Santa Barbara Black Culture House

02/09/2026

THIS COMING SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15! "100 Years of Black History Month: A Living Legacy," a panel discussion presented by Santa Barbara Black Culture House, will be hosted at The CEC Hub events space at 1219 State Street between Victoria and Anapamu Streets at 1PM.

We will discuss the crowning achievement of journalist/historian/educator Carter G. Woodson--his founding of "Negro History Week," which evolved into "Black History Month"--and its contributions to the culture at large. But we will also focus on what Black History Month means in an atmosphere of heightened anti-Blackness.

Panelists will be James Joyce III (Coffee With A Black Guy) and Aaron Jones of UC Santa Barbara. Darrell McNeill of Santa Barbara Black Culture House will moderate.

The panel discussion, "100 Years Of Black History Month: A Living Legacy," will be hosted at The CEC Hub event space in downtown Santa Barbara, 1219 State Street between Victoria and Anapamu, across from The Grenada Theater. The event starts at 1PM, is open to the public and FREE.

Santa Barbara Black Culture House events are made possible through grants from the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture, the Fund for the Performing Arts (Santa Barbara Foundation), and partnerships with the Black Rock Coalition and TV Santa Barbara (TVSB).

01/27/2026

COMING THIS SUNDAY, February 1, at the Santa Barbara Public Library Central Branch (downtown), a FREE screening of Taylor Hackford's "Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'N Roll," at 1PM. Q&A with producer/writer/musician Darrell M. McNeill after the film.

01/14/2026

Santa Barbara Black Culture House returns for Black History Month 2026 with a FREE screening of Taylor Hackford's "Hail! Hail! Rock 'N Roll," a documentary about one of the cornerstones of rock 'n roll music: Chuck Berry.

Mr. Berry would have been 100 years old on October 18, 2026, and to celebrate, Culture House will screen Hackford's revealing film based around a 60th birthday concert tribute to the icon featuring a gathering of stars including Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James, Robert Cray, Julian Lennon, and led by The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, at The Fox Theatre in Berry's native St. Louis, MO. Following the film, Darrell McNeill, SBBCH co-founder, will lead a Q&A on Chuck Berry, his life, his music, and his legacy...

Santa Barbara Culture House honors The Berry Centennial as part of "100 Years of Black History Month," recognizing Carter G. Woodson's efforts to establish Black History Month institutionally nationwide in 1926.

SB Black Culture House's FREE screening of "Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'N Roll" will be in the Faulkner Gallery at Santa Barbara Public Library on Sunday, 1PM, February 1, 2026. Santa Barbara Black Culture House events are made possible through grants from Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture, Towbes Fund and sponsorship by the Black Rock Coalition.

Santa Barbara Black Culture House will announce its full roster of programming on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 19).

02/20/2025

Greetings, Culture House Family:

It's a bittersweet moment for us! On the one hand, this year's Black History Month edition of Santa Barbara Black Culture House has been the most well-attended, well-received, highly publicized, and programmatically diverse schedule that we've experienced in the six years that we've been presenting Culture House. On the other hand, consistent with the shortness of February, our program roster is coming to a close this weekend! It's been a joy to program these events--it's just so unsettling that everything is whipping past so quickly...

This Saturday, February 22, ends the list of programs we've been doing with our longtime partner venue, Soul Bites. By popular demand, we are bringing back the popular dance party band, BFunkN, all the way from Los Angeles. The last time they were here in Santa Barbara, they unleashed a high-energy torrent of R&B/funk/soul classics and packed out the room with dancers and old school music fans.BFunkN kicks things off at 1PM. Soul Bites is at 423 State Street between Gutierrez and Haley Streets.

Then on Sunday, February 23, Santa Barbara Black Culture House will present its first program partnership with Chaucer's Bookstore, one of the city's most beloved and celebrated independent bookstores. Darrell will be doing a book talk on his 2024 33 1/3 Book Series, " Isley Brothers: 3+3," celebrating The Isleys paradigm shifting work, their staggering near-70 years in the music business, and their essential place in music history. Darrell will read a few short passages from the book, and make brief remarks before opening the floor to questions from the audience. Also, Sally continues her exquisite photo exhibition of Icons of Black Music on display in the artist gallery space near the front of the store. Chaucer's Bookstore is located at 3321 State Street at Loreto Plaza at Los Positas.

