This uniquely-curated museum is the centerpiece of the NHL's Black Hockey History Tour - celebrating black achievement in hockey by looking back at history makers and Stanley Cup champions (including former Penguin Trevor Daley) and looking ahead to the next generation of stars.
The Penguins take on the Philadelphia Flyers Friday night at 7 p.m.
The Black Hockey History tour is part of "Hockey Is For Everyone," a joint NHL and NHLPA initiative to celebrate and encourage diversity and inclusion in the sport. The league-wide tour began on January 12 and will continue through March 22, with scheduled stops in 14 NHL markets. Check it out at
https://www.nhl.com/fans/black-hockey-history/bus-tour
.
A full day of activities on Friday will include the mobile museum making a mid-day stop at Miller African Centered Academy in the Hill District for private tours by the students.
Special guests will include members of the Black Girl Hockey Club, a national organization whose founder, Renee Hess of Riverside, California, is a Penguins fan (
www.blackgirlhockeyclub.com
). More than 45 members of the club from across the country are expected to attend, and many will volunteer to help Miller African Centered Academy students during the mobile museum tour.
The next day, Saturday, February 1 - the first day of Black History Month - the Penguins and the Black Girl Hockey Club will co-host a special screening of "Soul on Ice: Past, Present and Future," a 2016 documentary that tells the history of black hockey players in the U.S. and Canada. The event will be held at 11 a.m. at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center. Those interested in attending may RSVP at
https://form.jotform.com/200093132827145
.
"The Pittsburgh Penguins are excited to celebrate Black players who have played for the Penguins and throughout the National Hockey League," said Tracey McCants Lewis, the Penguins' deputy general counsel and director of HR. "It is important to provide youth who are underrepresented in the game of hockey with images of diversity and achievement in the sport. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the NHL are providing that representation to show Black children and all children that Hockey Is For Everyone. At the end of this weekend kids will see that they can play hockey, be a hockey fan and even work for a hockey club. Representation matters."
"Black Hockey History Day" is the first of four "Hockey Is For Everyone" initiatives that will be hosted by the Penguins during the second half of the season. The others are:
- February 16 vs. Detroit - "Hockey Day in Pittsburgh," highlighting all levels of local youth hockey, including disabled hockey
- March 22 vs. Washington - "Her Hockey Day," celebrating girls and women in hockey
- March 24 vs. Carolina - "Pride Night," focusing on the LGBTQ community, as the Penguins and other NHL teams promote safety and inclusion for all who participate in the sport - athletes, coaches and fans
