How do you introduce the subject of Black History Month to kids? It’s not as difficult as you think.
It’s my responsibility as a black mother to teach my children about their culture, and there are many different teaching tools out there that make teaching kids about their history fun. Introducing Black History Month to kids is a lot easier than you might have thought. Think outside the box and incorporate what you know, and maybe you might even learn something new along the way as well.
Here are a few ways YOU can introduce Black History Month at any time of the year to your kids.
1. Read Books on Black History and Prominent Black Figures
There are many different ways to introduce Black History Month to kids. First, you can find children’s books that focus on teaching about prominent black figures. Introduce kids to black figures in history like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and more! Kids appreciate hearing stories from people who were real and not fairytales. This is an easy way for kids to read, learn, and understand who these people were without feeling like they’re reading a textbook. There are so many good books out there, but here is a list of one.
2. Teach Them How to Be Part of a Legacy
While we teach our kids about black prominent figures, we also need to teach them about famous African Americans they can relate to, like Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey, former President Barack Obama, Maya Angelou, and more. It is important that they know that while it is great that these African Americans’ have made history, they can also be part of a legacy too, and that they can be anyone that they want to be with hard work. There are many ways to honor African Americans; just take a look around you and think outside the box!
3. Watch Movies and Documentaries
I’m a huge fan of documentaries. If you can find a documentary that focuses on teaching black history, this is a great teaching tool for kids. There are many on sites such as YouTube, and they’re all free to watch. You can also watch movies that recreate black culture and history. Our list of movies to watch for Black History Month is a great starter. Though you can watch them all year long. Let’s not relegate black movies to be watched only in February.
4. Celebrate With Food
Visit your favorite local black-owned restaurant, or if the money isn’t available to go out to eat, you can also cook some notable black recipes such as baked macaoni and cheese (one of my favorites), collard greens, banana pudding, cornbread, make it a black Thanksgiving in February for Black History Month, or if you’re in need of inspiration, consider these black food bloggers who always have great recipes you can try.
5. Visit Museums Dedicated to African American History and Culture
Consider taking your kids to local museums or visit online museums dedicated to teaching kids about prominent black figures and celebrating their accomplishments in science, military service, education, and more! The National Museum of African American History and Culture, based in Washington, D.C., is one such museum, but there are many more. Here are a few other museums you can consider visiting.
- The George Washington Carver Museum in Tuskegee, Alabama
- DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois
- Great Plains Black History Museum in Omaha, Nebraska
- America’s Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, California.
6. Check Out Black History Month Programs
Consider taking your kids to a Black History Month program at school, at your local library, or in the community. Although these programs are usually designed for older kids, there are many events for families too! For example: “UMD Club hosts an annual Black History Month celebration.“
7. Involve Your Kids in Teaching Them About History
I know it may be difficult for young children to grasp the concept of teaching how important these people were, but if you can get your younger ones involved in learning more about their culture, they may take more of an interest. I found teaching my kids about black history in a fun way was much easier than teaching them in a formal way. One fun way we did this was by wearing African apparel and role playing. We would make up scenarios that recreated what the slaves went through before they became free.
8. Teach Them About the Black Holidays
Teach your kids about the different holidays and celebrations of African Americans, like Martin Luther King Day, Kwanzaa, Juneteenth, Black History Month, and more. The holidays hold special meanings to the black community. For example, Juneteenth is considered the Black Independence Day and is a day that celebrates the freedom of slaves.
9. Teach Them How to Dance
Let kids celebrate their African heritage by teaching them how to dance or teaching them about their African roots. This could be a teaching moment. Let the kids know that slaves danced as a form of exercise and as a means of entertainment. It was a way of keeping their culture alive. Consider signing up for a hip-hop dance class or even an African American dance class. This is a great way to express themselves and also to learn how dance brought black communities together.
10. Familiarize Yourself with Black History Month
If you’re going to teach your kids about the history and culture surrounding Black History Month, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with it as well. You can’t teach your kids something if you don’t know what it is either. Of course, you don’t have to teach your children during Black History Month—it’s just that this is when the schools are introducing the concept of teaching kids about their culture, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it at any point throughout the year.
In Conclusion:
How can you teach kids about Black History Month? You can find books, watch documentaries, go to museums, involve kids in teaching them about history, and familiarize yourself with the teaching as well as the history. Use these methods during Black History Month or any time of the year.
Remembering black figures who did great things makes me happy to be black, and I hope teaching your kids about their culture will make them happy to be black too.
So what are you waiting for? Introduce Black History Month to Kids!
You can learn more about teaching black history to kids in one of our older articles, “6 Ways to Introduce Black History Month to Kids.”
