At Healthworks Group, we’ve continued our committed to inclusivity, anti-racism and education at all of our clubs. Black History Month, held annually every February, is a celebration and honor of the historical achievements and cultural contributions of Black Americans. As we celebrate Black History Month in 2024, we invite you to join us as we come together to move, support, learn and amplify Black voices and the power of Black women.
HWX x Black History Month Community Fitness Classes
Celebrate with movement to the music of Black artists and our inspiring HWX instructors. These specialty classes are open to our community (free for members and guests) as we set intentions, own our power, and come together as a community of women of color and allies. Classes include ACHIEVE (cycle) at Cambridge and POWER45 (athletic conditioning) at Back Bay with Joy Mikhail, 305 Fitness (dance cardio) at Back Bay with Avana Epperson Temple, Flow Yoga at Coolidge Corner with Rhonda Gray, and STRENGTH at Republic Fitness with Danny Ayala.
To see the full schedule and reserve your spot, please click here.
Healthworks members, we ask that you reserve your spot online or in the app, and allow us to keep our Eventbrite spots for guests.
Ways to Celebrate Around Our Clubs
- Boston Public Libraries – area libraries will be hosting ongoing special series and events all month long
- City of Boston Black History Month Celebrations – a collective of special events, business spotlights, art showcases and more
- Museum of Science Black History Month Celebration Weekend – taking place February 10-11, this two-day event includes special speakers and presentations, family activities, and performance and community groups from the Boston area
- Black History Month Black Business Pop-Up – taking place February 9-10, this is a free Black vendor showcase event at One Brattle Square in Harvard Square
- Cambridge Public Library – taking place February 7, the Cambridge Public Library will welcome the Joel LaRue Smith trio and poet Tatiana Johnson-Boria for an event exploring the relationship between jazz and poetry, in celebration of Black History Month
Watch, Listen and Read
Learning is power, and at Healthworks, we have a DEI Media Club that meets monthly. Below you’ll find a list of recent and upcoming books, podcasts and films we’ve discussed, which we cannot recommend enough.
- Are Prisons Obsolete?
- Black Friend
- Black Girl Dangerous
- Cultural Appropriation: A Fixable Cultural Crime
- DISCLOSURE
- Exterminate All The Brutes
- Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia
- Fruitvale Station
- I Am Not Your Negro
- Malcolm X
- Miss Evers’ Boys
- MLK/FBI
- Selma
- Stamped from the Beginning
- The Birth of a Nation
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
For last years’ list of readings and resources, click here.
Important Figures, Past a Present, in the Black Community
- Alice Coachman – Alice Coachman was the first Black woman from any country to win an Olympic gold medal for the high jump at the 1948 London Olympics.
- April Ryan – April Ryan is the longest-serving Black female reporter in the White House press corps and has served on the board of the prestigious White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) for 25 years.
- Claudette Colvin - Claudette Colvin is an American pioneer of the 1950s Civil Rights Movement. In March 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. This occurred nine months before the more widely known incident in which Rosa Parks.
- Dorothy Height – Dr. Dorothy Height is recognized as the first leader of the Civil Rights Movement to recognize inequality for women and Black Americans. She was also the president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years.
- Elizabeth Freeman – Elizabeth Freeman, born as “Mumbet,” became the first Black woman to successfully file a lawsuit for freedom from slavery in the state of Massachusetts in 1781.
- Janet Mock – Janet Mock is a transgender rights activist, New York Times bestselling writer and television producer. She’s the founder of the annual #TransBookDrive storytelling campaign and #GirlsLikeUs to raise awareness for trans women and girls.
- Karine Jeane-Pierre – Karine Jean-Pierre is an American political advisor who has served as the White House press secretary since May 2022. She is the first black person and the first openly LGBT+ person to serve in the position.
- Rosa Parks – Rosa Parks helped to initiate the Civil Rights Movement in the United States when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Her actions inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted more than a year and ended when the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional.
- Shirley Chisholm – Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman in Congress (1968) and the first woman to seek the nomination for president of the United States (1972).
- Tarana Burke – Tarana Burke is an American activist who started the MeToo movement in 2006 to help other women with similar experiences stand up for themselves.
- Wangari Maathai – Wangarĩ Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist who founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women’s rights.
We invite you to also visit our clubs this month as we showcase local, Black-owned businesses who will be tabling. To stay up-to-date on our schedule, please follow us on Instagram.
