Join us as we celebrate Black History Month 2026!
A CENTURY OF BLACK COMMEMORATIONS
On February 7, 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week—a visionary act that redefined how this nation engages with Black history. At a time when Black life was systematically excluded from the national record, Dr. Woodson’s call was both revolutionary and restorative: to study, to honor, and to remember on our own terms.
In 2026, we mark 100 years since that call to remembrance—a century of expanding the work Dr. Woodson began and of reaffirming that Black history is foundational to American history. What started as a single week of recognition has become Black History Month, yet its purpose remains unchanged: to claim space for truth in a country that too often denies it.
This year, we reflect on the ways Black people have memorialized and reimagined these collective histories: through scholarship and storytelling, through the arts and activism, through ritual, healing, and community-building. We seek offerings that illuminate the unbroken line between our ancestors’ labor and the world we inhabit today—a world built, in countless visible and invisible ways, by Black hands, hearts, and brilliance.
Black History Month 2026 Events!
The UMD community has curated an engaging and exciting array of programs and events for Black History Month - BHM 2026! Visit this page regularly to stay updated on newly promoted programs.