This collection of events and activities celebrates African American contributions and lasting impact to Louisville’s history, heritage, and culture while also encouraging guests to travel back in time to explore the untold stories of the extraordinary people that built the Louisville experience as we know it today.
Unlocking Our Lost Stories
The Loft at Biscuit Lounge
February 2, 5:30 – 8:00pm
Network+Chill and LifeTagger are celebrating Black History Month by unlocking stories of local unsung heroes of black entrepreneurship in 10 cities throughout the U.S. starting in Louisville. This event is open and free to the public.
Let’s Talk | Bridging The Divide: Help Me Find My People
Frazier History Museum
February 8, 6:00 – 7:00pm
It’s a refrain heard time and time again with African Americans researching their ancestry, the challenges of getting past the 1870 “brick wall.” Now there is a huge breakthrough that is unlocking information and helping families find one another. Reckoning, Inc., in partnership with the Frazier History Museum, will share that research and how it ties back to ledger books created to keep track of African American men who joined the US Colored Troops (USCT) from Kentucky in the Civil War.
Black History Film Series
Louisville Free Public Library, Main Branch
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
February 5, 1:30 – 4:30pm
February 12, 1:30 – 4:30pm
February 19, 1:30 – 4:30pm
February 26, 1:30 – 4:30pm
The Louisville Free Public Library and the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center Office of Diversity and Inclusion are presenting the Black History Film Series and panel discussion every week in the month of February. This event is open and free to the public, but registration is requested. Click here to register online.
The Sankofa Experience
Roots 101 African American Museum
February 23 & 24, 6:00pm
Sankofa is a live experience that highlights the importance of looking backward while always looking forward and reaching back to those left behind.
The I Was Here Project
Muhammad Ali Center
Daily, Wednesday – Sunday, through February 12
The I Was Here project began in 2016 as a set of emblematic Ancestor Spirit Portraits created by photographing contemporary African Americans as archetypal Ancestor Spirits. The portraits embody Family: mother, father, brother, sister. They form cohesive, ethereal images that convey the dignity of the African American individual and family – imagery mostly missing in America’s visual history.
Black Ballplayers: Heritage and Heroes
Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
Friday – Monday, 10:50am and 1:50pm
Explore the Slugger Museum with amazing athletes and inspiring heroes like Josh Gibson, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson, Willie Mays, Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey, Jr., Derek Jeter, and the many others that have made incredible contributions to baseball and our society. Black ballplayers also played a tremendous role in building Louisville Slugger into an iconic brand.