Black History Month Resources

Overview

BLACK HISTORY MONTH RESOURCES

Sid Jacobson JCC celebrates Black History Month and supports our local Black Community by highlighting influential African-American individuals from Long Island. Black-owned businesses, events, resources for parents, and more. These lists are not comprehensive, but we hope they can be a wonderful start for your celebration or journey to learn more about Black history and support the local community, any time of year.

INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE EVENTS RESOURCES

INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE FROM LONG ISLAND

Dr. Hazel N. Dukes moved to Roslyn in 1956. She fought housing discrimination in the community and helped elect the first Black member of the Roslyn School Board. Dr. Dukes is the president of the NAACP New York State Conference and is on the organization’s national board of directors.

Eddie Murphy is a movie star, singer, and most famously known as a comedian. He was raised in Roosevelt and attended Roosevelt Senior High School. In 2020, Murphy was listed as one of the “100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time” by Comedy Central.

John Coltrane was a Jazz saxophonist who lived in Dix Hills from 1964 until his death in 1967. Coltrane created some of the most influential works of jazz, including his magnum opus “A Love Supreme.” He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music.

Julius Winfield Erving II, known as Dr. J, is an NBA basketball hall of famer from East Meadow. Dr. J was the best-known player when the American Basketball Association (ABA) merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–1976 season.

Dorothy Goosby of Hempstead Village led a 1988 lawsuit that challenged the town’s at-large voting system, which disenfranchised minority voters. Goosby also went on to become the first African American woman on the Hempstead Town Board on February 1, 1999.

Lee A. Hayes, of Easthampton served as a Tuskegee Airman Pilot during World War II. The Tuskegee Airmen broke the color barrier in the U.S. military as the first all-black aviators in the Army’s history.

Major General Joseph McNeil, of Hempstead was one of four leaders of the Greensboro Sit-In, helping to spark a national movement forcing partial integration and increasing national awareness of the racial segregation faced by Black Americans in the South.

David Paterson is a graduate of Hempstead High School and Hofstra Law School. In 2008, he became New York’s first African-American lieutenant governor and then state’s first African-American governor. Paterson is also the first visually impaired person to address the Democratic National Convention.

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Historian Carter G. Woodson established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). In 1925, ASNL launched Negro History Week, celebrated during a specific week in February encompassing the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

In 1976, coinciding with the nation’s bicentennial, the celebration grew to an entire month. During this month, President Gerald Ford encouraged Americans to acknowledge the significant, yet often overlooked, achievements of Black Americans in various fields throughout history. This tradition of presidential proclamations has continued ever since.

The 2024 theme, “African Americans and the Arts,” delves into the experiences of Africans, Caribbeans, and Black Americans, exploring their rich history through diverse artistic expressions.

SUPPORT BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES

Nuvo Kitchen
Black-owned Caribbean fusion restaurant.
2367 Hempstead Tpke, East Meadow
nkrestaurant.com

GingerBites
Black-owned authentic Haitian Caribbean cuisine.
730 E Jericho Turnpike. Huntington Station
gingerbitesbistro.com

The Joysetta & Julius Pearse African American Museum of Nassau County
110 N Franklin Street, Hempstead
jjpaamuseum.org

LOCAL EVENTS

ART LECTURE WITH THOMAS GERMANO: THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE AND TRANSATLANTIC MODERNISM
THURS, FEB 29 • 3PM • AT PORT WASHINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Discuss multimedia works by Black artists depicting their daily life in growing cities like NYC’s Harlem and others across the United States during the 1920s–40s.
For more information, click here.