{"id":118950,"date":"2026-02-01T12:34:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T12:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/118950\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T12:34:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T12:34:27","slug":"celebrate-black-culture-food-in-every-borough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/118950\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Black culture, food in every borough"},"content":{"rendered":"

Black History Month is all around us in New York City. Here are some of the many places within the five boroughs to explore Black New Yorkers\u2019 indelible influence on art, culture and cuisine.<\/p>\n

Queens<\/p>\n

The Louis Armstrong House Museum<\/a> in Corona is where the jazz trailblazer lived for nearly three decades with his fourth wife, Lucille Wilson<\/a>. Now the original structure of the two-story, mid-century brick house has a state of the art structure adjacent to that houses the musician\u2019s archives, as well as performance spaces, research rooms and an exhibition room.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Louis Armstrong House Museum at 34-56 107th St. in Corona, Queens. (Gina Lachman \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

In nearby Jamaica, the 325-seat Black Spectrum Theater<\/a>\u00a0has been bringing Blackcentric entertainment to the area via stage productions, films, performing arts and community forums since 1970.<\/p>\n

Henrica\u2019s Restaurant and Lounge<\/a>\u00a0in Rosedale has been a longtime favorite for people with a palate for Caribbean and Chinese fusion with popular dishes such as Jerk Chicken Lo Mein, Brown Stew Tofu and Henrica\u2019s Chop Suey.<\/p>\n

Staten Island<\/p>\n

The borough that boasts civil rights activist Evelyn King<\/a>, 18th century bare-knuckled boxer Bill Richmond<\/a>, chess master Walter Harris<\/a> and the Wu-Tang Clan<\/a> amongst its ranks is also the place where free Blacks established the Sandy Ground settlements<\/a> on the South Shore in the early 1800s.<\/p>\n

The Oakwood neighborhood is home to Frederick Douglass Memorial Park<\/a>, which is recognized as the only African American cemetery in New York City. Named after the 19th-century abolitionist leader, orator and newspaper publisher, the burial ground is also the final resting place of Queen of the Blues Mamie Smith<\/a>, jazz musician Tommy Ladnier<\/a> and Negro Baseball Hall of Famer Sol White<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"FrederickFrederick Douglass Memorial Park (3201 Amboy Road) is recognized as the only African American cemetery in New York City.\u00a0(Byron Smith for New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

As far as food goes, Shaw-Nae\u2019s House: Soul Food Sanctuary<\/a> in Stapleton\u00a0offers sweet potato cornbread, shrimp mac and cheese and Sugar Daddy Wings.<\/p>\n

The Bronx<\/p>\n

Already a popular destination for seafood lovers, the 1.5-mile long fishing village of City Island is now home to a Black-owned restaurant specializing in seafood and soul food. Seafood Kingz 2 Inc.<\/a> opened in 2022 as a northern offshoot to a previously owned fish fry joint in St. Albans, Queens. Owner Darryl Lelie<\/a> and his family brought their own culinary twist to the waterfront enclave with Cajun fried tenders, king crab legs and fried lobster tails.<\/p>\n

A who\u2019s-who of Black history makers are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery \u2022 Conservancy<\/a>, from jazz pioneers Duke Ellington, W.C. Handy and Miles Davis<\/a> to North Pole explorer Matthew Henson<\/a> and entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker<\/a>. The sprawling, 400-acre \u201curban oasis\u201d was designated a national historic landmark in 2011.<\/p>\n

\"MilesMiles Davis’ grave is pictured at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

For bookworms who believe reading is fundamental, Mott Haven\u2019s The Lit. Bar<\/a> is an independent bookstore and wine bar that Bronx-born \u201cventure activist\u201d No\u00eblle Santos<\/a> opened in 2019 with a mission to bring literature and community together. The neighborhood\u2019s first Black-owned wine bar-bookstore offers a wide array of titles alongside a variety of wine, charcuterie boards and other snacks.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn<\/p>\n

Visitors to the Weeksville Heritage Center<\/a>\u00a0 are transported to the 19th century where one of the country\u2019s first free Black communities was established in pre-Civil War America and rediscovered in the late 1960s. The designated landmark \u2014 named after James Weeks<\/a>, a former slave from Virginia who purchased the Crown Heights-area land in 1838 \u2014 is also home to the Historic Hunterfly Road Houses<\/a>, which were built between 1840-1880.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn native Richard Beavers<\/a> opened his eponymous Bed-Stuy gallery\u00a0in 2007 with a mission to promote diverse works for contemporary art. The space, which prides itself on being \u201csmall in size; large in stature and philosophy,\u201d was listed as one of the top Black-owned spaces amplifying Black art by Black Enterprise magazine. The gallery has presented awe-inspiring works by collagist Leroy Campbell<\/a>, quilt maker Phyllis Stephens<\/a>, photographer Jamel Shabazz<\/a>, and painter Marcus Jansen through the years.<\/p>\n

Just down the road,\u00a0 Je T\u2019aime Patisserie<\/a> serves up fresh-baked French treats at the only known specialty bakery in the area to accept EBT\/SNAP cards<\/a> as payment. The self-taught proprietor, Jatee Kearsley<\/a>, has gone viral on social media for creating colorful concoctions such as croissants in unique flavors like Thin Mint, red velvet and orange blossom champagne cream.<\/p>\n

\"JateeJatee Kearsley is pictured inside her French patisserie, Je T\u2019aime Patisserie, at 471 Marcus Garvey Blvd. in Brooklyn, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (Shawn Inglima\/ New York Daily News)
\nManhattan (Harlem)<\/p>\n

The Sugar Hill Children\u2019s Museum of Art & Storytelling<\/a>, founded in 2015 by Manhattan non-profit Broadway Housing Communities, is the only New York children\u2019s museum north of the Upper West Side. It is designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye<\/a>, the visionary behind the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture<\/a> in Washington, D.C.. The museum\u2019s high-rise building also houses 124 affordable apartments and a preschool.<\/p>\n

With the mission to bring diversity to classical ballet, Harlem-born dancer and choreographer Arthur Mitchell<\/a>, ballet master Karel Shook and actors Cicely Tyson<\/a> and Brock Peters<\/a> founded the Dance Theater of Harlem<\/a> during the civil rights movement. Through its school, DTH provides world-class arts education programming taught by African American and other racially diverse artists. Alicia Graf Mack<\/a>, the new artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater<\/a>, is an alum of the school.<\/p>\n

\"DancersFILE – Dancers with Dance Theatre of Harlem perform during the BAAND Together Dance Festival, Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at Lincoln Center in New York. (AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer)<\/p>\n

For nearly 70 years, Sylvia\u2019s Harlem Restaurant<\/a> has been a comfort food staple in Harlem. \u201cQueen of Soul Food\u201d Sylvia Woods<\/a> once was a waitress at the luncheonette she would later transform into a home-away-from-home for customers who wanted Southern favorites like crispy fried chicken, barbecued salmon, collard greens, macaroni and cheese and peach cobbler. The eatery has since become a tourist attraction and a frequent stop for the likes of Muhammad Ali, Diana Ross<\/a>, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama<\/a>, Shaquille O\u2019Neal and Bruno Mars.<\/p>\n

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