The National Capital Trolley Museum has a special exhibit especially for Black History Month running through Feb. 24. The exhibit, called “Jim Crow on Streetcars,” is a presentation of segregation on public transit and the fight against it. They’re open on the weekends from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is $4. The museum also offers trolley rides, so you can experience a desegregated trolley ride for $7, which includes admission into the museum.
On Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. at the Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery there will be an actual living Tuskegee Airman. The museum will have music performed by the Bradford Red Tails Ensemble, an exhibit, and a reception. You will even be able to get an autograph from the Tuskegee Airman himself. To reserve a ticket call 301-774-5032, which are $20 for adults and $15 for students.
Several Montgomery County libraries are featuring programs like the presentation on the Boyds Negro School held at the Poolesville Library on Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. At that same time, the Germantown library will host a presentation called “African Americans in Montgomery County During the Civil War” at their location. And if you’re looking for a “descriptive presentation of the history of quilting in America, history of the Underground Railroad and a surprise ending with an entirely new theory,” as described by the library, Quince Orchard has something for you on Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.
Montgomery County parks are also celebrating Black History Month with free guided tours of the life of Rev. Josiah Henson, the man who was the inspiration for the book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The tour includes details on Rev. Henson’s escape on the Underground Railroad and the Isaac Riley Plantation where he was a slave. The tours are held from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 16 and Feb. 23.
Button Farm, a 19th century slave plantation, doesn’t open its doors to the public until April, but it’s something that is worth mentioning. The farm offers several hands-on activities, one of which is the Underground Railroad Immersion Experience, which is a day-long simulation of what it was like for a slave escaping on the Underground Railroad. It’s a great chance to pretend to be Broomhilda and Django running away from the Brittle Brothers, for those who saw “Django: Unchained.”