Kids can learn and bond through Black History celebration activities at the Please Touch Museum this February. For details, visit: https://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/learn/black-history-month/
FunTimes Magazine: ‘Culture & Entertainment’ column, week of February 9, 2026
“Truth is proper and beautiful in all times and in all places.”
Orator & Abolitionist Leader Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
We are writing this events’ column to thaw out the chill in our fingers from the prolonged freeze of sub-par temps. It seems to be working. For now. So, let’s keep on typing: As Old Man Winter looks for his knit cap, we tip our hats to salute the vision of pioneer Carter G. Woodson. In February 1926, known for his civic and literary work, professor Woodson started “Negro History Week.” The short week turned into a short month of celebration. And the rest is Black history. Here are a few activities honoring the Harvard-educated Woodson’s legacy, as well as other events, like Valentine’s Day, to recognize and warm up a frigid February.
FunTimes To Host ‘Bridge of Freedom’ Community Discussion
Thursday, February 19, 2026. Join FunTimes as it celebrates Black History Month with Bridge of Freedom: A Fireside Conversation on Freedom and Global Black History. The fireside conversation is part of FunTimes oral history initiative, which was introduced last year. The project is designed to reframe the ongoing story of American independence by connecting it to the global Black liberation movement. The Bridge of Freedom event will be an enlightening discussion featuring community leaders and scholars who will take a deep dive into the themes of the state of freedom, history, and solidarity, as America observes its 250th anniversary this year.
The event will be moderated by Mikhael Simmonds, Mid-Atlantic Manager of Solutions Journalism Network and a multimedia international reporter. Panelists will be: David W. Brown, Associate Professor & Assistant Dean for Community and Communications at Temple University; the Rev. Carolyn C. Cavaness, Pastor of Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, and Dr. Tiffany R. Pennamon, Assistant Professor of African American Literature at Lincoln University.
It will focus on an enlightening program including the panel discussion, audience participation, entertainment, and showcase of FunTimes’ community partners, followed by a networking reception.
Enjoy a performance by the West Philadelphia String Music & Mentorship Program. Free, pre-registration is encouraged; 5 p.m. EST to 7 p.m. EST. Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, 419 6th St. Email: info@funtimesmagazine.com, 215-954-6300 or https://funtimesmagazine.com/
Going For A Spin, For The Record
Through Saturday, February 28, 2026. Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, SADE, Nina Simone. Every day, all day during Black History Month, WXPN public radio (88.5 FM) in the Philadelphia area has highlighted Black music covering consequential American records in soul, funk, jazz, hip-hop, R&B, rock, and more. Sing along to D’Angleo’s “Black Messiah” Feb. 11th; Sly and the Family Stone’s “Stand!” on February 12th, The Fugees “The Score” February 13th and The Staple Singers’ “Be Altitude: Respect Yourself” on Valentines Day. Enjoy 28 stars and 28 albums. It is all free. For a list of the albums and musicians, as well as a play-by-play preview, visit https://xpn.org/black-history-month-on-wxpn-a-different-essential-album-every-day/
Pioneering composers, William Still (left) and Margaret Bonds. Photo courtesy of The Philadelphia Orchestra & Ensemble Arts Philly.
Hear The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Versions Of Still & Bonds Music
Enjoy listening to a powerful recording of William Grant Still, Jr.’s Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4 and Margaret Bonds’ The Montgomery Variations, which this year landed a GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Orchestral Performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. It is available free through Deutsche Grammophon.
The album is a tribute to two trailblazing Black American composers. Still is known as “the Dean of African-American Classical Composers” (1895 to 1978), and Bonds (1913 to 1972) “whose voices speak urgently to the past and present.” It features Still’s sweeping Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 and Bonds’ stirring Montgomery Variations (1964). Bonds’ piece is a seven-movement orchestral suite honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It tells the story of the 1955–1963 U.S. Civil Rights movement, from the Montgomery bus boycott to the 1963 Birmingham church bombing. It was inspired by the spiritual “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.”
