Overview

26 Black Americans You Don’t Know but Should

• The O Magazine reveals various hidden figures in history who were pioneers in African American history.

AfricanAmericanHistoryMonth.gov

• Selected resources for teachers to put the power of primary sources to work in the classroom with ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids. This site is a collaborative project of the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

African American Heritage

• The National Park Service provides many places, people, and historical monuments to explore regarding Black American History.

African American History Month Resources

• The National Archives holds a wealth of material documenting the African American experience and highlights these resources online, in programs, and through traditional and social media.

Anti-Defamation League

• ADL’s Black History Month for Educators features resources and resources on fundamental approaches to anti-bias education and teaching on race and racial justice during Black History Month.

Association for the Study of African American Life and History

• ASALH contains further knowledge on the origin and annual themes of Black History Month.

BHM Audio and Video Library

• This website includes various broadcasts and videos concerning black lives and historical narratives over the past few decades.

Black History Month

• The History Channel includes an in-depth description of the origins of Black History Month, the ideas behind this year’s Black History Month’s theme and photo galleries.

Black Past

• Black Past’s Primary Documents Archive includes many primary source documents which have contributed to the shaping of African American history and can serve as a starting point for additional research and discussions that help further our understanding of the history of people of African ancestry in the U.S.

Center for Racial Justice in Education

• Center for Racial Justice in Education’s Black History Month Resource Guide for Educators and Families includes a number of resources such as lesson plans and curriculum resources for educators, activities for parents and their children, and think pieces and ideas for how teachers and families can engage their students and children in Black History Month in the classroom and at home.

EDSITEment!

• Lesson plans, teacher’s guide, and student activities for the teaching and learning of African American history and culture in the U.S. during Black History Month.

Library of Congress – African American History Month

• The Library of Congress website includes documents of designation for Black history month and presidential remarks.

Monuments as Social and Political Symbols

• This webinar will begin with an overview of how monumentalization has manifested across different societies, asking: what do monuments do, and why do we make them? In the context of ideas of collective memory, heritage, history, we will then consider recent crises in the U.S. and Europe. When: Feb 3, 2021 from 7:00-8:30 pm ET. Register here.

More from the O Magazine

• Here are more issues about Black history Month from famous quotes to binge-worthy TV shows with black leading actors.

National Education Association

• NEA’s Black History Month Lessons & Resources for K-12 teachers to incorporate African-American culture and history into their curriculum with lesson plans designed for elementary, middle, and high school level classes.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

• Please explore the museums virtual exhibition and online collections of African American figures, culture and ground-breaking moments.

Reading is Fundamental

• Founded in 1966, Reading is Fundamental (RIF) is the leading voice for children’s literacy and its work addresses the alarming literacy crisis that exists in America today through strong leadership, quality content, and an active and engaged community. RIF’s Literacy Central celebrates Black History Month by introducing students to the history, legacy and accomplishments of African Americans with trusted books, downloadable (and shareable!) activities, lesson plans, leveled passages, and word games. 

Scholastic

• Black History in America Teaching Guide: Lesson plans and books for teaching the Black History in America student activity, as well as ideas for incorporate the activities into your classroom or computer lab lessons.

Articles for Educators on Approaches to the Teaching of Black History Month

Adolescent Literacy – African American History Month

• This website includes resources for parents and educators of children in grades 4-12.

BHM Lesson Plans and additional Teaching resources

• Explore activities for grades 1-8.

Black History Month Resources from NCSS

• Take a look at these curated resources from archived editions of Social Studies and the Young Learner, Middle Level Learning, and Social Education to prepare for Black History Month.

Black History Month: Teaching the Complete History, by Coshandra Dillard

• This an article for educators who seek to teach beyond the traumatic experiences of black Americans in order for students to recognize the beauty and liberation of black culture and art.

Educator Strategies for Addressing Racism and Current Issues

• Develop a classroom culture that encourages students to seek intercultural interactions and understand differing viewpoints instead of universalizing personal viewpoints. When: Feb 2, 2021 from 7:00-8:30 pm. Register here.

Episode 148: Nurturing Black and Brown Students in Schools

• Dan and Michael chat with University of North Texas doctoral students Marquita Foster & Danelle Adeniji about the pandemic, nurturing Black and Brown students, and disrupting harmful practices in schools.

The Learning Lab Experience

• The Smithsonian Education website includes multiple learning labs for educators and parents to share with children of all ages.

PBS Education

• PBS Teachers’ Lounge “Voices in Education” examines how imagination and knowledge support each other in the quest for authentic learning. In this article Teaching Black History Beyond Slavery and Black History Month, the author proposes a broader view of the teaching of black history in our schools, suggesting that we should NOT begin the teaching of black history with slavery.

Teach Different with Harriet Tubman

• An online conversation with your students on Dreams: Learn a scalable go-to routine and practical tools for starting and managing online SEL conversations using Harriet Tubman as an example. When: Feb 11, 2021 at 4:00 pm. Register here.

Teaching Tolerance

• Teaching Tolerance’s article Black History Month: Teaching Beyond Slavery encourages educators to avoid minimizing black history by not including the full human experience beyond enslavement and suggesting instead that Black History Month should be the beginning of a study of the entire black experience in the U.S.

Resources for Black History Month Specific to Connecticut

ConnecticutHistory.org

• ConnecticutHistory.org, a project of CT Humanities, contains a number of articles and resources featuring a decades-long exploration of the “Connecticut Grown History” of African American life and contributions in our state to enhance students’ connection to the historic places and primary source images, documents, and objects that make up the historical record.

Teach It

• Teach It’s goal is to help teachers bring Connecticut history into the classroom through a series of inquiry-based activities (that reinforce the principles found in the new social studies frameworks) that link local events to national events so students can understand our state’s contributions that shaped our community, history, and heritage. This site includes inquiry activities that can be used with elementary school, middle school, and high school students; a number of the inquiries are connected to black history.