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The BlackQuaker Project (1) celebrates the lives and contributions of Quakers of Color worldwide and (2) documents and addresses their concerns. It is an outreach and in-reach ministry of Wellesley Friends Meeting, guided by the Quaker testimonies of Truth, Peace, Equality, Community, and Justice.

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The BlackQuaker Project (1) celebrates the lives and contributions of Quakers of Color worldwide and (2) documents and addresses their concerns. It is an outreach and inreach ministry of Wellesley Friends Meeting, guided by the Quaker testimonies of Truth, Peace, Equality, Justice, and Community.

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Jackie Ormes | 28 Days of Black History 2024

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Hello and welcome to Day 7 of our series! Growing up, I used to love reading the comic strips in the Sunday paper. It made me feel all grown up, spreading out the pages, carefully flipping through 'til the black-and-white gave way to the full color cartoonish drawings.

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Mother-Daughter duo works to bring diversity to the toy industry

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Nursery created a collaborative work of art using various skin tone paints. We talked about how skin comes in different colors- we're more beautiful together!

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In Nature Nursery we learned about Garrett Morgan's invention and then made our own stoplights. "Red NO! Yellow SLOW. Green GO!". 

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Bayard Rustin- An unsung hero of the civil rights movement (4min.)

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Bayard Rustin- An unsung hero of the civil rights movement (4min.)

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Bayard Rustin was a Quaker.
"The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was the biggest protest America had ever seen. It culminated in Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr’s iconic “I Have A Dream” speech. But the man who made it all possible, chief organiser Bayard Rustin, was almost written out of history not because he was black, but because he was gay."

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This resource provides the biographies of African American Quakers from as long ago as the colonial period below. Friends General Conference encourages their use in First Day school lessons and in other educational situations.

In addition, please see this resource for The Black Quaker Project's The 2022 Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum- sharing films and post-screening discussions on Howard Thurman, Bayard Rustin, Mahala Ashley Dickerson and Paul Robeson.

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African American Quaker Profiles - Friends General Conference

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This resource provides the biographies of African American Quakers from as long ago as the colonial period below. Friends General Conference encourages their use in First Day school lessons and in other educational situations.

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Nursery will be using strips of felt to create their own patchwork quilt conveying a secret message. This project is a tribute to patchwork quilts displayed during the Underground Railroad, which conveyed a message of where to go next.

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Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

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According to legend, a safe house along the Underground Railroad was often indicated by a quilt hanging from a clothesline or windowsill. These quilts were embedded with a kind of code, so that by reading the shapes and motifs sewn into the design, an enslaved person on the run could know the area's immediate dangers or even where to head next.

Bow Tie = Dress in disguise to appear of a higher status

Bear Paw = Follow an animal trail through the mountains to find water and food

Log Cabin = Seek shelter now, the people here are safe to speak with

I can see the promise of such a system. Nimble fingers working in secret, armed with needle and thread, engaging with a visual language, doing their part for freedom. I want to believe it happened. Some do, and maybe it did, but others question the authenticity of such events.

Sharon Tindall is a Virginia-based quilter, educator, and one in a tradition of contemporary quilters who design textile works inspired by this "quilt code."

"When I'm creating a quilt, I'm focused on the purpose of the quilt," she says. "I'm thankful I am able to create something of comfort."

Tindall hopes her handmade quilts hanging in the Johnson House, a crucial station on the Underground Railroad and now a National Historic Site in Philadelphia, embody the spirit of the house and the presence of those who passed through. Built in 1768 in the heart of Germantown, Johnson House's woodwork, flooring, and glass are all original to the house.

"You really get a sense of enslaved people there," she says. "I walked around where they slept, where they ate. You feel their presence. The slaves, the Johnson family who protected them, that presence was the colors in the sky of the quilt. I want to convey a message of hope, freedom, love for the slaves."

Though not all of her quilts are coded, Tindall is a believer and defender of the codes. She recently gave a lecture about them to a full room in Johnson House. Our conversation stretched to weeks as I sought more detailed information about how they were used.

At its center, a quilt is an assemblage of historical and creative cues in the form of fabrics, shapes, symbols, textures and colors. Quilts were often made to commemorate important family events such as marriage, a birth, or moving to a new place. Often made from scraps of old dresses, burlap sacks, and dish cloths, it gives physical, even functional, form to a family or individual's past and present. Tindall uses combinations of cottons, raw Dupioni silks, Swarovski crystals, natural fibers, Malian mud cloth, and even glitter to convey the spiritual, intangible components of her narrative compositions. For Tindall, the quilts become vehicles for the voices and footprints of people running for their lives.

"The orange is life, or light," she explains, pointing at the glowing horizon line on her quilt, The Johnson House. "They could feel or sense light through their struggle of trying to get to freedom."

Prior to 1999, the codes were unheard of even to the African American quilting community. That's according to Marsha MacDowell, a quilt scholar and director of the Quilt Index, a massive online catalog of more than 90,000 quilts. In 1999, Jaqueline Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard published Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad , and the story cycloned through trusted centers of news and knowledge: the New York Times Book Review, NPR, and others. National Geographic and the Kennedy Center developed elementary school curricula that referenced the codes.

None of these institutions questioned the veracity of Tobin and Dobard's story; instead, they published book reviews as human-interest pieces, calling it "captivating" and "fascinating," and the public lapped it up like hard fact. When we see an uplifting story online, printed in Times New Roman, we tend to just accept it as truth. Soon the story has lifeblood independent of its origins, and there's no stopping it.

"Almost every February, stories appear in papers across the country," MacDowell explains, referencing African American History Month. "If you're wondering about our irritation, I think it's more frustrating that the codes keep getting presented as fact."

That is to say, the authenticity of quilt codes is, among other things, a matter of emphasis. Maybe the protocols for experiences of belief versus fact are just different. When a person believes something, they have no need of proof. Not dates, examples, nor firsthand accounts. They don't have to do anything except believe. For something to qualify as a fact, it needs evidence. To define "fact" is no easy undertaking.

