Journey back in time to the era of segregated baseball with Sam Allen, who played left field with the Negro League teams of Kansas City Monarchs, Raleigh Tigers, and Memphis Red Sox before serving in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division. Allen, a Norfolk resident, is a national treasure and he joins us to reminisce […]
Ms. Martha Razor presents "The Donkey Who Lost his Memory," a children's story and puppet show written by a Portsmouth student. Guests will have the opportunity to hear and particiapte in the story and then create their own stick puppet to take home. First session is at 10:30 a.m. with a second session to follow […]
Participate in our Black History Trivia Contest. Hint: answers are on the bulletin board. Kid-friendly.
Discover African American scientists and their significant contributions during the month of February. Their profiles will be featured throughout the 2nd floor and experiments related to their work will be highlighted in S.T.E.M. Studio each weekend.
Portsmouth Public Library and Black History Now presents Caribbean Dreaming, an opportunity to explore Caribbean Steel Drums through a historical and musical demonstration. Learn how drums were outlawed on many Caribbean islands and how they came to be made from steel. A unique sound and art form was created by politics. Learn how the people […]
The Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center along with Black History Now is proud to present University of Virginia Professor Dr. Louis P. Nelson to discuss The Architecture of Democracy in a Landscape of Slavery: An Illustrated Presentation. The University of Virginia is closely associated with Thomas Jefferson and is an architectural testament to the enlightened visions […]
The Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center and Black History Now present the Tuskegee Airmen: The First Top Guns. In May of 1949, the U.S. Military was still segregated. The U.S. Air Force held the first Gunnery Meet in Las Vegas, NV, where five "fighter groups" sent their best pilots and crews to compete, including the all […]
The Portsmouth History Museums and Black History Now present Dr. Linda Upham-Bornstein's presentation Engineer Loammi Baldwin, Urban Slavery, and the Construction of Dry Dock #1 at Gosport Shipyard. When Dry Dock 1 at today's Norfolk Naval Shipyard was built in the 1830s, the labor necessary to complete it included enslaved stonecutters who were paid for their […]
The Portsmouth Public Library, Main Branch and Black History Now present an African American History Expo. Celebrate African American history and music featuring handcrafted items, music from Porte Towne Magic, and speaker Jack Gary, Director of Archaeology for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Mr. Gary will discuss the excavations at the First Baptist Church in Williamsburg. The church […]
This 4-person art exhibition features paintings and drawings influenced by contemporary Black Culture that traces its roots to the Caribbean, Northern Africa and beyond. Featured artists are Anthony Burks, Sr., from Florida; Portsmouth native and now Florida resident Ramel Jasir; Arthur Rogers, Jr., from Charlotte, North Carolina; and Clayton Singleton, from Norfolk, Virginia.
The Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center and Black History Now 2022 presents Java & Djembes, an African percussion workshop featuring coffees and chocolates from the African continent. Participants enjoy coffees and fine chocolates from Africa while learning percussion rhythms from master musician Kamiruri Kelly of the Day Program. Price is $10 per person. Ages 17 […]
A Post Such As Portsmouth is a 2-day re-enactment designed to entertain and educate the public of the occupation of Portsmouth by the British forces in 1781. It is open and free to everyone; and it features a variety of civilian and military impressions, as well as members of the Royal Navy. The event takes place March […]