Resources

This Black History Month, we celebrate the histories, cultures, and contributions of Black Americans. We invite you to expand your knowledge and awareness of the experiences and histories of Black Americans. We offer a wide range of perspectives that teach Black History through different lenses. We encourage you to take this range in its totality as we seek to include all voices and perspectives. From lesson plans to movie recommendations, our resource list can help get you started.

Articles 

1. 2024 Event Highlights Celebrating Black History Month (Library of Congress) 
2. 19 fun and engaging ways to introduce your children to Black History (Urban Intellectuals) – staff pick, Jessica Webster  
3. 5 Truths About Black History (American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU])
4. African American History: Research Guides & Websites (BlackPast) 
5. Beyond Slavery and Civil Rights: What Parents Need to Know about Black History Month (The Washington Post)  
6. Black History Month: Teaching Beyond Slavery (Learning for Justice)  
7. Black History Month on BlackPast.org (Black Past)
8. How Negro History Week Became Black History Month and Why It Matters Now (The New York Times) 
9. Race/Related Newsletter (New York Times) – staff pick, Jenny Portillo 
10. Teaching Black History in Culturally Responsive Ways (Edutopia) 
11. Why We Need Black History Month – Especially This Year (Learning for Justice) 

Books 

1. 1919, by Eve L. Ewing – staff pick, Vo Ram Yoon 
2. 25 Books by Black Authors You Should Read This February (Oprah Daily)
3. 25 Must-Read Children’s Books for Black History Month (Family Education) 
4. 50 YA Books to Read During Black History Month (Epic Reads)
5. The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, by Nikole Hannah Jones and Renée Watson, and illustrated by Nikkolas Smith 
6. Afro-Latinx Titles (Social Justice Books)
7. Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Kesiha N. Blain  
8. How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, by Clint Smith 
9. Must Read Books for Black History Month (shondaland) 
10. South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, by Imani Perry – staff pick, Susan Shaffer 
11. We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom, by Bettina L. Love – staff pick, Jenny Portillo 

Lesson Plans  

1. 6 Teaching Tools for Black History Month (Edutopia) 
2. 21 Day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenge (YWCA) – staff pick, Rita Perez
3. 34 Black History Month Activities for February and Beyond (We Are Teachers) 
4. Classroom resources for Black History Month (PBS) 
5. Black History Month Lessons & Resources (National Education Association) 
6. Black History Month Resources (ReadWorks)
7. Black History Month Resource Guide for Educators and Families (Center for Racial Justice in Education) – staff pick, Nikevia Thomas 
8. Celebrate Black History Month (Education World)  
9. Celebrating and Learning About Black History and Culture (Reading Rockets) 
10. Martin Luther King Jr. & Leadership (Flocabulary)
11. Teaching Materials: Theme: African American (Zinn Education Project)
12. Teaching Materials: Theme: Race and Racial Identity (Zinn Education Project)

People to follow on social media   

1. Amanda Gorman – @AmandaCGorman (Instagram), @TheAmandaGorman (Twitter)  
2. Ava DuVernay – @ava (Instagram & Twitter) 
3. Dr. Bettina Love – @BLoveSoulPower (Twitter)  
4. Blair Imani – @blairimani (Instagram)
5. Brittany Packnett Cunningham – @mspackyetti (Instagram & Twitter)  
6. Ibram X. Kendi – @DrIbram (Twitter)  
7. Ijeoma Oluo – @ijeomaoluo (Instagram & Twitter)  
8. Martin Luther King III – @officialMLK3 (Instagram & Twitter)
9. Nikole Hannah-Jones – @nhannahjones (Twitter) 
10. Zaretta Hammond – @Ready4rigor (Twitter) 

Webinars & Videos 

1. 40 Black History Videos for Students in Every Grade Level (We Are Teachers) 
2. Africa to Arizona: Black History and the Pursuit of Freedom (Western Educational Equity Assistance Center) 
3. African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) 
4. Black History NOW (NBC News)
5. Black Lives Matter at School: A Discussion with Educators on the Intersections of Activism and Pedagogy (MAEC) 
6. Can Kids Change the World? Black History Month for Kids – Scholastic  
7. Continuing the Conversation: Talking about Race and Social Justice with Children (MAEC) 
8. Stories to Celebrate Black History Month (Storycorps) 