Some historians float the issue that many of the quilt patterns cited as directives for enslaved peoples probably did not yet exist during the height of the Underground Railroad, between 1850 and 1860. Based on surveys of quilts made during these years, the evidence for some of these patterns just isn't there, breaking the spell of this captivating story.

Drunkard's Path = Zig-zag as you go along in case you are being stalked by hounds

Double Wedding Ring = Now it is safe to remove your chains and shackles

Sharon Tindall uses a historical pattern made up of triangles and rectangles called Flying Geese.

I asked Tindall what the Flying Geese quilt pattern meant and how it assisted runaways on the Underground Railroad.

"Flying geese are blue; the sky is blue, red and black," she responded. "Follow the geese flying north. If the sky wasn't clear, look for or listen to the geese flying north in the spring."

I was disappointed by her answer because I didn't understand. It came off like verse, or a nursery rhyme. Were they supposed to wait until spring if the sky wasn't clear? Were they literally supposed to follow the geese? How could this interpretation of a quilt block have directed slaves hundreds of miles along a cruel course, across canyons and rivers, all the way to Pennsylvania, Ohio, or Indiana?

Whether or not you believe Tindall's interpretation, you might agree her belief provides poetic justifications for belief versus fact. Quilts allow Tindall to sustain a conversation about these men and women who were valiant, who fought slavery by taking the ultimate chance-running, and maybe even trusting the message on a blanket when everything was at stake-and encouraging others to do the same.

"If people's lives are at stake, then it stands to reason that there would be no trace of the quilts," Atlanta-based quilt scholar Mary Twining-Baird argues. "Of course there is no documentation! Literally, if anyone found out they could lose their lives."

Twining-Baird specializes in kente cloth quilts made on the Sea Island chain off the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, but she maintains a firm stance on quilt codes.

She encountered an old quilt that "was stitched like it had been sewn with a crowbar."

"It was a map, of course! The wide woolen stitching lines were roads."

Unfortunately, the quilt was lost in a flood and there are no pictures, which serves as logic for the general dearth of material evidence of quilts codes today. After all this time, they have been lost or have fallen to pieces.

For Tindall, a quilt can be like a prayer. The pretext for her belief in quilt codes is not unlike a person trying to explain or provide supporting evidence for a belief in God. Simply put, she has faith.

"I consider myself a Believer in Jesus Christ, woman of Faith, storyteller and a creator of quilts," she wrote to me. "I have taken the gifts God has given me and I'm returning them back to Him through the quilt codes."

Scholar Marilyn Motz has a definition for belief that seems to fit: "a process of knowing that is not subject to verification or measurement within the framework of a modern western scientific paradigm."

As she points out, "the term belief actually calls into question its own validity." And anyways, "we usually describe our own beliefs as knowledge."

So, if we truly believe something, as Tindall believes that enslaved people running north were guided by the Flying Geese pattern in quilts, we may have trouble seeing the difference between belief and fact.

In every culture, there are beliefs, myths, urban legends, rumors, even conspiracy theories that rise to the status of sacred narrative whether or not they are "true." In many cases of folklore, hard facts may not influence a belief. Such is the case with Kaluli people of Papua New Guinea, who believe the spirits of their dead take up in particular animals, namely pigs and birds. Should we be concerned with hard evidence the Kaluli can provide for these deep-rooted belief systems?

Stories, recipes, personal experiences, and all the things that were whispered to us when we were young often outweigh scientific fact. They matter because we believe them, so, naturally, and sometimes quickly, they become some of the disparate pieces of the systems that define us.

Regardless of the disputed history, it has been twenty years now that Tindall and other quilters have been making coded quilts: glimmering, spiritually charged, stop-you-in-your-tracks, hanging textiles based in deeply believed and debated historical events. Are these quilts harming anyone?

"The risk is that it is not a true story," MacDowell says. "The danger is that you start questioning people's belief systems and how they get their information."

"I've found some people have a hard time thinking or believing anything they cannot see or touch," Tindall says. "I simply ask them, 'Do you think it's possible?' Nonverbal communication, symbols, and secrets are all forms of communication."

Finally enslaved peoples were free to roam without running. Between 1910 and 1920, the African American population of Detroit, Michigan, increased by more than 600 percent. These Americans migrated to the Midwest from the rural South saying Godspeed! to segregation laws and seeking industry jobs during what is known as the Great Northern Migration, or the Black Migration. They carried with them quilts and the stories of an enslaved South.

While Tobin and Dobard were writing Hidden in Plain View in the late 1990s, MacDowell was in Michigan with a group of graduate students documenting African American quilts and recording stories. MacDowell's team recorded almost fifty interviews. No one said anything about a code.

"One woman who was originally from South Carolina but lived in Detroit said she learned quilting as a child in South Carolina. Her mother taught her (as did her grandmother teach her mother) that you always hold a needle pointing in the direction of the North as you quilt it, because that is where opportunities are. Someone else we recorded said that her family hid important papers in the binding of the quilt.

"Now, I would not jump to any conclusions that every African American quilter held their needle pointing to the north, and that is the problem with the Hidden in Plain View book. They jumped to conclusions without documentation."

MacDowell's fellow quilt-scholars posited the subject of her whiteness. Was her whiteness a factor in not hearing that story?

"We had a whole battery of people who were doing those interviews in Michigan, both black and white, and no one heard that story."

MacDowell has done the research. She knows how rampant the story of quilt codes has become. She especially knows that it's out of her hands. While researching quilts in South Africa, she made the acquaintance of contemporary quilters who have-"lo and behold!"-caught wind of the book and started coding quilts of their own.

"There will always be people who believe," she concedes.

Perhaps the code, true or not, is a vehicle for African Americans to explore the trauma they inherited-and the hope. Tindall shared her beliefs on a trip to Liberia, a West African nation originally founded as a colony by the American Colonization Society to repatriate freed and free-born black people from America. There she met weavers who were braiding in a code she herself is using. She felt a kind of kinship.

