A Year of Black History

In September 2021, the Waltham Public Library is embarking on a nine month series of library programs that sheds light on the Black experience of our shared American history. We invite you to join us. 

We are intentionally moving away from the single month celebration of Black History and are instead dedicating program time to delve into Black History topics on a much deeper level. We hope to educate ourselves and the public about the Black American history you likely didn’t learn in school. 

Once a month, we’ll host a Black academic who will focus on a topic relevant to the importance of Black History in America. Examples of topics include: Black activism, racial terror lynchings, history of Black music, segregation and Jim Crow, and mass incarceration. Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, was hired to advise us on the final lineup.

Our country today is at a moment of racial reckoning. It is our belief that local institutions, like the Waltham Public Library, must do our part to educate the public about racial inequity, help further the conversation on race, and in doing so, help dismantle systemic racism.

Black History is American History.