Resources for Teaching Black History Month and Black History Year Round!
February is Black History Month. This month allows educators to take a step back and reflect on whether their curriculum and instruction includes enough diverse voices and perspectives for students to learn about Black people who have shaped our nation and world. You can find more about the history of Black History Month in this NPR article. Carter Woodson, the "Father of Black History," once stated,
"We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice."
The theme for 2024 is:
Source: Association for the Study of African American Life and History
Here are a few resources based on this year's theme:
Resources to Prompt Reflection and YOUR OWN LEARNING
Here are some resources we recommend for use this month-- and beyond--to celebrate and honor Black History and to encourage us to learn more about and reflect upon the challenging topics of slavery and its legacy as well as discrimination both in a historic context and in our communities today. As we reflect on our own teaching, here is a tool for evaluating the Seven Forms of Bias in our curriculum and practices from the BPS Office of Opportunity Gaps.
Blog Post:
Mining the Jewel of Black History Month by Emily Chiarello
A thoughtful post from a white teacher who changed her approach to teaching Black History Month and used it as a chance to go beyond "heroes and holidays" for authentic learning year-round as well as February reflections and celebration with her students.
MATERIALS AND LESSONS TO SHARE WITH STUDENTS
This guide provides a multitude of resources to help educators and families teach Black voices, stories, and histories during Black History Month and beyond.
A treasure trove of lessons and resources for teaching black history through the arts, reading, social studies, science in K-5 classrooms compiled by NEA teachers.
A history of Black History Month- including a 2 minute video about the month and its origins with black historian Carter G. Woodson.
Biography's Black History site features African Americans who made significant contributions to the world in the fields of science, politics, law, sports, the arts, entertainment, and many other fields.
(Library of Congress, National Archives, NEH, NPS, Smithsonian, USHMM)
"The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. This site provides access to teacher materials, video, images and primary sources."
"Between 20 and 40 colonists of the approximately 4,000 who fought on the Battle Road on April 19, 1775, were African or Native American. By the end of the war, an estimated 5,500 African and Native American men had served on the colonial side. Groundbreaking research by George Quintal, Jr. in his 2002 Patriots of Color report about African and Native Americans at Battle Road and Bunker Hill¹ provides the significant historical detail upon which the National Park Service can begin to bring this story to light."
FILM: Legacy of Courage: Black Changemakers in Massachusetts Past, Present, Future
This film chronicles the actions taken by African American changemakers over four centuries of confronting racial injustice as they aspired to a freer and more equal society. This 20-minute film uses archival sources, animation sequences, and interviews with scholars and youth activists to tell an inspiring story. Each “chapter” focuses on the agency, tenacity, and cooperative spirit of those who waged this struggle. Their actions are a template for young changemakers today who inherit this legacy– taking their first steps to help bend the long arc of history toward justice. (REQUIRES LOGIN)
Video Series: Making Black America: Through the Grapevine
This is a four-part series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr. which chronicles the vast networks and organizations created by and for Black people. The series explores the extraordinary world that showcased Black people’s ability to collectively prosper, defy white supremacy and define Blackness in ways that transformed America itself.
Book Recommendations
Here are some terrific books to use as read-alouds and for student reading during Black History Month curated by different organizations:
Thirteen Books About Slavery Young People Should Read
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/books-slavery-young-people_us_569e6009e4b04c81376177aa
"Here are 13 (mostly) honest books for young readers that will help them confront the unpalatable truth of slavery, and celebrate the ingenuity and strength of those who resisted, escaped, and survived."
Excellent collection curated by PBS to use with Pre-K through Grade 3 students.
Annotated collection for grades 2-8 curated for the JFK Library & Museum 2014 Annual Conference for Librarians titled, We’ll Never Turn Back: Voices of the Civil Rights Movement.
K-12 Collection of passages paired with videos and documents generously provided by The Gilder Lerman Institute of American History and HISTORY®
Placed-Based Learning Opportunities for Black History
Boston African American Heritage Trail Tour
http://www.nps.gov/boaf/contacts.htm
Walking tour of the Boston African American Heritage Trail on Beacon Hill led by a National Park Service ranger. The best months for the walking tour are April to June!
Museum of African American History
http://www.maah.org/education.htm
The Museum of African American History is New England’s largest museum dedicated to preserving, conserving and interpreting the contributions of African Americans in Boston and Nantucket from the Colonial Period through the 19th century.
(Most Programs are FREE for Boston Public School Students!)
Royall House and Slave Quarters
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Take a virtual tour of the NEW National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.! Some of the exhibit material is also available digitally through their Smithsonian website: https://nmaahc.si.edu/
Underground Railroad: The Journey to Freedom
http://aasc.oupexplore.com/undergroundrailroad/#!/timeline
Interactive timeline incorporating maps showing the migration of blacks out of the American South while featuring individuals who risked everything to escape from slavery and the people along the route who assisted them. Contains great reading resources about the Underground Railroad, slave narratives, and the lives of free blacks in the North.
Unpublished Black History
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/national/
“Revealing moments in black history, with unpublished photos from The New York Times’s archives. New photos will be added daily!”
Afro-Latino a Deep-Rooted Identity Among US Hispanics
A Pew Research Center survey of Latino adults shows that one-quarter of all U.S. Latinos self-identify as Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean or of African descent with roots in Latin America. This article is a good discussion point for recognizing and defining the Afro-Latino identity.
These Black History resources from Facing History & Ourselves can help students to deeply examine pivotal moments of the African American experience through the lens of the 2023 theme of RESISTANCE