Nowadays, some African American women make coded quilts for their daughters and granddaughters, and that will keep happening. Whether or not the codes are "real," Tobin and Dobard are responsible for a twenty-year tradition of craftsmanship that has cropped out of a confidence in what they wrote, in the codes. Now the lineage of artisans using quilt codes is robust. For them, the codes are poetry, healing, and, especially, a means of expressing history.
Marie Claire Bryant is a poet, storyteller, and archivist interning at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. She was previously the director of publishing for Cfile Foundation, where she wrote, edited, and published extensively on the topic of contemporary and historic ceramic arts.

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Underground Railroad Quilt Codes: What We Know, What We Believe, and What Inspires Us

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According to legend, a safe house was often indicated by a coded quilt hanging from a clothesline or windowsill.

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Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas

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Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas

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Nursery read "Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas". We imitated her bright artwork by painting on bubble wrap and making prints of concentric circles. We looked at a picture of "Resurrection" by Alma Thomas, which proudly hangs in the White House dining room. We talked about what it means to be a President and that every single one of us could be President one day, and what we would do if we were the country's leader.

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Nature Nursery celebrated Garrett Morgan and his important inventions. Specifically, we focused on the traffic light. We discussed the importance of this invention and created our own through an art project. Additionally, we played a few rounds of "red light, green light", focusing on leadership, safety, and having fun while moving our bodies.

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Every day when the students come in there is a picture of a notable black American and four clues about who they are.

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Students learn the power of action. Fatima teaches our students how to act when unfairness and inequities we may experience.

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Fatima the Activist! - Kindle edition by James, Olivia, Publishing, Young Authors. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Fatima the Activist!.

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Hey Black Child, The Podcast (Grades 3+)

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Hey Black Child, The Podcast (Grades 3+)

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The Ausmer Family discusses the accomplishments of some of the lesser known African American Heroes from the past and present.

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The Ausmer Family, Lionell, Nicole, Avery, & Jackson talk Black Excellence. Discussing the accomplishments of some of the lesser known African American Heroes from the past and present, outside the classroom.

The Ausmer Family, Lionell, Nicole, Avery, & Jackson talk Black Excellence. Discussing the accomplishments of some of the lesser known African American Heroes from the past and present, outside the classroom.

Outstanding!

I love this podcast. I'm so glad I found something other than music to play while my kids are in the car and I'm learning new facts myself! Keep up the great work!
-The James Family

Love this pod

I love this podcast 100%💯💯💯💯💯it's so fun learning history keep up the good work 🔥🔥🔥🔥

I'm white...

I'm a white child but I love learning about the history of black people! I have a lot of friends that are black and they are very kind and generous. Love to listen to black childrens voices!

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‎Hey Black Child: The Podcast on Apple Podcasts

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The Ausmer Family, Lionell, Nicole, Avery, & Jackson talk Black Excellence. Discussing the accomplishments of some of the lesser known African American Heroes from the past and present, outside the classroom. The Ausmer Family, Lionell, Nicole, Avery, & Jackson talk Black Excellence.

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ABCs of the Civil Rights Movement Posters

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Every letter has significance! Includes tough-to-find letters such as Q, Z, O, and Y! Perfect for a culturally responsive classroom or a unit around Black History Month. ...

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Each week, Tr. Sabrina teaches a social justice lesson to first grade. Here is one of the read alouds she has done with them. This sparked a great conversation

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Bessie and James Take Flight (Sesame Studios)

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This is your one stop shop for everything black history for kids. For decades, we have longed for black history to be part of the national curriculum in both our primary and secondary schools and still today we are waiting.

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Readworks BHM Reading Comprehension Passages 

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Readworks BHM Reading Comprehension Passages 

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Improve your students' reading comprehension with ReadWorks. Access thousands of high-quality, free K-12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students.

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Jabari Jumps: Personal Narrative/Small Moment Writing 

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Jabari Jumps: Personal Narrative/Small Moment Writing 

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In first grade, we used Jabari Jumps as a mentor text to help guide our small-moment writing unit.

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Working up the courage to take a big, important leap is hard, but Jabari is almost absolutely ready to make a giant splash.

Jabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He's finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he's a great jumper, so he's not scared at all. "Looks easy," says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back. He needs to figure out what kind of special jump to do anyway, and he should probably do some stretches before climbing up onto the diving board. In a sweetly appealing tale of overcoming your fears, newcomer Gaia Cornwall captures a moment between a patient and encouraging father and a determined little boy you can't help but root for.

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Jabari Jumps [Cornwall, Gaia, Cornwall, Gaia] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Jabari Jumps

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Read by James Earl Jones

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Part of the 4th grade Activist Unit curriculum.

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Not so much a read aloud but a great class novel.

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historical - united states - colonial & revolutionary periods

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people & places - united states - african american

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historical - united states - colonial & revolutionary period

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historical - united states - colonial & revolutionary periods

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historical fiction (children's / teenage)

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juvenile fiction / comics & graphic novels / historical

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juvenile fiction / historical / military & wars

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juvenile fiction / historical / united states / colonial & revolutionary periods

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juvenile fiction / people & places / united states / african american

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juvenile fiction / people & places / united states / african american & black

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juvenile fiction/comics & graphic novels - historical

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juvenile fiction/historical - united states - colonial & revolutionary periods

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juvenile fiction/people & places - united states - african american & black

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people & places - united states - african american

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people & places - united states - african american & black

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people & places - united states - african-american

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middle grade historical fiction for ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen year old fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth grade girls boys; slavery; freedom; common core; valley forge; south; national book award winner; revolutionary war; sisters; discrimination; books about the revolutionary war; social studies american history classroom book; new york times bestselling author; black poc bipoc african american character history protagonist; escaped slave

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middle grade historical fiction for ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen year old fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth grade girls boys; slavery; freedom; common core; valley forge; south; national book award winner; revolutionary war; sisters; discrimination; books about the revolutionary war; social studies american history classroom book; new york times bestselling author; black poc bipoc african american character history protagonist; escaped slave;

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historical - united states - colonial & revolutionary period

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juvenile fiction / comics & graphic novels / historical

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juvenile fiction / historical / military & wars

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juvenile fiction / historical / united states / colonial & revolutionary periods

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juvenile fiction / people & places / united states / african american

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juvenile fiction / people & places / united states / african american & black

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juvenile fiction/comics & graphic novels - historical

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juvenile fiction/historical - united states - colonial & revolutionary periods

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juvenile fiction/people & places - united states - african american & black

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people & places - united states - african-american

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historical fiction (children's / teenage)

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Chains (The Seeds of America Trilogy) [Anderson, Laurie Halse] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Chains (The Seeds of America Trilogy)

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In first grade we used the song as a guiding question: What can one little person do? The song highlights historical black american stories. We used the query to guide our nonfiction unit and focused on biographies of people who had changed the world.

