Unique Things to Do for Black History Month in Atlanta
Published January 31, 2024
Last Updated May 24, 2024
In January, we celebrate the birthday and contributions of Atlanta native Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Then in February, we celebrate Black History Month. Here are a few ideas of things to do during Black History Month in Atlanta.
Stroll Down Auburn Avenue
The Sweet Auburn neighborhood once was the center of cultural, spiritual and business life for Black Atlanta, and Auburn Avenue once was known as “the richest Negro Street in the world.” Visit Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. Walk in the footsteps of those who came before us on Auburn Avenue, and see the Black and brown-owned businesses that are helping to revitalize the area. Use this Auburn Avenue itinerary as a guide.
Where: Start at the Auburn Avenue Research Library at 101 Auburn Ave. NE, head across the street to the APEX Museum, then make your way down to For Keeps Bookstore before heading to the MLK birth home.
Visit the High Museum of Art
“Sonya Clark: We Are Each Other” is on view at the High Museum of Art through Feb. 18. For 30 years, Clark has focused her work on the African diaspora in the United States to confront, elucidate and reframe its history. Within her practice, she often undertakes this exploration through everyday fiber materials — most notably hair, flags, found fabric — and craft practices. In her work, craft and community are intertwined. Her participatory projects promote new collective encounters across racial, gender and socioeconomic divisions.
Where: 1280 Peachtree St. NE
Center for Puppetry Arts and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum Present ‘Ruth and the Green Book’
Through Feb. 25, “Ruth and the Green Book,” about 8-year-old Ruth and her family, is showing at the Center for Puppetry Arts. They are traveling from Chicago to Alabama in the 1950s. The family is turned away from hotels, gas stations and restaurants. Finally, Ruth’s family is introduced to “The Green Book,” which was created in response to the humiliation and violence experienced by Black Americans while traveling in the Jim Crow South. The publication was an indispensable guide for Ruth’s family and many others to find a safe, welcoming route to travel through segregated America.
Where: 1404 Spring St. NW
Celebrate at Children’s Museum of Atlanta
The Children’s Museum of Atlanta celebrates Black History Month through Feb. 29. Youngsters will learn about the impact of Black innovators and artists. Kids may design unique fashions, get jazzy with music from Coltrane and create collages, sculptures and planets. They can also hear stories about inspirational African American women and about inventions that have shaped lives of people around the world.
Where: 275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW
College Football Hall of Fame Commemorates Wyoming Black 14
The Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame, following a Feb. 6 event, presents a temporary display about the Wyoming Black 14, a group of African American football players who stood up against injustice by fighting for their right to express themselves politically at a pivotal moment in both societal and college football. The exhibit includes infographics alongside artifacts such as a Wyoming 14 armband, Black 14 banner, 1969 Wyoming vs. BYU game program, Joe Tasby’s Idaho helmet and jersey and much more. Presented in collaboration with the Black 14 Philanthropy, Auburn Avenue Research Library and Brigham Young University School of Communications, visitors have the opportunity to delve into this piece of history and learn more about the Wyoming Black 14 throughout the entirety of Black History Month. On Feb. 6, the Hall of Fame hosted a free film screening followed by a panel discussion about the Wyoming Black 14.
Delve into Past and Present
Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights pays homage to the Civil Rights Movement and brings current global human rights issues to the forefront. Walk through the center’s three main exhibits: civil rights, human rights and the Martin Luther King Jr. Collection from Morehouse College. Each exhibit features hands-on interactive displays.
Where: 100 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd.
CDC Museum Presents Exhibit about Segregation
Atlanta’s CDC Museum has opened the exhibit, “Ghosts of Segregation: Photographs of Rich Frishman.” The exhibit explores the lingering presence of segregation, slavery and institutional racism hidden in everyday American architecture. From segregated schools to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama to a recent church firebombing in Louisiana, Frishman’s photographs show how our surroundings bear witness to history. See it through May 24.
Where: 1600 Clifton Road
Hammonds House Explores Black American Women
Hammonds House Museum launches its 2024 exhibition season with artist Precious Lovell’s exploration of the experiences of Black American women and their interconnected relationships in two new collections, “The Fabric Of Our Lives: The Ties That Bind” and “Ex-Domestication.” The exhibition is on view through April 15.
In “The Ties That Bind,” Lovell presents a collection of 15 aprons, exploring the storytelling potential of fabric and attire. The African modesty apron serves as the clothing artifact for this collection. Its function is to maintain the dignity of its wearer. Modesty aprons take many shapes and forms and are made from a variety of materials, including fabric, metal, animal skins, plant fiber or leaves.
