Queens Public Library marks Black History Month with events and education

Musician Doug E. Fresh is one of dozens of speakers featured in Queens Public Library’s Black History month programming. Photo via Wikimedia commons

By Rachel Vick

Queens Public Library is commemorating Black History Month with dozens of free virtual events, speakers and resources centered on the fight for equity and the importance of representation.

The month of engagement kicked off Wednesday with a livestream on COVID-19 vaccine hesitation from CEO Dennis Walcott and Dr. Lisa Cooper, an internal medicine and public health physician and professor of equity in health and healthcare. The event set the tone as the first of many programs geared towards Black health and wellbeing.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has not only disproportionately affected Black Americans with respect to infection and death rates, but it has also brought into sharp focus the inequities and disparities in the U.S. healthcare system,” said Queens Public Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott. 

At the center of programming is their first-ever Black Health and Healing Summit, a 24-hour event hosted with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.  Featured speakers include Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett, one of the leaders in the development of the COVID vaccine.

Other programs include coding classes, a lecture on medical racism with York College Professor Andrew 'Sekou' Jackson, and a four-part interactive series celebrating astronomer and mathematician Benjamin Banneker.

To celebrate Black History Month and QPL’s 125th anniversary, librarians curated a list of 125 books by black authors — from classics to new releases. They have also released a resource guide for patrons interested in further advocacy or research.
A full schedule of events is available online.