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First grade read this book and talk/ created a page of what makes them/ their families different/ unique

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I Color Myself Different [Kaepernick, Colin, Wilkerson, Eric] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. I Color Myself Different

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3rd graders watch videos daily about influential Black Americans and add thoughts and questions to a Padlet. Here is a screenshot of our first day learning about Carter G. Woodson.

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Sonja Cherry Paul each year leads a PD- Teaching Black History All Year Long- highly recommend attending the virtual PD via Red Clay Educators.

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https://sonjacherrypaul.com/home/

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Story Behind- "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

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Story Behind- "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

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Why we "Lift Every Voice and Sing" | The story behind the 'black national anthem'

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Focuses on Black American contributions to Democracy

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Every time a major election approaches, many parents and teachers start thinking about how to teach kids about democracy. The right to vote is of course a huge part of what it means to be a citizen of a democratic country.

But voting is just the start of being a responsible citizen, not the end! We should talk with kids about being active members of our communities in every season, not just election season.

Use these tips to teach kids what it means to be part of a democracy, in the broadest sense. Be sure to scroll all the way to the end of the post for a list of great children's books about democracy, voting, and citizenship!
Disclosure: For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
1. Take your child with you when you vote, and talk about why you've chosen to vote for particular candidates

Is there a local or national electional coming up? Then it's a great opportunity to talk to your child about how ordinary people get to choose the leaders of our democracy.

Just yesterday, I was explaining to our 6 year old that as an American, I feel like I have a responsibility to vote. We were reading Lillian's Right to Vote (see review below), and I was reminding him of all the people who struggled, and even died, for the right to vote.

Taking your child to the voting booth is a great way for them to see what the process of voting is like. In the days leading up to the election, talk about one or two candidates who you are supporting. What issues do you they support that you care about?

2. Write a letter to an elected official as a family

This is a great, low-key way to show children what democracy in action looks like. Writing a letter is one very concrete example of how citizens not only get to elect our leaders. We also have a right and responsibility to push them to act for the good of our communities once they're in the office.

I've put together a kid-friendly, step by step guide about how to write a letter to a member of Congress. It also includes a letter template with graphics that younger children can color. Just fill out the form below to download it.

If you have a teen or tween, you could also help guide them through the process of sending a message using Resistbot. Just text RESIST to 50409 and you'll be guided step by step.

However, one of the advantages to writing a real letter is that your member of Congress will definitely send a written response back that your child can read.

3. Talk about how protest is patriotic

When there are news stories about protest, do you talk to your children about them? Whether it's U.S. athletes taking a knee during the national anthem or a march taking place in your community, there's an opportunity for learning. Loving one's country means speaking up when we disagree with its actions.

Want to give kids a hands on way of understanding protest? Participate together in a march, vigil, or rally in your community. There are more family-friendly protests than you might realize at first, like the rally for immigrant children that took place in a park in my city. While our son mostly hung out by the swings, he still saw democracy in action.

4. Encourage children to ask questions and to speak up when they don't agree

As parents and teachers, one of the best ways to model democratic dialogue is to encourage children to respectfully question adults - including us!

Perhaps your child will tell you about a time when she didn't like what someone else was saying. Try roleplaying with her how she could express disagreement the next time.

When a child questions your views or a decision you've made, encourage them to talk it through with you instead of shushing them.

This post from Doing Good Together has suggestions on how to teach children both civility and how to speak up when they disagree .

For teachers, the website has many lesson plans and resources for navigating potentially controversial issues in the classroom.

5. Talk about times when your country has lived up to its ideals, and times when it has not

The younger a child is, the more adults seem to steer away from talking truthfully about history. You may feel like you need to wait until your child is a teen to talk about painful parts of history.

But consider how confusing it is a for a child to hear only positive stories about their country and its leaders, and then learn about topics like slavery years later.

We get more chances than you might think to naturally talk to kids about how complex history is. In her book , author Jennifer Harvey gives a great example of talking to her 7 year old about George Washington.

Her daughter had been talking enthusiastically about all the wonderful things she was learning at school about Washington. Harvey was uncomfortable, but not sure how to respond.

One day, she had the radio on and her daughter overhead a story about a politician facing an ethics charge. Her daughter was confused about how an adult who was a leader could do something bad. Harvey expressed that unfortunately there are many times her country's leaders have done bad things.

"Like who and what did they do?" her daughter wanted to know.

This gave Harvey a chance to talk about how even thought Washington fought for freedom for white people, he also owned Black people as slaves. Their conversation didn't end there. They went on to talk about the importance of learning the whole truth about people, and how we can try to fix some of the bad things past leaders have done.

6. Read and discuss children's books about voting, democracy and citizenship

I have some of our favorite children's books about democracy below. As you read, pause to talk about what you're learning. Does the book leave out points that you think need to be made?

For example, a book about women winning the right to vote in the United States may not mention that most Black women weren't able to exercise that right.

When reading books about people facing injustice, point out the ways that oppressed people in the story are fighting back for their rights.

Ever since we checked this book out from the library, my 6 year old has asked to read it multiple times a day! It's a light-hearted but empowering look at the difference a citizen, especially kid citizens, can make in a community.

We can see children making laws, and then changing them because some people don't like them. They right wrongs; they "care and care." I especially liked the line "A citizen's not what you are - a citizen is what you do." (Recommended for ages 3 - 7)

This picture book does a beautiful job of summing up hundreds of years of voting rights struggles through one woman's moving story. Lillian is over 100 years old, but she's still determined to get out and vote. On her long walk to the polling place, she remembers her ancestors' thwarted attempts to vote.

