Black Writers Museum

02/01/2025

Happy Birthdate to “The Overwhelmer,” as the great Gwendolyn Brooks referred to Langston Hughes. Stop by the Black Writers Museum to view rare, signed and authentic collections of Langston Hughes and other Black Literary giants. This signed copy was gifted by, and part of the Ellen Rogovin collection at the BWM.

02/01/2025

“Think Black” by Don L. Lee, aka Haki Madhubuti . What does Think Black mean to you? Culture, History, Literature, Art, People, Love, Unity……. Think Black, please.

12/10/2024

As we mourn the transition of our poet, we celebrate the life, light, and contributions of a literary giant. “…the tears from my birth pains created the Nile. I am a beautiful woman.” - Nikki Giovanni

11/18/2024

We’ve been hearing that there is no jazz festival in Germantown. We beg to differ. Remember “Stanley Clarke in Vernon Park?” Lenny White, Pieces of a Dream, and the incomparable Fred Wesley are just a few who have headlined the PEOPLE’S POETRY AND JAZZ FESTIVAL. Get ready for the PPJF 2025 with more live jazz, r-n-b, poetry, a robust African marketplace and great people! Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. “Ain’t nothin’ like poetry and jazz in the park, in the summertime!”

03/02/2024

Celebrating the giant, Ralph Ellison, the author of the ground-breaking work, “Invisible Man.” March 1, 1914 - April 16, 1994. Long live Ralph Ellison and long live Black Literature!

03/02/2024

We have over 4,000 wax and vinyl recordings in our archives, including rare and unique albums that have helped to paint the portrait of the Black Experience in America.

03/02/2024

11/21/2022

In the presence of great energy! Dr. Cheryl Horsey and Bro. R. Hampton Farrar. Top tier committed educators and Friends of the BWM.

11/18/2022

The mighty volunteer crew and Friends of the Black Writers Museum: The Fairmount Park Conservancy, Friends of Vernon Park, and Girls Trek gathered today to clean the rear of the historic Vernon House, home of the Black Writers Museum. We thank Zambia Greene, Nicole and Ed of the Conservancy, and Angela Miles, president of FOVP. The work of all of these commuted volunteers is exactly how we keep our doors open and exhibits on display. THANK YOU!

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11/01/2022

As one of several site visits, the Black Writers Museum is excited to welcome Sawari Tours () and The Black Journey Walking Tour () as they tour Philadelphia Black cultural institutions on November 19th. For more information, visit sawaritourshouston.com.

10/22/2022

Today we honor several literary giants and their dedication to narrating the Black experience. Legendary writers, poets, and authors N. H. Pritchard, Lerone Bennett Jr., Ntozake Shange, and Terry McMillan were born in October.

Eecchhooeess (1971) by N. H. Pritchard
The Matrix: Poems, 1960-1970 (1970) by N. H. Pritchard
The shaping of Black America (1991) by Lerone Bennett Jr.
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Su***de / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1975) by Ntozake Shange
Waiting to Exhale (1992) by Terry McMillan

09/10/2022

was born on this day in 1934. She is a poet, writer, professor, and leading voice of empowerment in the Black Arts Movement. She is also a longtime Germantown resident and original Philadelphia poet laureate.

Home coming: Poems by Sonia Sanchez; introduction by Don L. Lee. Detroit: Broadside Press, c1969.

08/09/2022

Guests from Trenton, NJ. Thank you to Cee Universal and his twins, Cee Supreme and Mila Star for making the trip and spending quality time with us….

08/02/2022

James Baldwin. 8/02/1924 - 12/1/1987
Today we celebrate the life and impact of James Baldwin. The original ‘drop the mic’ literally genius.

“The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin was published in 1963.

Took view rare and signed James Baldwin texts visit the Black Writers Museum.
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04/21/2022

Today’s focuses on novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor Toni Morrison. Her first novel, “The Bluest Eye,” was published in 1970.

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“The Bluest Eye,” (1970) by Toni Morrison

04/12/2022

continued with “If We Must Die” (1919) by Jamaican-American writer Claude McKay.

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04/07/2022

From the Pyramids to the Projects; from the Projects to the Stars: An African American Saga from the collection Dawnsong! (1999) Askia M. Touré (1938-), poet and one the the founding architects of the Black Arts Movement (1963-1983) reads. Link in bio for full video.

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This clip is a from conversation with poet and writer Askia M. Toure at the Black Writers' Museum on August 23, 2014 with Museum Director Supreme Dow.