Black History Month
Black History Month celebrates African-American history and the contributions of Black people in the United States.
Description & History
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began in 1925 when Carter G. Woodson and the organization he founded, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), conceived and announced Negro History Week. His intent was to raise awareness of African American's contributions to civilization and the event was first celebrated in February 1926 during a week that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1976, the nation's bicentennial, the celebration was expanded to a month by President Gerald R. Ford. ASNLH provides a .
Professional Learning Resources
In 2021, then AASL President Kathy Carrol hosted a panel of experts to discuss Black History Month Reimagined during an AASL Town Hall.
Revist Knowledge Quest, Volume 49, No. 4 as five libraries sharing their experiences in school libraries as Black women educators. This issue requires an AASL member login.
School librarians must take the lead in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Read about Media Daniels’ efforts to use February as a launch for a deeper look at the history of Black college football with her high school students.
Published by the Library of Congress and 91´«Ã½, this resource provides grades 6-12 educators with classroom-ready materials, primary source facsimiles, citations, teaching strategies, and guides to online resources aligned with state curricula.
This curated collection from ADL includes Resources on Black History, Classroom Resources on Race and Racism, Classroom Resources on Racial Disparities and Social Justice, Classroom Resources on Voting Rights: Past and Present, and more.
Learner Engagement Resources
Pair primary sources, the picture book Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race, and augmented reality in this lesson pitch from Tom Bober.
Each of the picture books featured by blogger Maureen Schlosser could be the foundation of deep exploration into the environment, economics, or sustainability: Saving American Beach, Pies from Nowhere, and Harlem Grown.
Browse ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides, and research aids from the Library of Congress and other institutions including the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, and Smithsonian Institution.
NMAAHC provides educational offerings for students and educators in grades 3-12. Resources are designed to stimulate new ways of thinking and cultivate a passion for lifelong learning.
Black History Month digital media and events from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The National Education Association has compiled a selection of lesson plans that cover a variety of subjects that can be adapted to fit multiple grade levels.
Booklists
Picture book author and illustrator Don Tate recounts how a lack of inclusion in school lessons and library collections affected him. He provides outlets, organizations, and other resources to help find picture books to incorporate into collections.
Coretta Scott King Book Awards Recipients
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.
School librarian Fallon Farokhi shares her celebration of the Coretta Scott King Award with elementary students, highlighting books that share MLK’s vision for equality.
Celebrate Black History all year with picture books matched to historical events for each month of the year.
The theme for Black History Month is The Black Resistance. Use this visual book list as is or edit to include books from your own collection. There is a high school page and a middle school page.
