Events

For centuries, Black people have experienced the struggles of work, employment, and labor legalities in their lives. From enslaved Africans working for free and using music to endure to discrimination on the stages of today’s major opera houses, we see unjust labor practices that are discriminatory toward Black people. Based on the 2025 Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) annual theme, the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts’ (CAAPA) experts explore Black Music and Labor.

How do you find space in a small apartment to fit one bed and three other people? Learn the answer from the inspiring story of Sarah E. Goode, who made history in 1885 as the first African American woman to receive a U.S. patent. Create your own scrapbook about pioneering inventors and go on a scavenger hunt to discover the fascinating stories behind everyday objects and the innovators who created them.

For over 15 years running, Akua Allrich has curated and performed a soul-stirring tribute presentation, honoring Nina Simone and Miriam Makeba. Akua Allrich pays homage to these two powerhouse artists, who have inspired her and millions of other jazz and music lovers around the globe. Allrich, whose own musical genesis comprises the blues, jazz, R&B, and pan-African music, features songs that Nina Simone and Miriam Makeba made their own. Join us in a musical experience based in freedom and self-expression, and particularly African expression. Allrich’s Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba tribute will leave you feeling both empowered and inspired!

Since the era of emancipation, black migration to the Washington, D.C. region has been fueled by the promise of economic opportunities, especially those opportunities afforded by employment with the federal government. For generations of African Americans, careers in the federal civil service have paved the way for professional advancement and economic security, expanding the ranks of the middle black class. However, this path has also been fraught with obstacles born of the nation’s dark history of segregation and racism. This exhibit explores this complicated history, focusing on how Black federal employment has shaped Prince George’s County.

This exhibition is curated by the M-NCPPC Black History Program. For additional information, email blackhistory@pgparks.com or call 240-264-3415.

To RSVP for the opening reception, email blackhistory@pgparks.com.

James Stephen Terrell’s Transcendence: Beyond the Terrestrial Plane weaves line, shape, and pattern into a mesmerizing collage. Figures emerge, surreal and otherworldly. Drawing from the legacy of David Driskell and Romare Bearden, he launches into uncharted territory. His work captivates the eye, demanding time for revelation. The unseen emerges, like light through stained glass windows in Black and Roman Catholic churches. Terrell’s art pulses with the vibrancy and movement of optical art, echoing Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely.

Maryamm Abdullah, once a child enamored with painting, now finds her passion in ceramics. After a decades-long hiatus, she returned to clay, mastering the art of throwing pots. Seeking surface treatments, she drew inspiration from her love of Spain and the Moorish Aesthetic, with its vibrant patterned tiles and archways. Revisiting middle eastern art through pottery, she developed a unique approach: “Gestured Geometry.” This departure from precision allows her to capture the essence of this exquisite art form. Seemingly impossible freehand geometry thrives in her artwork, granting Ms. Abdullah boundless creative space.