beverages, and shop the (always fantastic) lineup of local
Black-owned businesses, artists, and makers! Everyone is invited to this FREE, family-friendly event and leashed-dogs are always welcome at 56 Brewing.
Black History Month: Maker Market
Graze | Provisions + Libations, North 4th Street, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Get ready for an awesome in-person event celebrating Black History Month, where talented makers come together to showcase their creations!
Flooding the River: Book Launch & Signing
February 1, 2025 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Black Garnet Books
Join us as we celebrate Black History Month with the launch of "Flooding The River" with the author and get your copy signed!
The Art of Remembering: Black Lives in Painting
February 2, 2025
Minneapolis Institute of Art
This special program, part of the Black Europe Film Festival, pairs two films that explore the representation of Black individuals in European art and culture. Looking at artwork featuring Black characters, Vanus Labor and We Were Here urge us to take notice of a longer history of Black presence in Europe. Directors Salad Hilowle and Fred Kuwornu will be in conversation following the screening.
Minnesota Timberwolves Black History Night
February 3, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Target Center
Wolves vs. Kings. Feb. 3. Be there to see the Kings get dethroned live. Don’t miss this exciting Monday matchup!
The American Symphonic Tapestry
February 4-6, 2025
Orchestra Hall
Who and what created the American sound? This concert sheds light on some of the lesser-known composers whose musical contributions led to the creation of a unique American flair. Alongside the well-known George Gershwin, great composers like Florence Price, William Grant Still, and Margaret Bonds were all quintessential in building what we now recognize as the American orchestral sound.
The Black Market | Eat. Shop. Vibe. Connect.
February 8, 2025 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Lab
The Black Market is a marketplace where people may sell and purchase goods, learn about services, connect with community, enjoy live entertainment, and, taste a multitude of foods from around the cities. Our mission is to assist in increasing the visibility of black-owned businesses in MN. We provide a vibrant, unique space for community to gather, eat, shop, and connect. From shopping to family fun, The Black Market has it all!
Family Day at Mia: Inspiration Everywhere
February 9, 2025 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Minneapolis Art Institute
Celebrate Black History Month at Mia and find inspiration everywhere. Let your imagination soar with Danielle Daniel, one of Minnesota’s best storytellers. Feel the beat with a stellar dance performance from the Somali Museum Dance Troupe before trying out moves yourself! Make your own artist book with Essence Enwere and bold, colorful paintings with Hibaaq Ibrahim. Enjoy a special gallery hunt that is sure to get your feet moving and your hands clapping.
Talk: Leslie Wilson: Is this the America of Ebony?
February 16, 2025 at 2 p.m.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Join Leslie Wilson, Academic Curator and Director of Research Programs at the Art Institute of Chicago, as she explores the complexities of South African photojournalist Ernest Cole’s documentary work in the United States.
Soon after his arrival in 1967, Cole began work on a project to document Black communities across the nation, from his base in New York to the West Coast and Southeastern United States. Throughout his travels, Cole wrestled with his expectations of America–ones powerfully shaped by his reading of magazines like Ebony, Life, and Look–and the cultural realities of his experiences. Wilson’s talk expands upon her curatorial work in the exhibition on view in Mia’s Harrison Gallery, “The True America: Photographs by Ernest Cole,” the first exhibition to present Cole’s photojournalism work from across the United States in the pivotal era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
All Sweet Things: A Celebration of Black Love
February 18, 2025 at 7 p.m.
The Dakota
“All Sweet Things: A Celebration of Black Love” explores the passion, emotions, social depictions and challenges of modern relationships. Here, they do this through the
diverse sonic landscapes of R&B, neo-soul, folk and pop music. This celebratory experience showcases the extraordinary vocal, songwriting and arranging prowess of three of the Twin Cities’ most soulful singers!!
Meet at Mia: Power to the People
February 20, 2025 from 5 to 9 p.m.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
This Black History Month, experience the vibrancy of the Black community in the Twin Cities and beyond. Multi-hyphenate Kprecia Ambers shows that art is accessible to all through the art of tracing. Explore the Black Power movement of the 1960s and ’70s through film, then take a tour of African American art in Mia’s collection.
Saint Paul
Rondo Community Music Series
February 1 and 15; March 1 and 15; April 5 and 19; May 10
The Rondo Community Music Series, presented by Walker West Music Academy, showcases a current generation of artists who continue to be inspired by Rondo's history, cultural expression, and resilience. The Rondo Community Music Series presents a variety of musicians and artists from September through May every year. Join us for all of the hour-long concerts and be inspired by the power of music to convey and shape communities. In addition to the concerts, online and in-person panel discussions with musicians and artists are scheduled to provide context for the music being performed and further understand the role of musicians, jazz, spoken word, educators, and women artists in producing music in the Twin Cities.