Each of the stories has an emphasis on the pride, dignity, and agency of Black Americans who tried to exercise their right to vote, but were denied. We learn about heroes (including Lillian herself) who struggled, fought, and sometimes died in the years leading up the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act. (Recommended for ages 6 - 10)

After reading this straightforward picture book, your child will be left with no doubt that children can and should join in peaceful protests.

A variety of kids prepare for the march by making signs from old pizza boxes. The book is honest in many places. For example kids are told that when you get to the part of the march where there are speeches, "it's possible this part will get boring." But as the march picks up again, children are encouraged by the sounds of their neighbors singing and chanting.

One thing in the book that I wish had more nuance is the reference to police officers. The book says "their job is to keep people safe." I understand the desire to ease fears children may have, and as a white woman, that has been true at most protests I've participated in. However, that's often not the case for Black Lives Matter protests. In my own city, a lawsuit is pending in federal court over police surveillance of activists. (Recommended for ages 4 - 8)

This book was written prior to the 2008 U.S. election, but it's still relevant! When Grace Campbell learns that no woman has ever been president, she decides she wants to become president one day. Her teacher realizes this is the perfect opportunity for a mock election.

Another class nominates a candidate too. Since he's a boy, he's confident that all the boys will vote for him. While Thomas is sure he'll win, Grace works hard at identifying issues and finding ways to improve their school.

This is probably the only (interesting) picture book that explains in kid-friendly terms how the electoral college works, as Thomas and Grace finally square off for their election (Recommended for ages 5 - 10)

Reading this book raised my spirits in more ways that one. It's a must have for middle grade readers, especially children of color. It includes poetry and short essays by a wide variety of children's book authors of color. The editors were inspired to create the book when their 7 year old great niece became distraught learning about Donald Trump's election.

Some of the contributions focus on pride in one's culture and the history of protest. Others talk about bullying, racism, and how to respond. Still others focus on topics like kindness and mindfulness. The message of the book, expressed by Tameka Fryer Brown, that "there are more good people than not" is one that children and teens need to hear. (Recommended for ages 10+)

A Is For Activist is a delightfully unusual alphabet book, introducing children to words like abolitionist, co-op, "little d democracy", environmental justice, feminist, trans, and union. While the justice and human rights issues the book points to are quite serious, the book also has a playful tone.

Its rhymes and examples of things children will love (like the demand for healthy hot dogs) keep the book from becoming too heavy. There is also a cat hidden on each page, adding an interactive element. (Recommended for ages 2 - 6).

Nikki Grimes was inspired to write this in-depth imagined conversation between Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony after learning that the women had attended some of the same anti-slavery and women's rights conventions.

Though the two women had very different life histories, their common commitment to working tirelessly for disenfranchised people is evident in the story. Anthony ended up focusing primarily on women's right to vote and Tubman on the abolition of slavery. It's clear that both were considered bothersome troublemakers or worse by polite society.

Other historical figures like John Brown and Frederick Douglass also make brief appearances, making this a great book for bringing American history to life. (Recommended for ages 8 - 12)

This is an alphabet book of sorts for ways to create change. Each page contains a series of verbs or phrases about how people can advocate for equal rights. For example, one page that's filled with hands holding candles reminds us to "Listen. Learn. Lead. Light a candle. Write a letter. Pass laws."

Although I wish that there was a little more explanation to the book, it does give adults the chance to choose where they'd like to lead the discussion. I absolutely love the illustrations, and the wide range of actions highlighted remind us that everyone has something different to contribute in the struggle for equality. (Recommended for ages 3 - 7)

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6 Ways to Teach Kids about Democracy and Citizenship - The Barefoot Mommy

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Every time a major election approaches, many parents and teachers start thinking about how to teach kids about democracy. The right to vote is of course a huge part of what it means to be a citizen of a democratic country. But voting is just the start of being a responsible citizen, not the end!

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Vincent Harding - The Inconvenient Hero, Martin Luther King

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Vincent Harding - The Inconvenient Hero, Martin Luther King

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Vincent Harding - The Inconvenient Hero, Martin Luther King

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Celebrate Diversity with Books from Lerner

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Celebrate Diversity with Books from Lerner

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Celebrate Diversity with Books from Lerner

Books have the power to affirm our identities, to build understanding with people unlike ourselves, to challenge our misconceptions, and to broaden our awareness of the world. Click one of the categories below to browse an online collection of diverse titles for grades PreK-12, or browse all our diverse books.

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Diverse Books from Lerner - Lerner Publishing Group

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Books have the power to affirm our identities, to build understanding with people unlike ourselves, to challenge our misconceptions, and to broaden our awareness of the world. Click one of the categories below to browse an online collection of diverse titles for grades PreK-12, or browse all our diverse books.

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PK read these books to use as teachable moments for Equity, Integrity, being an Upstander, and Empathy. 

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PK read these books to use as teachable moments for Equity, Integrity, being an Upstander, and Empathy. 

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We read Mae Among the Stars! We discussed her bravery going into space and living her dream!  Both PK classes created astronauts of Mae using paper plates and crayons. 

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We read Mae Among the Stars! We discussed her bravery going into space and living her dream!  Both PK classes created astronauts of Mae using paper plates and crayons. 

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After reading this wonderful story, we admired own individual skin tones and made a heart to celebrate our different skin colors.

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While reading Counting on Katherine, Pre-K was able to make thoughtful connections to our Social Justice posters (created by Tanya Muse). The children then showed us their counting skills and made their own math rockets!

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After reading Counting on Katherine, Pre-K showed their mathematical skills by counting objects around the room and creating math rockets.

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Nature Nursery Books About Being Anti-Racist

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GRANVILLE T WOODS (Inventor) - Black History Month

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Listening to music by Black musicians and/or using it as a resource for other activities, such as playing Miles Davis as an inspiration to "jazz up" writing or painting while listening to John Coltrane.

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Listening to music by Black musicians and/or using it as a resource for other activities, such as playing Miles Davis as an inspiration to "jazz up" writing or painting while listening to John Coltrane.

