discover a new favorite way to celebrate Black History Month with enrichment
How Do You Celebrate Black History Month? We’ve searched far and wide for ways to honor our black history, from schools, libraries, small towns to big cities, online to virtual, and discovered so many opportunities. We’ve narrowed it down to our top 5 ways with a small sampling of our favorites. However, we encourage checking your area for events such as story times, online concerts, a museum activity, an art walk and more. Celebrate Black Heritage through enrichment! Keep scrolling to check out some of our favorites.
take a class
Joyful Fridays at the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Joyful Fridays: Black Creativity and Abstract Art is brought to you by the NMAAHC KIDS programing.
Classes are for ages 4 and up and we would like to note that these lessons are on Fridays 11-12pm eastern time, but don’t be discouraged if you can’t make it, archive information is below. Here’s a brief description from their website: “All Black History Month Joyful Fridays programs are held via Zoom webinar and led by NMAAHC Kids educators. ASL Interpretation will be provided.“
If you missed the zoom webinar lesson, they’ve made it very convenient to access their livestream and recordings via their NMAAHC UStream page HERE. Don’t forget to plan ahead and check out their resources page as well. For their resources page click HERE.
Just to give you an idea of how Joyful Fridays work, here’s a briefing of their last Joyful Friday. “Maya Angelou showed us that kindness and expressing gratitude are important parts of our everyday wellness! Learn more about this inspiring poet and create a rainbow collage craft as a reminder to “be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud” during this special Black History Month children’s program.”
participate in an activity
Check out your local library. Many libraries across the nation are honoring black history not only this month but throughout the year. We’re highlighting the Los Angeles Public Library here with this EXCITING event with Misty Copeland! Did you know she has a new middle grade non-fiction book coming out. Here’s a description from the LAPL website:
“The Los Angeles Public Library is honored to be virtually hosting Misty Copeland, the first Black woman promoted to the Principal Dancer position in the American Ballet Theatre company’s 75-year history. She’ll be discussing her new middle-grade non-fiction book, Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy, followed up by audience Q&A.
This is a free event and those attending the virtual program will have a chance to win a copy of Misty’s book.”
The event is Friday, February 18th from 4:00 – 5:00pm.
We’ve decided to highlight a couple more events at the end of February that includes a little literature and a little art.
Join LAPL and The Central Library African American History Month series: Let’s Read and Make Art – The Power of Words, on Thursday, February 24th from 4:00 – 5:00 pm online. Supplies can be picked up at the Central Library until they run out. Call ahead if you can make the trip or find out what supplies you need. Be sure to register for the event too! Click HERE for more information.
For the teen in your life, check out Teen Book Bites. This month’s theme is Black Ingenuity, Black Community & Black Joy. Librarians and sometimes teens themselves share some of their favorite books. Click HERE for more information.
We encourage families to make a day out of going to your local library to check out the book and art displays for this month and if your child doesn’t have their very own library card get them one, what a way to make it even more memorable. You’d be surprised how much their very own library card will encourage them to browse and pick books to check out.
visit a park or exhibit
Many of our nations national parks are dedicated to the stories and history of African American Heritage. Plan your visit to an African American Heritage site with the National Park Service HERE. The Staff at NPS has also woven together a beautiful tribute video in honor of Black History Month. This compilation is called Twenty & Odd.
Here’s a description from the National Park Service Website: “From the first footsteps of enslaved peoples on American soil to where Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged us all to rise to his “Dream,” national parks preserve the places where this history happened. Plan a visit to parks that honor and preserve African American heritage, attend an event, or simply learn about the heartbeat of American history that is African American history. A special NPS film, “Twenty & Odd,” explores the legacy of more than 400 years of the African American experience. You can also explore the many ways that the dedicated professionals of the National Park Service work to preserve and protect these sites and aid communities outside our park boundaries.”
enjoy a book by an African American Author
Celebrate Black History Month by reading books that feature African American culture through stories of the past, or a great African American figure or experience that brings history to life!We can’t encourage families enough to take the small moments to sit with your child and read to, with, or enjoy a story time with them.
Enrich your hearts, minds, and souls by going to your local library or bookstore to find the many events hosted by either. Check out an event then check out a book. It’s amazing how stories make connections, whether it’s reading, listening, or watching a read – a – loud our brains find connections. We hope you find a book that sparks a connection for your child and that sparks a conversation about black history.
For book ideas we recommend looking into Bookmarks on Netflix Jr.
Bookmarks Celebrating Black Voices empowers parents to start a discussion and enjoy a story time. From the Netflix website: “Celebrity readers share children’s books by Black authors to spark kid-friendly conversations about empathy, equality, self-love and antiracism.”
Check out Kendrick Sampson as he reads Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi and illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky.
find media with representation
Come together as a family and find entertainment with representation. One of our favorite resources is Common Sense Media. They curate media from all genres including movies, tv shows, and podcasts. Based on some of their recommendations, we’ve created this short list by grade level, we hope you find the time to sit back, relax, and enjoy.
For Grades 9-12: This has mature content so parents might want to watch this first.
- From Poetry in America – go inside the rhymes of Nas: “Nas breaks down “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” for Poetry in America“
For Grades 3-8:
- From the Kennedy Center – learn to drum and learn about African Drumming “Learning the History and Basics of African Drumming“
For Grades K-2
- From Sesame Studios – watch “Bessie and James Take Flight”. Learn about the first African man and woman to get their pilot’s license in the United States.
