Black History Month 2026: Books, arts and studies for all
As the month opens, English Department chair Simon Gikandi (left) and professor D. Vance Smith visit the public library to discuss Smith's book “Atlas's Bones: The African Foundations of Europe.” At the close of the month, the Department of African American Studies hosts the daylong symposium “Black Studies is for Everyone.” Mid-month events include the Feb. 10 Malcolm X Memorial Lecture by University Professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
This February, the Princeton community is recognizing Black History Month with a range of events and educational programs spanning the month, all open to the public. Registration may be required in advance for some events.
Feb. 5
- In a Princeton Public Library Black History Month book talk, D. Vance Smith, professor of English, will discuss his book “Atlas’s Bones: The African Foundations of Europe” in conversation with Simon Gikandi, the Class of 1943 University Professor of English and department chair. Smith’s 2025 book explores “Africa’s influence on European culture and how colonization remade Africa in the image of a medieval Europe,” according to its publisher, the University of Chicago Press. The book talk, at 6 p.m., is a collaboration between the Princeton Public Library, the Humanities Council and the Program in Humanistic Studies.
Feb. 6
- Princeton University Art Museum Associate Curator of African Art Perrin Lathrop will host a “pop-up talk” in the Grand Hall of the new art museum, which opened in October 2025. As part of the museum’s monthly conversation series with its curatorial experts, Lathrop will discuss the behind-the-scenes installation process for the new Museum’s galleries of African art. Attendees are encouraged to visit the galleries afterward to see the works on display.
Feb. 10
- The Malcolm X Memorial Lecture lecture “Why Malcolm X Matters, Now” will be presented by Eddie S. Glaude Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and professor of African American Studies. Reflecting back from 60 years after Malcolm X’s death and the publication of his autobiography, the talk will explore both his spiritual and intellectual legacies, with Glaude addressing “how through acts of individual character and collective action, we can all learn to confront uncomfortable truths in turbulent times,” according to the event’s co-sponsors: the Office of Religious Life’s Muslim Life Program and the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding.
Feb. 13
- Douglass Day 2026 celebrates the legacy of abolitionist, orator and author Frederick Douglass with annual events recognizing his birthday on Feb. 14. The first is a pop-up Special Collections showcase in the lobby of Firestone Library, which features items from the Princeton University Library collections by and about Douglass, including an 1867 portrait of him. Transcribe-a-thon events featuring historic records will be held in various locations locally, including at the University’s Commons Library in the new SEAS+ES complex on campus and the Princeton Public Library in town.
Feb. 17
- “Race, History, and Memory in the 250th Year of the U.S.,” a conversation between Eddie S. Glaude Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and professor of African American Studies, and Khalil Gibran Muhammad, professor of African American Studies and public affairs, will explore the convergence of race, history and memory within the context of the country’s 250th anniversary this year.
Feb. 23
- Shatema Threadcraft, associate professor of gender and sexuality studies at Vanderbilt University, will discuss her book “The Labors of Resurrection: Black Women, Necromancy, and Morrisonian Democracy” with Reena Goldthree, associate professor of African American Studies at Princeton, at the Princeton Public Library.
Feb. 27
The Department of African American Studies will host "Black Studies is for Everyone," a daylong symposium featuring leading scholars, writers and critics in three panel discussions considering the history and future of Black Studies.
Panels will be moderated by Princeton’s Joshua Guild, associate professor of African American Studies; Tera Hunter, the Edwards Professor of American History, a professor of history and African American Studies, and chair of the Department of African American Studies; and Marcus Lee, assistant professor of African American Studies.
The Princeton faculty speakers are: Vinson Cunningham, a visiting lecturer in the Council of the Humanities and McGraw Professor of Writing; Eddie S. Glaude Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and professor of African American Studies; Khalil Gibran Muhammad, professor of African American Studies and public affairs; Naomi Murakawa, associate professor of African American Studies; Kinohi Nishikawa, associate professor of English and African American Studies and director of the Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities; Chika Okeke-Agulu, the Robert Schirmer Professor of Art and Archaeology and African American Studies and director of Princeton’s Africa World Initiative; Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies and acting chair of the Department of African American Studies.
