Black History

Honouring Black history and culture

Toronto Public Library honours Black History year round with programs, reading lists, and podcast episodes that shine a spotlight on Black heritage and culture.

Attend these upcoming events at branches across the city. Or join us for online programs.

Live and On-Demand Events

Check out upcoming Live & Online events and watch replays of past events you may have missed on the TPL Culture channel on Crowdcast.

Watch replays of past programs in our Black History series

Reading Lists

Black Voices

Videos

This video features a discussion on the importance of representation in literature, with Glory Edim, the founder of the popular book club Well Read Black Girl, and writers Jamia Wilson and Renée Watson. Moderated by writer Zalika Reid-Benta.

Explore our entire Black Voices YouTube playlist.

Podcast

Listen to these featured episodes, and discover more captivating conversations and archived recordings on our Live Mic and Writers Off the Page podcast series.

Related Links

Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection

The Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection features over 18,000 books, DVDs, CDs, newspapers and magazines for adults, children, and teens. Materials focus on the Black and Caribbean historical and cultural experience, with a special emphasis on Canadian content.

Our Black History Image

Collage portrait of Dr. Rita Cox, made up of book covers and flowers.

This collage of Dr. Rita Cox was created to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection. Staff from the Maria A. Shchuka branch used images of book covers to design this imaginative homage to the collection’s namesake.

Support Heritage Collections

Help grow the Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection by donating to the Rita Cox Endowment Fund. Donate today at Toronto Public Library Foundation or at 416-393-7123.