Podcasts 

1. 1619 
   • As all-encompassing as it is powerfully specific and personal, 1619 is the story of modern America — and the people who built it through blood, sweat, tears, and hope. It’s a version of the story many of us never hear, purposefully kept hidden in the margins of U.S. history books.
2. The Black & Raww Podcast
   • A podcast that is creating a space and dialogue for Black men to be authentically themselves. With interviews from different Black men doing great things and topic-specific episodes that can bring value to an understanding of Black masculinity.
3. Black History Buff
   • Black History Buff shines a light on the inspiring stories of Black historical figures from all over the world. Kur Lewis, the show’s creator, was motivated to create the podcast as a means of explaining difficult topics like slavery to his young son. Each episode clocks in around 10-20 minutes.
4. Black Is America
   • The Black Is America podcast highlights little-known African-American figures and stories.
5. Code Switch – staff pick, Jenny Portillo
   • Tackling issues of race from past to present to future and around the globe, Code Switch is personal yet wide-reaching, uncompromising yet inspiring. It’s a podcast that never backs down from the hardest discussions. 
6. Historically Black
   • The Historically Black podcast brings those objects and their stories to life through interviews, archival sound and music. The Washington Post and APM Reports are proud to collaborate in presenting these rich personal histories, along with hosts Keegan-Michael Key, Roxane Gay, Issa Rae and Another Round hosts Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton.
7. Therapy for Black Girls
   • Dr. Joy Harden Bradford is a licensed psychologist, speaker and the host of the wildly popular mental health podcast, Therapy for Black Girls. Her work focuses on making mental health topics more relevant and accessible for Black women and she delights in using pop culture to illustrate psychological concepts. 
8. Queer News the Podcast
   • Queer News is an intersectional approach to a daily news podcast where race & sexuality meet politics, entertainment and culture.

American pop cultures that is inclusive of Black & African American communities

Movies and TV shows can provide a window into the lives and cultures of the characters depicted in ways that can both dismantle and reinforce cultural stereotypes. When consuming movies and TVs shows that depict characters and cultures different from your own, be careful not to allow the dramatization to nurture harmful stereotypes. No cultural dramatization can fully represent the spectrum of human qualities, characteristics and cultures of any particular group of people. 

Movies & Documentaries  

1. 13th (2016) 
   • An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation’s history of racial inequality. 
2. 1804: The Hidden History of Haiti (2017) – staff pick, Hugo Nájera
   • The history of how Haiti won its independence, carrying out the first-ever successful slave rebellion.
3. I Am Ali (2014) 
   • Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali’s personal archive of “audio journals” as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend’s life story.
4. American Fiction (2023)
   • Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
5. Black Panther (2018) 
   • T’Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country’s past. 
6. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
   • The people of Wakanda fight to protect their home from intervening world powers as they mourn the death of King T’Challa.
7. The Color Purple (2023) – staff pick, Allegra Kogan
   • A woman faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
8. They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
   • A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy in this pulpy mystery caper.
9. The Hate U Give (2018) 
   • Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what’s right. 
10. Hidden Figures (2016)
    • The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program. 
11. High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America (2021) 
    • This documentary series explores the history of African American cuisine, from its roots in Africa to a modern-day Juneteenth feast—and its profound impact on what we eat. 
12. I Am Not Your Negro (2016) 
    • Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House. 
13. Selma (2014)
    • A chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. 
14. Soul (2020)
    • After landing the gig of a lifetime, a New York jazz pianist suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange land between Earth and the afterlife. 

TV Shows 

1. A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019-present) – staff pick, Vo Ram Yoon 
   • This narrative series set in a limitless magical reality full of dynamic, hilarious characters includes the first all-Black women writer’s room (led by Lauren Ashley Smith), the first Black woman sketch director (Dime Davis, “Boomerang”), and the first sketch series cast composed entirely of Black women. 
2. Abbott Elementary (2021-present) – staff pick, Vo Ram Yoon 
   • A group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — find themselves thrown together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life.  
3. Black-ish (2014-2022) 
   • A family man struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity while raising his kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood. 
4. Black Lightning (2017-2021) 
   • School principal and retired superhero Jefferson Pierce leaps back into action as the legendary Black Lightning after a gang threatens his family.
5. Colin in Black & White (2021)
   • This drama series from Colin Kaepernick and Ava DuVernay explores Kaepernick’s high-school years and the experiences that led him to become an activist.
6. Empire (2015-2020) 
   • A hip-hop mogul must choose a successor among his three sons who are battling for control over his multi-million dollar company, while his ex-wife schemes to reclaim what is hers.
7. Insecure (2016-present) 
   • Follows the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern-day African-American woman.
8. The Last OG (2018-present) 
   • An ex-con is shocked to see just how much the world has changed when he is released from prison for good behavior after a 15-year stint and returns to his newly gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood.
9. Small Axe (2020)
   • Director Steve McQueen offers a richly evocative panorama of West Indian life in London from the late 1960s through the early ’80s
10. Watchmen (2019) 
    • Set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own.
11. When They See Us (2019) 
    • Based on the true story, five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they’re falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.  
12. Young Love (2023-)
    • An honest look into the world of an African American young family of millennial parents, as they juggle their careers, marriage, parenthood, social issues and multi-generational dynamics striving for a better life.