Join us as we celebrate Black History Month, an annual celebration of the achievements of African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Having a special designated time to celebrate Black History in America was the idea of historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans.  Since 1976, the U.S. has designated the month of February as Black History Month and we will celebrate at LCM again this year throughout the month and throughout the Museum.

Visit our Make Your Mark Gallery to see our Wall of Fame, which features influential Black Mark Makers in Arts & Culture from Louisiana, including Irma Thomas, who is also prominently featured in our Jammin’ House and Terrance Osborne, the designer of the Shotgun House in our Make Your Mark Gallery. We feature many other talents who have made their marks on our city, our state, and all over the world.

Schedule of Events

Adinkra Symbol Exploration in Studio in the Park

Have you heard of the word “Sankofa” or seen the symbol that represents it? Sankofa is a word from the Twi language of Ghana, Africa, connected to a proverb that teaches the importance of learning from the past. Do you know how this symbol and its meaning connect to the culture of New Orleans? 

Visit Studio in the Park as we continue to explore the nature of shapes and symbolism in the world around us and how communicating through art and symbols connects us all. Guests will engage in the process art of stamping on paper and fabric while learning about the Adinkra symbols that originated in Ghana, were preserved by the enslaved West Africans who were brought to this country long ago and continue in the culture today.

These symbols represent concepts from Ghanaian proverbs, such as justice, hope, and unity, and serve as a form of symbolic communication through imagery and culture.

In connection with the local architectural landscape, you’ll discover how these symbols are present all around us in New Orleans’ built environment, and how they offer insights into the past, revealing who shaped our city and the messages they hoped to convey to future generations.

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Ti Piti: A Louisiana Musical-Cultural Hour with Les Cenelles

Louisiana has so many stories to tell through music, sound, song, and the environment. Ti Piti will harness the power of storytelling, history, and culture through teaching young audiences Louisiana Creole songs, Gulf South Indigenous vocabulary and rhythms and various instruments that children will have access to play. The goals of Ti Piti are to provide a sense of community for parents of young children, to create something where both parents and children can learn and enjoy, to amplify the wonderful, localized work of LCM, to expose children to the unique environmental and cultural realities of this place and how this place connects with other places.?

10:30 a.m.: Buzzing with Questions

Charles Henry Turner was an insect scientist and educator who was best known for his important studies on the behavior of bees and ants. Learn what the buzz is all about by joining us for a special reading of Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner by Janice N. Harrington in our Edible Garden and practice being a bayou biologist by learning about and observing insects in our Big Backyard.

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Chemistry Experiments with Xavier University’s Chemistry Club