“Ex-Domestication” delves into the present through a historical perspective, shedding light on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the enduring impact it has had on societal behaviors. Through this series, Lovell challenges traditional notions of “domestication” associated with servitude and control, using craft traditions typically labeled as “women’s work” such as weaving, needlepoint, quilting and sewing to create thought-provoking pieces.
Where: 503 Peeples St. SW
Dine at a Black-owned Restaurant
Atlanta is home to lots of popular Black-owned restaurants. Black History Month is the perfect time to try one or more.
Immerse Yourself in Attractions
For more glimpses into Black history, visit the Madam CJ Walker Museum/WERD Radio, celebrating both America’s first female self-made millionaire (which inspired the Netflix series “Self Made,” starring Octavia Spencer) and the first Black-owned radio station. Visit the APEX Museum to learn about the people of the African Diaspora.. See works by artists of African descent at the Hammonds House Museum.
The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History is a special library of the Fulton County Library System, the first public library in the Southeast to offer specialized reference and archival collections dedicated to the study and research of African American culture and history and of other peoples of African descent.
The Wren’s Nest is the former home of author and journalist Joel Chandler Harris, and the Trap Music Museum centers around the Trap Music culture and features a collection of one-of-a-kind pieces in honor of some of hip-hop’s most iconic Trap Music stars.
Where: Madame CJ Walker/WERD Radio, 54 Hilliard St. NE
APEX Museum, 135 Auburn Ave. NE
Hammonds House Museum, 503 Peeples St. SW
Auburn Avenue Research Library, 101 Auburn Ave. NE
Trap Music Museum, 630 Travis St. NW
Wren’s Nest, 1050 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. SW
Support Black-owned Businesses
The Village Retail at Ponce City Market features goods from Black entrepreneurs. Shop for jewelry, clothing, home decor, accessories, and health and wellness items.
Where: The Village Retail is inside Ponce City Market at 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE
Explore African American Stories at Oakland Cemetery
Historic Oakland Foundation offers free tours of Oakland’s historic African American Burial Grounds this February. From the inception of Atlanta’s municipal cemetery in 1850, the burial grounds for enslaved and free African Americans were, by custom and by law, separate from the other sections of the cemetery. In 1852, soon after Oakland was established, the Atlanta City Council ruled that the enslaved were to be buried on the eastern extremity of the property, apart from the public burial grounds, and this area became known as Slave Square. As the cemetery expanded over the years, the eastern boundary line moved further east and consequently, the graves of many African Americans were exhumed and moved, some of them twice, to where they now lie in an area adjacent to Paupers Grounds.
Where: 248 Oakland Ave SE
Experience an Online Exhibitions at Atlanta History Center
Atlanta History Center features three online-only exhibitions that are perfect for viewing during Black History Month. The exhibit “The Color Line: The Problem of the Centuries,” traces race relations and efforts to rectify wrongs.
The “United States Colored Troops” exhibit provides information about the United States’ Bureau of Colored Troops. The bureau’s chief responsibility was to oversee the efforts of the new, mostly Black, but also Native American, Asian and Pacific Islander soldiers, known as the United States Colored Troops.
The exhibit “Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow” highlights the ways African Americans advocated for full inclusion in American democracy from 1865 through World War I.
On Feb. 15 during Homeschool Day, Atlanta History Center presents the program “Following the Footsteps of Black Atlanta.”
Where: 130 W Paces Ferry Road NW
Browse a Bookstore
For Keeps Bookstore on Auburn Avenue is your stop for Black rare and classic books. The store also sells merchandise including shirts and bags, and you can get gift cards. The inventory at 44th & 3rd Bookseller is created to bring to customers books that represent the richness, diversity and genius of Black expression and the collective and individual history of the Black experience.
Where: For Keeps Bookstore, 171 Auburn Ave.; 44th & 3rd Bookseller, 451 Lee St. SW
See Exhibits at Atlanta Airport
If you are traveling by air, leave some time before your departure or after your arrival to tour the civil rights exhibits at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Find “Good Trouble: A Tribute to Congressman John Lewis,” in the Domestic Terminal atrium. There is a display about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. near the escalators on Concourse E.
A 400-foot-long display between concourses B and C is titled “A Walk Through Atlanta History.” It uses graphics, videos and 3D exhibits, and includes eight videos, all covering the city’s history starting with the pre-colonial era and the Native Americans who called this section of Georgia home, the Civil War including the Battle of Atlanta and the burning of Atlanta; Reconstruction; the rise of the Black Sweet Auburn District; segregation; and Atlanta’s appearance on the global stage as the host of the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Where: 6000 North Terminal Parkway
Planning a trip to Atlanta? Take a look at our 2-Day Itinerary for Exploring Black-owned Atlanta.
Discover More
Get to know Atlanta, and discover the best things to do around the city.
