Books and Activities for Teaching Kids Black History and Culture | Brightly (2024)

FAQs

Where to start in teaching black history? ›

Celebrate: Highlight achievements and contributions, including pre-colonial history and profiles of contemporary figures your students will recognize from politics, education, pop culture, sports, or other areas. While historicizing is important, avoid focusing solely on slavery and Jim Crow.

The month of February is Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, in the United States. It became a monthlong celebration in 1976, but the history of the celebration dates back to the 1920s. It was created to highlight the contributions Black people have made to American history and culture.

Finally, African American history is important because it encourages better citizenship. It emphasizes the ties that bind together individuals, communities, and generations. It illuminates the struggles to redefine and expand constitutional and human rights, both for Black and non-Black people.

If you're just beginning to introduce kids to the concept of Black History Month, start at the beginning by discussing what the month honors, how it started and why it is important. National Geographic Kids and PBS Kids both offer kid-friendly walk throughs.

Introducing Black History Month to preschoolers serves several important purposes. It educates and celebrates the achievements and contributions of Black individuals, and it teaches essential values such as empathy, respect, and appreciation for diversity.

The Black teaching tradition is a set of educational practices grounded in philosophies, values and actions that stretch from pre-colonial Africa to historical African American leaders. He posits that this tradition can help teachers better serve Black students and create a more equitable learning environment for all.

Incorporating Black History doesn't have to be limited to February and promotes diversity, inclusivity, and an enriching educational experience for all. By highlighting the achievements and stories of African Americans year-round, educators empower students to be well-informed, empathetic, and socially conscious.

The social interactions that they encounter contribute to their learning in many ways. Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is a pedagogy that includes different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives that minority students have and uses them as learning tools.

How do I teach my kids Black History Month? ›

The four colours that are used for Black History Month are black, red, yellow and green. Black represents resilience, red denotes blood, yellow is optimism and justice, and green symbolises rich greenery.

National Black History Month has its origins in 1915, when historian and author Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. This organization is now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

Hip hop fashion is popular with African Americans. Grillz were made popular by African-American rapper Nelly. Sagging pants was a part of African-American culture. Air Jordan, a shoe brand named after former African-American basketball player Michael Jordan, is very popular among the African-American community.

Carter G. Woodson was a scholar whose dedication to celebrating the historic contributions of Black people led to the establishment of Black History Month, marked every February since 1976.

Black cultural values have been maintained potentially by a group effort on the part of Black Americans, including a value of the group for Blacks. This sentiment, communalism, is the belief that the success of the individual and the group are inseparable (Boykin et al., 1997).

The North Star has been an important symbol in the African American community. A beacon of hope and freedom for some, a symbol of knowledge and information for others and a celestial representation of purpose and reason.

How to teach Black History Month as a white teacher? ›

The first known Black person born in the 13 colonies was William Tucker, who was born in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1624. 18. Although President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, enslaved people living in Galveston, Texas were not given their freedom until June 19, 1865.

For example, students could study the Harlem Renaissance; the music of jazz and the blues; Jim Crow laws and anti-Black violence in the South and also in Northern cities; segregation and redlining; the roles of Black Americans during the World Wars; and the return of some Blacks to the “New South” in recent decades.

The four colours that are used for Black History Month are black, red, yellow and green. Black represents resilience, red denotes blood, yellow is optimism and justice, and green symbolises rich greenery.