Black History Month 2025: Eddie Glaude Jr. on James Baldwin, a library Douglass Day transcribe-a-thon and more

The Princeton University community is marking Black History Month in a range of events this February as well as through educational programs and resources that are available year-round.

Many of the events will be held in partnership with the Humanities Council's cross-disciplinary Baldwin Circles project in honor of James Baldwin's 100th birthday. On Feb. 25, Eddie Glaude Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and professor of African American Studies, will discuss his New York Times bestselling book “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own,” in conversation with Brian Eugenio Herrera, associate professor of theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts.

Visitors to campus can take the self-guided walking tour that traces the history of African Americans at Princeton. The tour is one of five offered through the "(In)Visible History" series, which aims to share lesser-known stories about Princeton and reveal the University's nuanced history. 

The Department of African American Studies has curated a list of influential books that delve into Black history, civil rights and the African American experience. The books feature titles by Princeton faculty and other prominent authors, from W.E.B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King Jr. to Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies.

To learn more, the University community and/or the public may attend the following events and programs. Tickets may be required for some events. 

Feb. 10

• The lecture “Writing The Movement: How The Feet Redefined Black Dance” will be presented by Emily Hawk, a cultural historian of the 20th century U.S. and a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of African American Studies. Hawk will discuss The Feet magazine (1970–73), the first periodical dedicated entirely to the subject of Black dance.

Feb. 14

• Douglass Day 2025 will feature a Special Collections showcase in the lobby of Firestone Library and a transcribe-a-thon event at the Princeton Public Library. Douglass Day is a national celebration in honor of abolitionist, orator and writer Frederick Douglass. The showcase will feature objects from the Princeton University Library's collections by and about Douglass as well as other significant works featuring African American perspectives.

Feb. 15

• Grammy-award winner Meshell Ndegeocello will perform music from her new album “No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin” at McCarter Theatre Center’s Matthews Theatre. The concert will be followed by a conversation between Ndegeocello and poet Patricia Smith, professor of creative writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts, as part of McCarter’s Arts and Ideas initiative.
• The exhibit “Roberto Lugo / Orange and Black” will open at the Art@Bainbridge gallery and run through July 6. Lugo’s work includes vases that “draw on the shapes, techniques and decorative motifs of ancient Greek vases in order to tell personal and communal stories of contemporary social and political oppression.” Shown alongside Lugo’s vases are a selection of ancient Greek vessels from the Princeton University Art Museum’s collections that inspired him.

Feb. 18

• Pulitzer Prize finalist Vinson Cunningham, staff writer and critic at The New Yorker, will discuss his bestselling book “Great Expectations” with A.M. Homes, professor of creative writing. The debut novel was named to 2024 best books lists by The Washington Post, The New York Times Book Review and many others. Cunningham is a visiting lecturer in the Council of the Humanities and a McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton.

Feb. 21

• "Lift Every Voice" will feature University Organist Eric Plutz playing works by Black composers in the soaring acoustics of the University Chapel. The concert is organized by the Office of Religious Life. 

Feb. 23

• Students, faculty and staff can register for a daylong trip to the National Museum of African American History in Washington, D.C. The event is organized by the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students.
• The Princeton University Gospel Ensemble will present a concert, including an audience sing-along, in honor of Black History Month. The concert will be followed by a soul food dinner reception.

Feb. 25

• Eddie Glaude Jr., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and professor of African American Studies, will discuss his New York Times bestselling book, “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own”, in a conversation with Brian Eugenio Herrera, associate professor of theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts. The 2020 book, based partially from recently uncovered Baldwin interviews, mixes biography with history.
• The ForWord Collective presents a Black History Month Poetry Showcase. The student group will perform poems that highlight and celebrate Black history, culture and identities. 

Feb. 27

• The 2025 W.E.B. Du Bois Intellectual Series will focus on the theme “Black history is international history” with a discussion about Haiti’s history and exploitation in the context of the broader geopolitical landscape.  

Feb. 28

• The roundtable discussion “Writing Social Problems Through the Personal" will explore how “personal narratives, family histories and intimate encounters with structural injustices illuminate broader societal problems.” Speakers are: Laurence Ralph, the William D. Zabel ’58 Professor of Human Rights and professor of anthropology and public affairs at Princeton; Angela Garcia, professor of anthropology at Stanford; Reuben Jonathan Miller, associate professor in the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School and in the Department of Race, Diaspora and Indigeneity; and Antonia Hylton; author and correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. The talk will be moderated by Lucas Bessire, the Stanley Kelley, Jr., Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching in Princeton’s Department of Anthropology.

March 2

• The Fields Center will present "Curlchella 2025" a celebration of Black hair, community and culture.