Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the park will be open on Monday, January 19, from 9 am to 5 pm. Regular exhibits and programming will be available in the visitor center.

Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park is pleased to present, Beneath Our Feet: Artifcats from Recent Excavations, a new exhibit showcasing artifacts uncovered during archeological investigations at the park over the past 25 years.

Featuring everything from everyday household objects belonging to residents whose homes once stood on the grounds, to school-related items recovered from the foundation of the original Monroe School, the exhibit offers a small glimpse into the more than 16,000 artifacts unearthed since the park’s first archeological excavation in 2000.

We invite everyone to visit the park and explore this exciting new exhibit!

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Negro History Week (precursor to February’s Black History Month) Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park presents the following ranger-led lectures.

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Pleasure and Misery during Pilgrimage

This program is highly interactive and audience centered. It focuses on the stories of traveling during the time of segregation.

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Stories of Courage and Excellence: The History of the Tuskegee Airmen

This program is family friendly and includes an exclusive tour of historic Hangar 1 located at Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site’s Moton Field.

Saturday, February 21, 2026

The Road to Suffrage: Walking the Path to Voting Rights 

This program details the events of the Freedom Marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.

Saturday, February 28, 2026

Architect of Justice: Charles Hamilton Houston's War on Jim Crow

This program discusses the lawyer and civil rights leader known for his pivotal role in dismantling Jim Crow laws and advocating for racial equality in the United States.

Black History Month began as Negro History Week in 1926, founded by historian Carter G. Woodson to honor the legacies of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, during the U.S. Bicentennial, President Gerald Ford formally recognized February as Black History Month—affirming the role of African American history in the American story.

For more information, please visit these National Park Service sites: 

Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail (U.S. National Park Service)

Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park will present, African American Topeka: The Map Project – an interactive map-based storytelling experience that brings Topeka’s African American history to life, highlighting the neighborhoods, institutions, and physical spaces where the stories unfolded.

Presented by local historians Sherri Camp and Donna Rae Pearson, the lecture was produced by the Kansas Chapter of the Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society with assistance from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior through the Kansas Historical Society.

Light refreshments will be provided beginning at 5 p.m. with the lecture commencing at 6 p.m.