Celebrate Black History Month in San Francisco
February 1, 2022Black History Month is here, and there is an abundance of lovely opportunities for honoring the occasion in The City By The Bay. Whether you’re interested in learning about art, literature, theater, music, or athletics, SF is the place to be this February… and as long as you like! Let’s explore ten ways to make the most of Black History Month in San Francisco this year:
MoAD Art Exhibits
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The Museum of African Diaspora is one of the premier contemporary art museums in San Francisco, showcasing multiple permanent galleries with various exhibits. Current exhibitions open through February 27th include Amoako Boafo’s Soul of Black Folks, Billie Zangewa’s Thread for a Web Begun, Leila Weefur’s Beyond the Sky, among many more. We highly recommend visiting this wonderful space on the ground floor of the St. Regis hotel in SoMa.
Black History Month Concert with Martin Luther McCoy
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No celebration is complete without music, and Martin Luther McCoy takes the stage on February 26th at the Museum of African Diaspora. His performance, a collaboration between MoAD and SFJAZZ, will close out the previously highlighted exhibitions at the museum. Join in on an evening of music, art, and film in downtown SF!
African American Heritage Night @ Chase Center
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The NBA’s Golden State Warriors will host their official African American Heritage Night on February 3rd at the Chase Center during their game against the Sacramento Kings. While the action on the court from Steph, Klay, and company will be more than enough to create an exciting night, the special event will also feature cultural performances and a commemorative African American Heritage Night T-shirt Giveaway! Don’t miss out on this exclusive offer as limited tickets are available.
Burkina Faso Fashion Textiles Showcase and Exhibition
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The West African country of Burkina Faso is celebrated for its beautiful art and radiant colors used in handwoven textiles. Popular in the fashion industry across the world, this overnight fashion show will show off this vibrant fabric’s unique uses and styles. The event hosted by WAA REEM includes pop-up sales with VIP options available.
Zaccho Dance Theatre: ‘Love, a State of Grace’
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San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral is one of The City’s most iconic landmarks, and from February 11th through 18th, the venue hosts aerial dancers swinging from a 90-foot ladder as a choir and pipe organs bellow below. Created in light of the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the surge of social uprisings against racial injustice, this event is inclusive to all. This unique performance will allow audience members to freely move about the Cathedral as aerial dancers swing from pendulums seventy feet above.
MoAD & Asian Art Museum Poetry Night
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The Asian Art Museum and Museum of African Diaspora will collaborate for an evening of poetry at 6:30 pm on February 3rd. This virtual event is free with member registration, and non-members are encouraged to attend on a pay-what-you-can model. Join in this discussion with local poets as they share their work during an hour of poetry, dialogue, and solidarity.
Black History: More Than a Month 2022 @ SFPL
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Black history is celebrated year-round at the San Francisco Public Library, with an abundance of workshops, films, panels, and books available to all. This year, events during February include Meditation in the African American Center, Black Inventors and Innovators Making Their Mark, and Black Health: San Francisco. Located directly across Market Street from the brand-new apartment homes at Trinity Place, the SF Public Library provides locals with an abundance of reading material in the heart of The City!
JAZZ@theEDGE! Presents: Nicholas Payton Quintet
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The Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, producer, arranger, essayist, and social activist, Nicholas Payton, performs with his acclaimed quintet on February 4th at Black Cat San Francisco. A trumpet prodigy since the age of four, Payton eschews Jazz and defines his genre as “Black American Music.” So grab your seat now while tickets last!
“I, Too, Sing America”@ Brava Theater
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After already selling out two previous runs, San Francisco Bay Area Theater Company‘s I, Too, Sing America” Brava Theater is back through February 13th. Check out this local performance in San Francisco’s Mission District! Showings will occur at 8 pm on Thursday-Sunday and 2 pm on Saturday-Sunday.
Art Exhibits @ San Francisco Art Institute
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Showcasing over a dozen contemporary artists from Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and Haiti, the Dust Specks on the Sea exhibition describes an overhead view of the French Caribbean Islands from an airplane. The region was the site of the world’s worst volcanic disaster in 1902, with over 30,000 deaths in a matter of minutes. Despite this historical trauma, the exhibit shows that these islands cannot be defined solely by their beauty or tragic past.