The Sound of Gospel: A Black History Month Celebration
Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 3 p.m.
Celebrating Black History Month – The Sound of Gospel celebrates and honors Black History Month. The show is produced by playwright, producer, and director William Pierce of 2nd Chance Outreach; directed by Academy Award-nominated vocalist, actress, and playwright Jevetta Steele; with musical direction by the Grammy Award-winning Billy Steele – both of the renowned family The Steeles.
Diversity and the Outdoors
Saturday, February 8, 2025 from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Learn about the changing face of conservation and outdoor recreation in America with acclaimed Duluth-based author, photographer and advocate, Dudley Edmondson. In this thought-provoking talk, Edmondson, explores the intersection of race, representation and environmental stewardship.
Drawing from his compelling book, People the Planet Needs Now, Edmondson shares powerful stories from Black and Brown scientists and activists whose lived experiences and groundbreaking work offer new perspectives on addressing the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges.
Join us for this inspiring talk to discover how representation and inclusion in conservation can spark solutions and affect global change. Leave empowered to amplify voices, broaden outreach and ensure the natural world in Minnesota and beyond becomes a space where everyone feels at home.
Black History Celebration Ticket Pack
Wild vs Islanders
February 8, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. CST
Xcel Energy Center
Join the Minnesota Wild in celebrating Black History Month. Our Black History Celebration ticket pack on February 8th includes an exclusive wearable item designed with the help of KNOCK, Inc, your game ticket to watch the Wild take on the Islanders and a donation to Be the Change Minnesota.
Red Stained: The Life of Hilda Simms
Join Jokeda “JoJo” Bell for a Black History Month program about Black actress and activist Hilda Simms. Red Stained: The Life of Hilda Simms, the first full biography of her life and career, weaves primary research with a narrative style to tell the true story of Hilda Simms in the context of a nation gripped in the Cold War and a burgeoning civil rights movement. It is an examination of Simms's rise to fame, her drive to be a respected dramatic actress, and her efforts to create equal opportunities for people of color on stage, on the screen, and behind the camera.
Come for our Free Thursday Nights at the Minnesota History Center event, experience our exhibits, and then learn a truly unique story from Minnesota’s Greatest Generation! The talk starts at 6:30 pm in the 3M Auditorium. Book signing will be available in the lobby following the talk. If you're unable to attend, the event is also accessible virtually via Zoom: https://mnhs-org.zoom.us/j/84290183332/.
DRUMLine Live
February 21, 2025 from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
DRUMLine Live following the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching band tradition, has riveting rhythms, bold beats, and ear-grabbing energy and has been featured in programs with superstars Beyonce and Shaq. You don’t want to miss this musical roller coaster full of hip-hop, pop, American soul, gospel, jazz, and more with choreographed routines and heavy doses of drum riffs, cadences, and tributes to some of the greatest artists of our time (including Minnesota’s very own Prince!).
The Sound of (Black) Music
The O'Shaughnessy Theater
The Sound of (Black) Music is a dynamic and groundbreaking production that reimagines one of America’s most beloved musical classics through a joyful, Afro-futuristic lens. The electrifying score, featuring elements of jazz, soul, funk, and afro-grooves, celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Black music and its impact on American popular culture. The show stars a spirited band of leading performers, including celebrated vocalists Brianna Thomas and C. Anthony Bryant, and musical director Charenee Wade. Co-directed by Shariffa Ali and Kamilah Long, this production reclaims the legacy of black music and its central role in shaping American culture.
Originally created for the Fisher Center @ Bard’s BLACK ROOTS SUMMER in 2021, this groundbreaking production was subsequently listed among the Best New Theater of 2021 by The New York Times.
Explorations of Black Girlhood
In this talk, Daley pinpoints how African American female middle-grade and young adult authors depict Black girls as vital figures within the Black Lives Matter movement. Fielding a range of examples that includes The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson, Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, Color Me In by Natasha Díaz, A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée, and I Rise by Marie Arnold, Daley explores this new genre of children’s literature that she has termed BLM protest literature. Daley's talk sparks an important conversation about how Black girls are characterized as symbols of Black rage, resistance, and rebellion in the contemporary movement for Black civil rights.
Come to view the Girlhood (It’s complicated) exhibit, then stay for the program! The talk starts at 2:00 pm in the 3M Auditorium. Registration is recommended, but not required. This program is included with site admission. If you're unable to attend, the event is also accessible virtually via Zoom: https://mnhs-org.zoom.us/j/87509822680.