{"id":139054,"date":"2026-02-19T19:05:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T19:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139054\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T19:05:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T19:05:30","slug":"black-history-month-2026-harlem-renaissance-celebration-on-staten-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/139054\/","title":{"rendered":"Black History Month 2026: Harlem Renaissance celebration on Staten Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 This weekend the Staten Island Museum<\/a> will celebrate Black History Month with an immersive dance-theater performance celebrating the artistry and activism of the Harlem Renaissance.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Feb. 21, the museum will host SKIN Dance Company<\/a> for an afternoon of Afrocentric choreography, ancestral storytelling and what organizers describe as a \u201ccosmic celebration\u201d of Black cultural legacy.<\/p>\n

The 2 p.m. performance will feature excerpts from \u201cJosephine\u2019s Cotton: The Musical,\u201d a collaborative dance-theater revue honoring Josephine Baker \u2014 the American-born performer and civil rights activist who rose to international fame in 1920s Paris. <\/p>\n

The work, produced, directed and choreographed by Tina Thompson-Pope, founder of SKIN Dance Company, draws on Baker\u2019s life and the broader cultural movement that redefined Black art, music and literature in the early 20th century.<\/p>\n

Unlike a traditional Broadway production, \u201cJosephine\u2019s Cotton\u201d is conceived as an ensemble-driven performance piece centered on movement and memory, rather than a commercially published musical with a formally credited book writer and composer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack History Month invites us not only to remember history, but to feel it,\u201d said Janice Monger, president and CEO of the Staten Island Museum. \u201cThrough this powerful tribute, we celebrate a legacy of resilience and creative brilliance that reflects our ongoing commitment to uplifting Black voices, honoring Black culture, and ensuring our museum remains a platform for living, inclusive history year-round.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"(StatenThe Staten Island Children\u2019s Museum is located at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Livingston. (Staten Island Advance)(Staten Island Advance)<\/p>\n

The performance underscores the museum\u2019s broader commitment to preserving and amplifying Black history on Staten Island and beyond.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the museum launched ACEGen \u2014 Access, Collaboration, and Equity in Genealogy \u2014 an initiative designed to document and make publicly accessible family history records from communities historically underrepresented in institutional archives. <\/p>\n

Seed funding from The New York Community Trust supported a pilot partnership among the museum, the Richard B. Dickenson Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and Frederick Douglass Memorial Park to digitize burial records dating to the 1930s.<\/p>\n

More than 100 contributors have helped transcribe handwritten documents into searchable online records through community \u201ctranscrib-a-thons\u201d held between 2022 and 2024. The archive includes city directories and other materials that may assist families in tracing their histories.<\/p>\n

The museum has also conducted census research to identify Black nurses who served at Sea View Hospital during the tuberculosis crisis, work that informed its 2024-2025 exhibition, \u201cTaking Care: The Black Angels of Sea View Hospital.\u201d <\/p>\n

The exhibition highlighted Black nursing staff who participated in groundbreaking tuberculosis treatment trials in 1951, breaking racial barriers while caring for patients during a pivotal moment in public health history.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1881, the Staten Island Museum is one of New York City\u2019s oldest continuously operating museums. Located on the borough\u2019s North Shore, it presents interdisciplinary exhibitions and public programs exploring art, science and history. <\/p>\n

The institution receives support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts.<\/p>\n

Tickets<\/p>\n

Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children ages 5 and up, and include museum admission. Children under age 5 are admitted free. Registration is required.<\/p>\n

For more information, reach out to the Visitor Experience desk at 718-727-1135 or email visitorservices@statenislandmuseum.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n