Downtown Grand Rapids comes alive each February as residents celebrate Black History Month. In 2026, the observance takes on added significance with the theme “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” honoring the 100th anniversary of the first Black History Week in 1926 and reflecting on how Black history celebrations have shaped the status and recognition of Black communities. Two institutions that consistently prove their impact in this regard are the Grand Rapids African American Museum & Archives (GRAAMA) and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
GRAAMA is celebrating a century of Black History with a move into a new home at 41 Sheldon Ave. SE. After eight years in a 2,000-square-foot space at 87 Monroe Center, the museum is growing fifteen-fold in its new 30,000-square-foot facility, offering more exhibit space, classrooms, a library, and a fully equipped auditorium for lectures, performances, and community events. “This new home gives us the opportunity to preserve, share, and celebrate the stories of African Americans in Grand Rapids with the dignity and permanence they deserve,” said George Bayard, Executive Director of GRAAMA. Board President Michael Curtis added, “GRAAMA’s new acquisition is a transformative opportunity for the city, the state, and the region…to appropriately house histories and stories of a people not readily recognized.”
GRAAMA embodies the African tradition of oral storytelling, preserving local history through the lens of griots—community storytellers—and grandmothers, who historically safeguarded family and communal narratives. Its logo, inspired by Ghanaian Adinkra symbols, reflects this mission of education and cultural preservation: nea onnim no sua a, ohu, meaning, “He who does not know can know from learning.”
A few blocks away, the GRAM presents As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic, a photography exhibit curated by Elliott Ramsey and organized by Aperture. Drawn from Dr. Kenneth Montague’s Wedge Collection in Toronto, the exhibition features over 100 works by Black photographers from the African diaspora, exploring identity, community, and power. Artists such as LaToya Ruby Frazier, Barkley L. Hendricks, Jamel Shabazz, and Carrie Mae Weems examine self-representation, agency, and belonging.