Culture House is made possible through partnerships with Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture, Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara Public Library, Chaucer's Bookstore, Soul Bites Restaurants, and the Black Rock Coalition. Please come through if you're in the area. And thank you all so much for your continued support!

Hope to see you all this weekend,

Darrell and Sally

02/03/2025

Our friends at Chaucer's Bookstore have Darrell McNeill's February 23 book talk there for his 33 1/3 Book Series book, "The Isley Brothers: 3+3." The event starts at 3PM. Chaucer's is located at 3321 State Street at Loreto Plaza. Santa Barbara Black Culture House is made possible through a grant from Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture and the Black Rock Coalition.

Author Darrell M. McNeill - Reading & Signing Sunday, February 23 3:00 PM Chaucer's Books hosts author Darrell M. McNeill for a book talk and signing of The Isley Brothers: 3+3. Description The Isley Brothers: 3+3, dissects The Isleys' 50-year-old undisputed masterwork, an album that firmly establis...

02/03/2025

Santa Barbara Black Culture House got mentioned in Downtown Santa Barbara's e-newsletter! Thanks, folks!

Email from Downtown Santa Barbara Don't miss out, take a look at what's happening downtown this week! View as Webpage Downtown Santa Barbara's Annual Awards Breakfast Wednesday, February 19, 7:30 AM D

02/03/2025

Announcement from our friends down at Santa Barbara Public Library, host for our screening of "Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed." Sunday, February 16 at 1PM. Darrell McNeill, a Bed-Stuy native from Congresswoman Chisholm's congressional district, will lead a discussion about the film and a Q&A afterward. SBPL is located at 40 Anapamu Street, downtown Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara Black Culture House is made possible from a grant from Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture and the Black Rock Coalition.

02/03/2025

Hey, thanks to everyone who came out for our first event at Soul Bites this past Saturday, February 1, a poetry slam lead my Ademola Oyewole-Davis and Taylor Oyewole-Davis. We got a nice placement in the Santa Barbara Independent this week, so check it out when you get a chance. This coming Saturday, February 8, we're bringing back our good friend, James Joyce III and his Coffee With A Black Guy community conversations about race. Sally Foxen McNeill's photos of Black music soul icons is on display at Chaucer's Bookstore. We hope to see you at one of our events!

Santa Barbara Black Culture House returns for its annual slate of Black History Month programs for February 2025. The Black

01/29/2025

PROGRAM UPDATE: Hey, folks! Here is the schedule for all of our upcoming Black History Month programs this February at Soul Bites, Chaucer's Bookstore, and Santa Barbara Public Library. We're hosting events on Saturday afternoons at Soul Bites, 423 State Street, Saturdays from 1PM-4PM. Sally will also have her photos of Black music icons at Chaucer's Books all month. Darrell will also be at Chaucer's on Sunday, February 23 at 3PM to talk about his 33 1/3 Book Series book, The Isley Brothers: 3+3." And the Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 Anapamu Street, will screen the documentary, "Shirley '72: Unbought and Unbossed," on Sunday, February 16 in the Faulkner Gallery.

More to follow in the coming weeks...

Santa Barbara Black Culture House is made possible through a grant from the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture.

Thanks so much for your continued support! We look forward to seeing you all again!

Darrell M. McNeill and Sally Foxen McNeill

01/21/2025

Everybody!!!

We're back this February at Soul Bites for our annual slate of Black History Month programming on Saturdays from 1PM to 4PM! We are also doing a book event for Darrell's "33 1/3 Book Series The Isley Brothers: 3+3" at Chaucer's Books on Sunday, February 23. Sally will also be exhibiting her photos of Black music at Chaucer's all month!

Full slate of programs to follow shortly! Hope to see you there!