Penn State campuses commemorate 2026 National Black History Month with events

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Several Penn State campuses across the commonwealth will be holding events in February in commemoration of National Black History Month.

Penn State University Park

Terri Lyne Carrington, "We Insist! 2025," featuring Christie Dashiell - 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, Eisenhower Auditorium. Jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington will lead a live band in a reimagining of songs from the "free" jazz era and "Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite" with "We Insist! 2025," starring the four-time Grammy Award-winning musician and featuring vocalist Christie Dashiell. In 2022, the Library of Congress added Roach's album seminal 1960 release to the National Registry for preservation as a culturally significant work. Today, its message remains as vital and urgent today as it was in the 1960s. More information and tickets for Carrington are available here.

The Joyfull Cirque Kalabanté Edition - 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, Robb Hall, Hintz Family Alumni Center. Just like food, art comes from many forms, cultural backgrounds, and histories. Each Joyfull is open to all to come and enjoy a meal, live performance and conversation. Join us for evenings of joyful expression, where we forge connections and leave with full bellies and full hearts. The program, entertainment and menu will be announced closer to the event. The event is free, but registration is required. More information and tickets for the Joyfull Cirque Kalabanté are available here.

Cirque Kalabanté "Afrique en Cirque" - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, Eisenhower Auditorium. Experience the powerful energy and bold artistry of Guinea through an energetic show of breathtaking acrobatics and live music. The performance exudes the beauty, youth and artistry of West African culture in a colorful show highlighting its scenery, costumes and staging. American Sign Language interpretation is offered for this performance. More information and tickets for "Afrique en Cirque" are available here.

Art and Activism in South Africa: Post-Apartheid Women's Poetry and Performance - 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, 012 Lewis Katz Building. Gabeba Baderoon, associate professor of women's, gender, and sexuality studies, African studies and comparative literature at Penn State, will examine the extraordinary flowering of transgressive art and poetry by women after the end of apartheid. Baderoon will examine the work of poets such as Koleka Putuma, Makhosazana Xaba and Ronelda Kamfer, and of iconic artists such as Zanele Muholi, Gabrielle Goliath and Thania Peterson. This event is hosted by the School of International Affairs Black Student Association and co-sponsored by Penn State Global. Food will be provided. Registration is required here for "Art and Activism in South Africa."

Health and Human Development Black History Month Event- 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, Bennett Pierce Living Center, 110 Henderson Building. The College of Health and Human Development Office for Diversity and Inclusion invites you to a student showcase of exciting and interactive celebrations of Black culture and history. Join us for exciting dance workshops led by Dark Storm and Island Fever, along with fun and engaging Penn State Black history trivia hosted by Alyssa Funches (communication sciences and disorders major) and the NAACP and NPHC. Take a walk through Penn State Black history, celebrate Black excellence at Penn State, and enjoy great food - don't miss it!

Penn State Altoona

Step Afrika! Dance Company - Thursday, Feb 12, 6:30 p.m., Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. Step Afrika! is an energetic, educational introduction to the art form of stepping. Merging the steps and strolls created and still practiced by Black Greek-letter organizations with the sounds of AfroBeats and popular music, Step Afrika! fuses explosive footwork, vibrant choreography and contemporary African movement into a unique campus experience. Free and open to the public.

Black History Month historical display - Thursday, Feb. 19, 4-8 p.m., Slep Fireside. Harriett Gaston, academic adviser at Penn State Altoona, will moderate a historical display of local Black history events.

Penn State Berks

Zuzu African Acrobats - 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10, Tully's Cafeteria, Perkins Student Center. Hailing from Tanzania, Zuzu Acrobats celebrates the 2,000-year-old Bantu culture of East Africa. The performance features jaw-dropping acrobatics, singing, dancing and more, set to high-energy, fast-paced Lingala music. The group gained stardom after appearing on "America's Got Talent" in 2009 where it was a semifinalist. This performance is sponsored by the Student Engagement and Leadership Office and the Office of Inclusive Excellence, and it is free and open to the public.

Douglass Day Transcribe-a-thon - Noon-3 p.m., Friday, Feb. 13, Thun Library, room 137. Douglass Day, a project of the Center for Black Digital Research at Penn State University, is an annual program and livestream that marks the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass. Each year thousands of people gather to transcribe archival documents so they are searchable, discoverable and available for learning about Black history. Penn State Berks will host in-person transcribing while streaming the Douglass Day event broadcast. This year's theme will feature the Colored Conventions and the 14th Amendment. The event is sponsored by the Thun Library and the Berks Black Student Union, and it is open to faculty, staff, students and community members.

"Being Black at Berks" - 6:15-8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 27, Perkins Student Center Auditorium. "Being Black at Berks" is the Black Student Union's signature Black History Month event. Celebrating its 8th anniversary, the event's theme this year is "Cookout Chronicles." The showcase highlights the talents, culture and lived experiences of Black students at Penn State Berks, while engaging the wider campus and local community.

Penn State Brandywine

Soul Food Luncheon with Dionne Carole Performance - noon-1 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 4. Student Union 114-117. This fun and feel-good show takes you on a wonderful journey down memory lane as it highlights the lives and incredible voices of some of music's most legendary African American female singers.

Celebration of Hip Hop - 6-9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 12, Student Union 114-117.

"Roots to Routes" - 6-8 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 17, Tomezsko Lounge. Join the Black Student Union for an evening of community building, career exploration and connection. All Brandywine students are welcome to attend and expand their networks with fellow students and alumni.

Penn State Great Valley

"Inventions, Innovators, & Entrepreneurs" Presentation - 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3, Penn State Great Valley Main Building. James Howard, an industrial designer, educator, inventor, and the executive director of the Black Inventors Hall of Fame Museum, will shine a light on the many groundbreaking contributions of African Americans in technology and business. Howard will highlight these innovators' relentlessness, their notable inventions and invaluable impact. This event is for the Great Valley campus community and is made possible through funding from the AMETEK Diversity and STEM Program Endowment.

Penn State Harrisburg

Exhibit: Black Women Through an Archival Lens - Feb. 2 through March, Madlyn L. Hanes Library, 3rd floor. This exhibition is displayed in honor of Black History Month and Women's History Month (in March) and examines how the Alice K. Marshall Women's History Collection (AMC) depicts, misconstrues and/or illuminates Black women's history. The exhibition aims to better understand how Black women are represented in historical collections, such as the AMC, illuminating their experiences as well as the innumerable challenges they have faced.

Douglass Day TRANSCRIBE-A-THON - Noon-3 p.m., Feb. 13, Madlyn L. Hanes Library, Room 106. Celebrate Frederick Douglass' birthday and participate in a national, online transcribe-a-thon to support collective action for Black history and culture.

Annual Campus-wide Black History Month Celebration - 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Feb. 27, Capital Union Building, Events Room 210.

Penn State Shenango

Black History Month "Jeopardy!" - 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, Great Hall. Students are invited to a free, fried chicken lunch sponsored by the Student Affairs office and to participate in a special "Jeopardy!" competition featuring questions specific to Black History Month. Literary works by African American authors will be on display throughout the Great Hall, and game winners will receive "Be the Dream" t-shirts.