Bonds was credited as the first Black female classical composer to reach national acclaim. Find the album on your favorite streaming platform. https://philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org/watch-and-listen/recordings/william-grant-still-symphonies-no-2-and-no-4
Mix For The Love Fix
Friday, February 13, 2026. For singles who want to mingle, Valentine’s Day weekend may be the best time. Check out The Link Up. Love may be in the air, so party with a purpose: Meet, Mix, and Make Friends. 6 p.m. EST to 10 p.m. EST. Midnight & The Wicked, 1500 Sansom St. Pre-register. Starting at $23.18 per ticket; sales will end February 13th. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-link-up-a-singles-connection-mixer-tickets-1979884448683?aff=ehometext
Luther’s Fundraiser For Education, Equity & ‘Power of Love’
Saturday, February 14, 2026. The Power of Love/ Love Power Gala will be part of singer Luther Vandross’ legacy. The fundraiser hosted by his foundation marks the 35th anniversary of the superstar’s Grammy-winning hit, Power of Love / Love Power. Enjoy live entertainment by Sherry Wilson Butler, a tribute to Vandross’ music, and an elegant Valentine’s Day celebration, including a dinner and live auction.
Singles and couples can indulge in an evening of fun and fundraising. Proceeds will support scholarships for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Honored at the event will be Dr. Brenda A. Allen, President of Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Patty Jackson, multimedia personality from WDAS-FM/ iHeartRadio, and Primary Wave, the Home of Legends.
So far, the Luther Vandross Foundation has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships to HBCU students nationwide. The goal is to raise at least $100,000 this year.
Individual tickets: $175; 5 p.m. EST to 9 p.m. EST. Rivers Casino Philadelphia, 101 Delaware Ave. https://givebutter.com/c/LVF2026PowerofLoveGala
or www.luthervandrossfoundation.org
Community champion Darrien Johnson in action.
Donate Or Volunteer On ‘215 Day of Giving’
Sunday, February 15, 2026. Philadelphia takes care of its own. One community endeavor demonstrates the city’s warm heart as we approach Valentine’s Day. It is known as 215 Day of Caring, a call to action for residents across communities to support our hard-working neighborhood organizations.
“This day is about reminding ourselves that our greatest resource has always been each other,” says project leader Darrien Johnson, adding: “When Philly shows up for Philly, real change happens.” Johnson launched a free fruit-and-smoothie truck offering healthy options to neighbors in North Philly last summer. The truck was vandalized, putting the breaks on the service.
Fundraisers like 215 Day of Giving will go a long way to restoring grassroots initiatives like Johnson’s community fruit truck. Known as “The Community Curator,” Johnson is mobilizing Philly residents to step up by donating, volunteering, or circulating the word. Your efforts, big or small, will support the missions of local nonprofits that promote everything from education and health to the arts and advocacy.
https://215dayofgiving.com/ or 215 Day of Giving
Professor Writes About Her Family’s Mixed Marriage
Wednesday, February 18, 2026. Check out a conversation about Dorothy Roberts’ new memoir, “The Mixed Marriage Project,” examining her interracial upbringing in 1960s Chicago.
Roberts’ book has been described as “a spirited and riveting memoir of growing up in an interracial family, and a daughter’s journey to understand her parents’ marriage, and her own identity.” Engage in a discussion with Roberts and moderator Dr. Marcia Chatelain, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian. Roberts, a sociologist and social-justice advocate, is a George A. Weiss University Professor of Law & Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, with joint appointments in the Departments of Africana Studies and Sociology, as well as in the Law School. She is a founding director of the Penn Program on Race, Science & Society.
Free but pre-register. 6:30 p.m. EST to 8 p.m. EST. Penn Carey Law / Levy Conference Center, 3501 Sansom St. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dorothy-roberts-book-celebration-the-mixed-marriage-project-tickets-1956386307109?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