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Bring African-American culture & history into your curriculum

All people, regardless of race or place, deserve the same rights and freedoms. For too long, Black and brown people in America have been denied equality because of the color of their skin. To help students understand the reality of Black people's experiences in American history, their impact on American culture, and to celebrate their achievements, we've compiled a selection of lesson plans that cover a variety of subjects that can be adapted to fit multiple grade levels.

If you're commemorating Black History Month in your classroom consider preparing by reading Learning For Justice's Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Black History and Black History Month is Over. Now What?, and listening to our podcast on teaching Black history meaningfully (below) to ensure students get the most out of Black history lessons.

Lesson Plans

Grades K-5

Lesson Plans & Activities

LESSON PLANS

National Museum of African American History and Culture's Learning Labs
The Smithsonian's free, interactive platform provides ways to explore well-known and lesser-known moments of history by utilizing objects, documents, imagery, and videos to enhance content knowledge, hone historical thinking skills and inspire users to see themselves as agents of change. (Free account registration required)

ACTIVITIES

Who is Claudette Colvin?
Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus, Claudette Colvin refused to move for white passengers and was forcibly removed from a Montgomery, Alabama, bus and jailed. Learn more about her story.

Background Resources

SOCIAL STUDIES

African American History Month Exhibits & Collections
Resources covering art and design, baseball, civil rights, culture, folklife, military, music and performing arts, religion, slavery, and resource guides.

W. E. B. Du Bois: Online Resources
Includes digital materials related to W. E .B. Du Bois and links to external Web sites.

Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education
History, images, and other resources covering the historic Supreme Court ruling ending segregation and ensuring opportunity in education.

Africans in America
Images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries. The site provides teacher's and youth guides. The four-part series may be in local libraries.

Black History - Biography - Celebrate Black History Month & People
Biographies, timelines, photos, and videos on notable African Americans.

The Awakening of Norman Rockwell This article examines Norman Rockwell's career and how his painting, The Problem We All Live With, for the January 14, 1964 issue of Look magazine was a turning point in this career and reflected his unexpected politicization in the 1960s.

ARTS

Poems to Celebrate Black History Month
Poems and articles by African-Americans.

The History of Hip-Hop
A collection of interviews from National Public Radio (NPR) that chronicle the seminal people and events in the hip-hop movement.

African American Visual Art and the Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement (BAM) began in the mid-1960s to provide a new vision of African Americans. This site provides images galleries a theoretical essay, timeline, and links to other online art sources. Note: the top banner links are dead but the bottom links are functional.

The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed
African American and Global African history resources.

SCIENCE

10 Black Scientists that Science Teachers Should Know About
A list from PBS Education of some of the top Black scientists, engineers, inventors, and mathematicians that includes links to media resources to help you bring their work-and stories-into your classroom.

8 Black Inventors Who Made Daily Life Easier
This blog post outlines some of the lesser-known but vital contributions of Black inventors.

SPORT

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: Resources for Teachers
Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball there was Negro League Baseball. This site features history, a timeline, photos, and teacher resources.

African American Athletes
Brief biographies and film clips of outstanding African American athletes. Don't miss the links to legal and political figures, scientists and educators, activists, artists and writers, entertainers, and musicians and singers.

Quizzes

Printables

Video

Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (68 minutes)
Considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, Faubourg Tremé is the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz.

Books

Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Children's Books
A teacher's resource kit from the High Museum

A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story by Sharon Langley and Amy NathanYoung Sharon hears the story of how she, after a series of protests to integrate the park, is the first African American to ride on the carousel at Gwynn Oak Amusement Park in 1963.

Because Claudette by Tracey Baptiste
This picture book biography celebrates both Claudette Colvin, whose teen-aged activism launched the Montgomery bus boycott, and the power of collective action.
Author Tracey Baptiste shares how to make Black history accessible to young readers:
Carter Reads the Newspaper by Deborah Hopkinson
Meet the "father of Black History," Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and discover the experiences that shaped his passion.

Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School by Janet Halfmann
Born into slavery, Lilly Ann secretly learned to read and write from her master's children-and then read everything she could get her hands on. Wishing to share her knowledge with others, she secretly taught hundreds of other enslaved people despite the great risks.

Find African American booklists from Read Across America.

Grades 6-8

Lesson Plans & Activities

LESSON PLANS

Teaching Hard History
These resources for middle- and high-school educators include Learning for Justice's grades 6-12 framework, as well as student-facing videos and primary source texts to help all students grasp the historical significance of slavery. Educators will also find teaching tools and professional development resources.

PBS Black History Lesson Plans
These lesson plans and resources cover topics ranging from civil rights events to discussions about race in current events. These lessons are appropriate for history, ELA and social studies classrooms.

National Museum of African American History and Culture's Learning Labs
The Smithsonian's free, interactive platform provides ways to explore well-known and lesser-known moments of history by utilizing objects, documents, imagery, and videos to enhance content knowledge, hone historical thinking skills and inspire users to see themselves as agents of change. (Free account registration required)

ACTIVITIES

The Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom
The Underground Railroad was the network used by enslaved black Americans to obtain their freedom in the 30 years before the Civil War (1860-1865).

Background Resources

SOCIAL STUDIES

African American History Month Exhibits & Collections
Resources covering art and design, baseball, civil rights, culture, folklife, military, music and performing arts, religion, slavery, and resource guides.

W. E. B. Du Bois: Online Resources
Includes digital materials related to W. E .B. Du Bois and links to external Web sites.

Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education
History, images, and other resources covering the historic Supreme Court ruling ending segregation and ensuring opportunity in education.

Africans in America
Images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries. The site provides teacher's and youth guides. The four part series may be in local libraries.

Black History - Biography - Celebrate Black History Month & People
Biographies, photos, and videos of notable African Americans.

The Awakening of Norman Rockwell
This article examines Norman Rockwell's career and how his painting, The Problem We All Live With, for the January 14, 1964 issue of Look magazine was a turning point in this career and reflected his unexpected politicization in the 1960s.

ARTS

Poems to Celebrate Black History Month
Poems and articles by African-Americans.

