After Work, After Hours, After the Textbook
Sip N Color Reclaims Black History Month as a Living Practice
by Avery Anderson
Black History Month often arrives wrapped in familiar rituals: classroom posters, commemorative speeches, a greatest-hits loop of names we’re taught to revere but rarely invited to sit with. Sip N Color is pushing back on that distance — quietly, creatively, and after work.
On Friday, Feb. 6, the Sip N Color Collective will host a four-hour creative social experience at The Well, designed specifically for Black professionals looking to unwind, connect, and engage with history in a way that feels personal rather than performative.
The concept is deceptively simple: coloring pages rooted in Black and Indigenous history, R&B in the background, drinks flowing, conversations unfolding. But the intention runs deeper. This Black History Month edition reframes history not as something archived, but as something lived — and shared — in real time.
“Black History Month is not only about remembering the past, it’s about honoring who we are right now,” said Dr. Monica Grant, founder of Sip N Color Collective. “Sip N Color creates a space where Black women can unwind, create, connect, and engage with our history in a way that feels alive, affirming, and communal.”
That framing feels especially timely in 2026, as conversations around cultural education, representation, and belonging continue to play out — loudly — in public spaces. Sip N Color’s response isn’t a panel or a lecture. It’s an invitation.
The evening blends happy-hour energy with intentional structure. Early hours are devoted to creative social coloring and music, followed by a networking hour spotlighting vendors and guests, and closing with trivia and a raffle. Local vendors — many of them Black-owned and community-centered — are woven into the experience, turning the night into both a gathering and a micro-economy of support.
There’s something quietly radical about centering rest and joy in a month so often dominated by obligation. Sip N Color isn’t asking attendees to prove knowledge or perform reverence. It’s asking them to show up as they are, pick up some color, and sit together.
And maybe that’s the point.
If you go:
- What: Sip N Color — Black History Month Edition
- When: Friday, Feb. 6, 5–9 p.m.
- Where: The Well, 5110 N. 40th St., Tampa
- Cost: $20 entry (includes coloring book); $15 for Sip N Color Collective Skool members
More information, tickets, and vendor opportunities are available via @DrMonicaGrant on Instagram or at sipncolorcollective.com.