Black History Month honors the achievements and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S. history, and it's a great time to visit a favorite museum for a special exhibit or visit somewhere new.
The theme of Black History Month in 2025 is African Americans and labor, according to the Association for the Study of African Life and History (ASALH).
The ASALH and its founder, historian and author Carter G. Woodson, chose to celebrate the first Negro History Week in February 1926 because Black Americans already celebrated the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist and author Frederick Douglass.
Since the mid-1970s, every president has designated February as Black History Month.
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It's a time to share Black stories, engage with history and celebrate Black identity nationwide and in the D.C. area.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
1400 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
The country's premiere museum dedicated to Black history and culture is a must-see for everyone. Every level is packed with mind-opening exhibits. Don't miss the expansive concourse level, where curators trace African American history from colonial-era slavery through the Civil Rights Movement and beyond, or the fun and highly interactive "Musical Crossroads" exhibit on the top floor.
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The NMAAHC's temporary exhibit "In Slavery’s Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World" highlights Black freedom-makers who fought slavery and oppression and dreamed of a freer future.
"The project grew out of decade-long collaboration between international curators, scholars, and community members working to tell stories of slavery and colonialism in public spaces," the NMAAHC website says. It's open through June 8.
The NMAAHC is free to visit, but remember to reserve your timed entry passes. The museum also hosts tons of events for children and adults alike.
College Park Aviation Museum
College Park, Maryland
Learn about the history of Black aviators any time and during special events this February.
On Feb. 22, go on a Living History tour led by an actor portraying John Greene, who managed the "first "first licensed airfield owned and operated by Black aviators in the country," according to the museum. The tours cost $10 for Prince George's County residents and $13 for nonresidents.
The "Afternoon Aviators: Black History Month" event geared for kids ages 8 to 12 will focus on STEM and aviation-themes sciences. The idea is to inspire young scientists as they celebrate and explore John Greene’s quest to make flying accessible to all people. Kids will have the chance to imagine and create a flying clubhouse as well as a plane to fly there! It's scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22 from 1-2 p.m.
Younger kids aged 3 to 6 can visit the museum on Saturday, Feb. 15 for a Cub Corner lesson about Bessie Colman, the first female African American and Native American licensed pilot. Attendees can expert a short lesson and an activity where they'll create their own license badge.

Anacostia Community Museum
1901 Fort Pl SE, Washington, D.C.
Through March 5, visit this Smithsonian museum to see its exhibit about students and educators who made D.C., “a truly unparalleled center for Black arts education”.
"Bold and Beautiful Vision: A Century of Black Arts Education in Washington, DC, 1900–2000" includes art by Elizabeth Catlett, Alma Thomas, James A. Porter, Loïs Mailou Jones, David Driskell and more. Experience artwork full of inspiring stories, unseen and rare video footage and artistic artifacts.
National Portrait Gallery
8th and G Streets, NW, Washington, D.C.
Don't miss "This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance," which is titled after one of the writer, essayist, playwright, and activist's short stories.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hilton Als served as guest curator of this exhibit on Baldwin and contemporaries who were forced to keep their sexuality private to shield their fight for civil rights.
The exhibition includes portraits and other works exploring the "interwoven lives" of Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, author of "A Raisin in the Sun," lawyer, educator, and politician Barbara Jordan, activist Bayard Rustin and others.
"Viewing Baldwin in the context of his community reveals how his sexuality, faith, artistic curiosities, and notions of masculinity—coupled with his involvement in the civil rights movement—helped define his writing and long-lasting legacy," the National Portrait Gallery's description reads.
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
901 G Street NW, Washington, D.C.
The exhibition aims to give visitors a view of how African Americans in the mid-century's rising middle and business classes used the annual travel guide as a resource.
The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service collaborated with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian Candacy Taylor to create this exhibit, which is open during the library's regular operating hours. Here's more information.
Freedom House Museum
1315 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia
Housed in the former headquarters of the largest domestic slave trading firm in the United States, the Freedom House Museum now hosts exhibits on three floors telling the story of the slave trade in Alexandria and the struggle for equality, plus showcases art.
Currently, it's only open on weekends so renovation work can happen during the week. Here's more information.
You can also visit The Alexandria Black History Museum for free on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
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