The History of Hip-Hop
A collection of interviews from National Public Radio (NPR) that chronicle the seminal people and events in the hip-hop movement.

African American Visual Art and the Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement (BAM) began in the mid-1960s to provide a new vision of African Americans. This site provides images galleries a theoretical essay, timeline, and links to other online art sources. Note: the top banner links are dead but the bottom links are functional.

The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed
African American and Global African history resources.

SCIENCE

10 Black Scientists that Science Teachers Should Know About
A list from PBS Education of some of the top Black scientists, engineers, inventors, and mathematicians that includes links to media resources to help you bring their work-and stories-into your classroom.

8 Black Inventors Who Made Daily Life Easier
This blog post outlines some of the lesser-known but vital contributions of Black inventors.

SPORTS

African American Athletes
Brief biographies and film clips of outstanding African American athletes. Don't miss the links to legal and political figures, scientists and educators, activists, artists and writers, entertainers, and musicians and singers.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: Resources for Teachers
Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball there was Negro League Baseball. This site features history, a timeline, photos, and teacher resources.

Quizzes

Printables

Audio & Video

AUDIO

Blues Journey (23:17 minutes)
This four part audio series explores the history of the blues.

VIDEO

Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (68 minutes)
Considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, Faubourg Tremé is the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz. Check local listings to see when it airs on a local PBS station.

Forgotten Genius (120 minutes)
Chemist Percy Lavon Julian struggled against racism as he pursued research with steroids and alkaloids and helped to create affordable and effective treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and glaucoma.

Through the Window and into the Mirror: Narratives of African American STEM Professionals
This video conversation series shares the experiences of African American STEM professionals today.

Books

Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement Through Children's Books
A teacher's resource kit from the High Museum

Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Loretta, Roly, and Aggie B. Little relate their Black family's challenges and triumphs from 1927 to 1968 while struggling as sharecroppers, living under Jim Crow, and fighting for Civil Rights in Mississippi.

When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods
To figure out what happened to his missing father, thirteen-year-old Winter travels to Los Angeles from Mississippi to visit his cousin Eden and her family during the summer of the Watts Riots in 1965.

Find African American booklists from Read Across America.

Grades 9-12

Lesson Plans & Activities

LESSON PLANS

Teaching Hard History
These resources for middle- and high-school educators include Learning for Justice's grades 6-12 framework, as well as student-facing videos and primary source texts to help all students grasp the historical significance of slavery. Educators will also find teaching tools and professional development resources.

Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten
Through a series of video clips and activities, students can learn about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and how the community of Tulsa is coming to terms with its past, present, and future.

PBS Black History Lesson Plans
These lesson plans and resources cover topics ranging from civil rights events to discussions about race in current events. These lessons are appropriate for history, ELA and social studies classrooms.

National Museum of African American History and Culture's Learning Labs
The Smithsonian's free, interactive platform provides ways to explore well-known and lesser-known moments of history by utilizing objects, documents, imagery, and videos to enhance content knowledge, hone historical thinking skills and inspire users to see themselves as agents of change. (Free account registration required)

ACTIVITIES

The Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom
The Underground Railroad was the network used by enslaved black Americans to obtain their freedom in the 30 years before the Civil War (1860-1865).

Background Resources

SOCIAL STUDIES

African American History Month Exhibits & Collections
Resources covering art and design, baseball, civil rights, culture, folklife, military, music and performing arts, religion, slavery, and resource guides.

W. E. B. Du Bois: Online Resources
Includes digital materials related to W. E .B. Du Bois and links to external Web sites.

Separate Is Not Equal - Brown v. Board of Education
History, images, and other resources covering the historic Supreme Court ruling ending segregation and ensuring opportunity in education.

Africans in America
Images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries. The site provides teacher's and youth guides. The four part series may be in local libraries.

Black History - Biography - Celebrate Black History Month & People
Biographies, photos and videos of notable African Americans.

The Awakening of Norman Rockwell
This article examines Norman Rockwell's career and how his painting, The Problem We All Live With, for the January 14, 1964 issue of Look magazine was a turning point in this career and reflected his unexpected politicization in the 1960s.

ARTS

Poems to Celebrate Black History Month
Poems and articles by African-Americans.

Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns
Online activities and biographies, transcripts of many interviews with musicians, K-12 lesson plans, and a music study guide for grades 5-8.

The History of Hip-Hop
A collection of interviews from National Public Radio (NPR) that chronicle the seminal people and events in the hip-hop movement.

African American Visual Art and the Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement (BAM) began in the mid-1960s to provide a new vision of African Americans. This site provides images galleries a theoretical essay, timeline, and links to other online art sources. Note: the top banner links are dead but the bottom links are functional.

The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed
African American History by region.

SCIENCE

10 Black Scientists that Science Teachers Should Know About
A list from PBS Education of some of the top Black scientists, engineers, inventors, and mathematicians that includes links to media resources to help you bring their work-and stories-into your classroom.

8 Black Inventors Who Made Daily Life Easier
This blog post outlines some of the lesser-known but vital contributions of Black inventors.

SPORT

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: Resources for Teachers
Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball there was Negro League Baseball. This site features history, a timeline, photos, and teacher resources.

African American Athletes
Brief biographies and film clips of outstanding African American athletes. Don't miss the links to legal and political figures, scientists and educators, activists, artists and writers, entertainers, and musicians and singers.

Quizzes

Printables

Audio & Video

AUDIO

Blues Journey (23:17 minutes)
This four part audio series explores the history of the blues.

VIDEO

Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans (68 minutes)
Considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, Faubourg Tremé is the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz. Check local listings to see when it airs on a local PBS station.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (220 minutes)
Jack Johnson was the first African American boxer to win the Heavyweight Championship of the World. The website includes the story of Johnson's life and career, a timeline, and media gallery. The DVD may be available in local libraries.

Through the Window and into the Mirror: Narratives of African American STEM Professionals
This video conversation series shares the experiences of African American STEM professionals today.

