11 Can’t-Miss Black History Month Events Around South Florida

Celebrate throughout the month of February and beyond.

Drummers
Arsht Center | Arsht Center
Arsht Center | Arsht Center

February is Black History Month, a time to commemorate and reflect on the past, present, and future of the Black community. All around the nation, there are celebrations featuring art, music, food, interactive panels, and more. In South Florida, museums, hotels, and restaurants are honoring Black History Month by hosting a myriad of events. Here are the ones you don’t want to miss.

Didier
Museum of Contemporary Art - North Miami | Didier William

Museum of Contemporary Art highlights Haitian culture

February 1 - 28
North Miami
Throughout Black History Month, the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami will offer a series of educational and public programming. These events include movie screenings, panel discussions, quilt making classes, concerts, and art workshops. Additionally, MOCA has two new exhibitions, “Didier William: Nou Kite Tout Sa Dèyè,” which translates to “We’ve Left That All Behind” and Leah Gordon’s “Kanaval” which documents twenty years of Carnival in Haiti.
Cost: $10

Chicken
Rooster Overtown | Rooster Overtown

Feast on specialty menus at Red Rooster Overtown

February 1 - 28
Overtown
Each week in February, Red Rooster Overtown will celebrate the food traditions of the African diaspora, starting with West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, New Orleans, and the South Carolina/Georgia low country. In addition to the regular menu, guests can expect special dishes like Carolina-style smoked pulled whole hog, Goat & Chicken Jollof Rice, Seafood Gumbo, and Bajan Salt Fish Cakes & Pumpkin Fritters.
Cost: Varies

Artist Nate D
Nate D | Nate D

Check out art at Kimpton EPIC Hotel

February 1 - 28
Downtown
As part of Kimpton EPIC Hotel’s ongoing EPIC Art program, this month will feature local artist Nate Dee. Influenced by his Haitian background and its colorful aesthetic, his pop surrealist art will be on display throughout the hotel’s 16th floor foyer. All of it is for sale and 100% of the sales go directly to the artist.
Cost: Free

Art
Kathia St. Hilaire | Michael and Leslie Weissman

Visit Kathia St. Hilaire’s first solo museum exhibition at NSU Art Museum

Ongoing through April 23
Fort Lauderdale
Titled "Kathia St. Hilaire: Immaterial Being," this exhibit addresses her personal transcultural experience and how she experiments with art-making techniques. St. Hilaire engages with materials through weaving, carving, collaging, and painting. On view at the NSU Art Museum through April 2023, her show confronts and memorializes complex issues from the artist’s ancestral past as she encounters it within her own urban environment via her cultural identification and innate beliefs—refusing to shy away from imagery that may be controversial, political or historical, all of which is filtered through portrayals of everyday life in the neo-diaspora.
Cost: $12 or free the first Thursday of the month

Heritage Fest 2020
Amanda Smith Photography | Amanda Smith Photography

Arsht Center to host Heritage Fest 2023: Black Resistance

February 4
Downtown
This indoor/outdoor event will feature an Afro-theory dance workshop led by Show Stopper Dance Studio’s Kerine Jean-Pierre, a gospel pop-up performance by Rev. Melvin Dawson & the Genesis Fellowship Delegation, and more. Free to the public, you can RSVP here. Additionally, the Arsht Center will host an array of events throughout the month including jazz concerts, book readings, Sunday gospel, and dance performances.
Cost: Free

BHM Kickoff
The Square - Downtown West Palm | The Square - Downtown West Palm

Make your way to Downtown West Palm Beach’s Black History Month Kickoff

February 4
West Palm Beach
See What I Can Be,” presented by Rohi’s Readery and The Office of African and African American Studies, is the kickoff event for the Second Annual Black History Month celebration at The Square. Taking place from 8:30 am to 3 pm, the event will include a group SoulCycle ‘origins of hip-hop’ themed ride, a yoga class, live musical performances, kids cooking and gardening station, local artisan market, student panel, family and educator workshops, children’s author readings, dance and music class, and more. It’s free to the public. Reserve a spot on Eventbrite.
Cost: Free

Formal
Getty Images | Larry Williams

Get dressed up for a Black History Gala: "Loving The Culture"

February 10
North Miami Beach
Get decked out for this upscale night of dining and dancing put together by The Creative Spot in North Miami Beach. Tickets cost $60 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Cost: $60

Art +Soul 2021
Perez Art Museum Miami | Perez Art Museum Miami

Attend the 10th Anniversary Party of Art + Soul

February 11
Downtown
Art + Soul at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month with a gala hosted by The PAMM Fund for Black Art. The evening includes cocktails, a seated dinner, and dancing under the stars with live entertainment. This year will feature actor and activist Jesse Williams as its honoree and a new piece of work for the collection will be revealed.
Cost: Tickets start at $1,500

Janelle
Hidden Figures | Hidden Figures

Enjoy a free screening of Hidden Figures

February 17
Miami Beach
Head over to Miami Beach Regional Library for a 3 pm screening of Hidden Figures. The Oscar-winning film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, who play three brilliant Black female NASA mathematicians who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history—the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit.
Cost: Free

Jazz Performers
Melton Mustafa Jazz Festival | Melton Mustafa Jazz Festival

Melton Mustafa Jazz Festival

February 23 - 26
Overtown
Over the last weekend of the month, Melton Mustafa Jazz Festival Weekend is taking over the Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater in Overtown. Featuring professional jazz musicians that are joined by music students as young as 11 years old, this year’s festival will celebrate the international ladies of jazz. It’s designed to expose middle school, high school, and college students to the educational component of jazz and will include performances from over a dozen artists.
Cost: $25 - $225

Koffee Pic
Koffee | Koffee

Attend the Third Annual Afro-Carib Festival

February 25
Miramar
This festival, hosted by the City of Miramar, honors both Black History Month and Reggae Month. Blending the cultures that evolved through their shared African origins, this year will feature reggae, afrobeats, reggaeton, salsa, and other musical genres from the Caribbean and African Diaspora. Catch Grammy Award-winning Reggae artist Koffee, as well as Tekno, Jacob Forever, J. Perry,Alexander Star, and Yung Wylin at Miramar Regional Park Amphitheater from 5 pm to 11 pm.
Cost: $20 - $125

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Amber Love Bond is a contributor for Thrillist.