Books

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
An essential account of the Black Panthers as militant revolutionaries, social activists, and human rights advocates working to defend and protect their community.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds; adapted from Stamped from the Beginning by and with an introduction from Ibram X. Kendi
Using humor and a conversational style, author Jason Reynolds deftly reworks Kendi's Stamped from the Beginning, exposing young adult readers to the history of America's racist past that textbooks leave out.

Find African American booklists from Read Across America.

Teaching Black History, Meaningfully

How you can make your Black history lessons more meaningful, unique, and powerful for your students? We asked Colorado social studies teacher Kevin Adams to join us for a discussion about breaking stale patterns when teaching Black history and shaping your lessons to fit your classroom and community. Listen to Kevin's advice and experiences in this 36 minute School Me Podcast.

Black History Month: Books and More for K-12 Students

The following resources from NEA's partners at WETA highlight books and classroom resources highlighting Black history and culture.

Reading Rockets: Booklists for Elementary
Celebration and Remembrance: Children's Books About Black Lives
This collection includes picture book biographies of a young boy who shipped himself to freedom during the Civil War, a trailblazing pilot, a brilliant writer - and a sensitive but honest retelling of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. You'll also meet Milo, who realizes on a subway ride to visit his mom that you can't know someone just by looking at them.
People Make the Difference: A Celebration of Black History Month
These are stories of turbulent times in the United States. Each book is told with a young audience in mind and presents a slice of history and highlights the impact of real individuals.

For additional books and resources, see:

AdLit: Booklists for Middle and High School
Black Characters and Social/Cultural Themes
These books for middle grade and young adults feature stories across a range of genres from dynamic authors including Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, Ibi Zoboi, Renée Watson, Nic Stone, Nicola Yoon, Rita Garcia-Williams, Kekla Magoon, Kacen Callender, Jerry Craft, and Justina Ireland.

For additional ideas, see the following resources:

AdLit: Author Interviews

Stay Informed We'll come to you

We're here to help you succeed in your career, advocate for public school students, and stay up to date on the latest education news. Sign up to stay informed

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Bring African-American culture & history into your curriculum

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Free Learning Resources for Black History Month (And Beyond) | Common Sense Education

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The inclusion of Black history and culture is essential for an accurate and true representation of American (and world) history overall. Black History Month is a time to highlight the people who have not only created foundational innovations, art, and achievements, but also organized and protested for equal rights and freedoms. Of course, the civil rights movement and figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks are integral pieces of this history.

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Commemorate Black History Month in your classroom with lesson plans and resources that cover topics ranging from civil rights events to discussions about race in current events. These lessons are appropriate for history, ELA and social studies classrooms, and include resources for students in middle or high school.
This resource page includes a quick guide to the March on Washington, an interactive timeline of the civil rights movement and a glossary of terms. Use these to get started on your classroom curriculum.

In this lesson for middle and high school students, students analyze what "The American Dream" means and what role racial discrimination may play in failing to attain that dream.

Help your students connect to the rich imagery of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech by learning the history of the speech and then illustrating some of its most famous lines in this creative lesson plan.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s delivered his most memorable speech, "I Have a Dream," on August 28, 1963 before more than 200,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Students will learn about the social, cultural and political circumstances which gave rise to the Harlem Renaissance. They will also learn about the influences that inspired the work of the Harlem Renaissance's artists and musicians. Finally, students will be given several opportunities to create their own Harlem Renaissance inspired work.

Martin Luther King., Jr. dreamed of an America where people could "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Use this lesson plan to start a discussion in your classroom about where we are on the path to realizing this dream.

Explore and discuss the history and context around the Juneteenth holiday in the United States. Topics explored will include the history of racial injustice in the U.S., the Civil War and the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation. Additionally, students will be encouraged to explore the modern significance of Juneteenth and its long-term impact.

Have students engage in a "close reading" of a timeless Jacob Lawrence painting through art-making, observation and analysis, and learn about the history of the Great Migration in the process.

Try out these interactive lessons and recommended resources from that invite students to step into the history and think critically and creatively about the continued fight for justice today.

Help introduce and engage students in the story of the March from Selma to Montgomery with clips from the film, "Selma", courtesy of Paramount Pictures. In the main activity, students will be asked to view three short videos about the March and critically think about the audience, message, and stereotypes seen.

Make issues of fairness, justice and discrimination personal to your students with this lesson plan, which includes an activity with Dr. Seuss! This lesson is designed for students for students who have difficulty with verbal or written expression.

While Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech became the most famous of the March on Washington, he was by no means to only person to address the massive crowd assembled on the National Mall. Use this lesson plan to look at the other civil rights leaders and orators who spoke that day and how effectively they conveyed their messages.

In this lesson plan, students compare King's "I Have a Dream" speech to other famous texts in American history, including the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. This is a great addition to any speech, English or history class.

This Common Core-aligned lesson helps students explore the New York City's "stop, question and frisk" program through videos, graphics and a news article. An engaging introduction creates a foundation to help students understand infographics and their utility as a cross-curricular tool.

In this lesson plan, students will use text from Mandela's autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom" to connect with Mandela's life and words. It also contains a 20-minute video from the PBS NewsHour to help students understand the magnitude of his life.

Use this trailer and to pique students' interest in the story of Muhammad Ali, who was both an athlete and a defender of human rights. You can purchase the film on iTunes, but it is not recommended for class use due to language and some mature content unless it has been approved by you and your school to use in the classroom.

Use this dynamic resource to get students thinking about Martin Luther King, Jr. and whether his dream has been accomplished today. These 12 high school students are part of PBS NewsHour's Student Reporting Labs and come from around the country.

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Classroom resources for Black History Month - PBS NewsHour Classroom

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Commemorate Black History Month in your classroom with lesson plans and resources that cover topics ranging from civil rights events to discussions about race in current events. These lessons are appropriate for history, ELA and social studies classrooms, and include resources for students in middle or high school.

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Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world's best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under.

Get Started

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online access fun thousands children great kids ebooks books

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Black History Month Book Collection on Epic

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Built on a collection of 40,000+ popular, high-quality books from 250+ of the world's best publishers, Epic safely fuels curiosity and reading confidence for kids 12 and under. Get Started