black history month activities
⤷ Civil Rights Leader
⤷ Black History
⤷ Leadership
⤷ Conflict Resolution
⤷ Diversity
⤷ Character Education
⤷ Civil Rights Movement
● Experienced discrimination at age six (6) when his best friend (white) could no longer play with him
● Enrolled in college at age fifteen (15) and struggled academically at first. Became committed to peaceful conflict resolution
● Led the Montgomery Bus Boycott at age twenty-six (26), integrating the buses after (381) days
● Successfully fought for passage of civil rights and voting rights bills in the 1960s; awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
● Challenges students to resolve their conflicts through listening, discussion, and peaceful conflict resolution
⤷ Olympic Champion
⤷ Black History
⤷ Disability Awareness
⤷ Women's History
⤷ Bullying
⤷ Character Education
● Was the 20th of 22 children, born in the South in the 1940s to strong, caring parents
● Contracted polio as a little girl, eventually overcoming its paralyzing effects on her left leg by age twelve (12)
● Overcame poverty and discrimination to become the first in her family to graduate from college
● Became the first woman in the US to win three (3) gold medals in the Olympics in track (1960)
● Challenges students to keep trying, never give up and do their best in whatever they do
Artists from the 1960s
● Aretha Franklin
● Chuck Berry
● The Supremes
● Ray Charles
● Tina Turner
Artists from the 1970s
● James Brown
● Jackson 5
● Temptations (Group Dance)
● Stevie Wonder
Artists from the 1980s
● Prince (Guitar)
● LL Cool J
● New Edition (Group Dance)
● Michael Jackson
Artists from the 1990s
● Erykah Badu
● Missy Elliot
● Destiny’s Child
● Monica & Brandy
Artists from the 2000s
● Rhianna
● Soulja Boy
● TLC
● Beyoncé
Miss Cuevas’s 8th grade ELA classes will use "Poetry (website) " and McGraw-Hill’s StudySync to learn about different Black authors and historical figures each day of February. We will explore the impacts of Black history and its impact on literature today.
*James Baldwin, Writer & Civil Rights Activist (1924 - 1987)
He garnered acclaim for his work across several forms, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, "Go Tell It on the Mountain", was published in 1953; decades later, Time magazine included the novel on its list of the 100 best English-language novels released from 1923 to 2005.
Mr. Walsh’s 7th grade ELA classes will use Poetry (website) and McGraw-Hill’s StudySync to learn about different Black authors and historical figures each day of February, including Lucy Terry, Phillis Wheatley, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Claude McKay, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Bennett, Countee Cullen, Ann Petry, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Wole Soyinka, Barack Obama, and Saul Williams.
*Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Poet, Journalist, and Political Activist (1875 - 1935)
Alice Dunbar Nelson was an American poet, journalist, and political activist. Among the first generation of African Americans born free in the Southern United States after the end of the American Civil War, she was one of the prominent African Americans involved in the artistic flourishing of the Harlem Renaissance.
Students in 8th-grade Math will celebrate Black History Month by choosing a noteworthy African American and creating a timeline of important events in their lives.
Students will:
● List ten (10) important events in their person’s life and include dates
● Calculate the mean, median, mode, and range of the years
● Create a timeline drawn to scale that includes the important events
*Creola Katherine Johnson, Mathematician (1918 - 2020)
Was an American Mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks.
Students in 7th-grade Math will celebrate Black History Month by choosing a noteworthy African American and creating a timeline of important events in their lives.
Students will:
● Create a timeline drawn to scale that includes the important events
● List ten (10) essential events in their person’s life and include dates
● Calculate the mean, median, mode, and range of the years
*Dudley Weldon Woodard, Mathematician & Professor (1881 - 1965)
Also known as the “Mathematician of the African Diaspora,” made history by earning his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1928, becoming only the second African-American to do so. His reputation as one of the most respected and influential Black mathematicians of all time is well-deserved, as he made numerous contributions to the field through published research papers, a long career of teaching, and mentoring many students.
Students in 8th-grade Social Studies will celebrate Black History Month by looking at modern and lesser-known important events in Black History.
● Biography of Bayard Rustin
● Obama’s 2006 DNC Speech
● Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration Poem
Each of these assignments celebrates excellence in African American modern history but is often the lesser read about figures or moments when studying Black History Month.
*Bayard Rustin, Activist (1912 - 1987)
The struggle for Black civil rights is often associated with figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. But Bayard Rustin organized some of the movement’s most iconic protests, including the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963).
During Black History Month, students will work on several different assignments that culminate with a project on a Civil Rights Activist of their choice. They will make a Canva poster describing who that person was, how their work impacted society, what challenges they overcame, and what lessons we can learn from them today.
Students will discuss the difference in philosophy between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They will look at the ideas of nonviolence and self-defense and how they differed.
Students will participate in a gallery walk on the Black Panthers. This lesson will have them look at the ideology of this group and how the rest of the community perceived them. Students will review the ten points that they put forward as their beliefs and participate in a discussion in which we talk about how this group deserves to be remembered.
Project templates to be used:
⤷ Civil Rights Activist Project (click here)
⤷ MLK vs. Malcolm X (Nonviolence vs. Self-Defense) (click here)
⤷ Black Panther Gallery (click here)
*Bobby Lee Rush, Politician, Activist, Pastor (1946 - Present)
Served as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 1st Congressional District for three (3) decades. A Civil Rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party.
During Black History Month, students will be completing an electronic journal. In this journal, students will be researching different African American scientists throughout history to learn more about their important contributions to our scientific communities. Students will complete one slide per day and turn it in at the end of the month
Project template to be used:
⤷ 2024 African American Scientist Notebook (click here)
*Rebecca Lee Crumpler, M.D. (1831 - 1895)
In 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first Black woman in the United States to receive an MD degree. She earned that distinction at the New England Female Medical College in Boston, Massachusetts—where she was also the institution’s only Black graduate. Prior to earning her medical degree, Crumpler had worked as a nurse and “sought every opportunity to relieve the suffering of others.”
Students will complete a one-page essay on an influential Black scientist. They will follow the writing process. 2024 African American Scientists Notebook (I will assign the scientists from this notebook).
Select Science Students will also attend a field trip to the Field Museum and visit the Africa Exhibit.
⤷ 2024 African American Scientist Notebook (click here)
*Daniel Hale Williams, M.D. (1856–1931)
After apprenticing with a surgeon, Daniel Hale Williams earned a medical degree and started working as a surgeon in Chicago in 1884. Because of discrimination, hospitals at that time barred Black doctors from working on staff. So Dr. Williams opened the nation’s first Black-owned interracial hospital (Provident Hospital).
The first African American cardiologist who performed the first successful open-heart surgery.
The students will learn about famous Black athletes throughout history and compete against one another in these athletes' respected sporting events.
Athletes included:
● Jesse Owens | Track -n- Field
● Wilma Rudolph | Track -n- Field
● Arthur Ashe | Tennis
● Bill Russell | Basketball
*James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (1913–1980)
He was an American track and field athlete who won four (4) gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifetime as "perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history".
Students will create art and props for the Black History Month Program. We will look at artwork by Kehinde Wiley and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
*Kara Elizabeth Walker (1969 - Present)
She is an American contemporary painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist, filmmaker, and professor who explores race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity in her work. She is best known for her room-size tableaux of black cut-paper silhouettes.
We will learn about Black composers, performers, and their music. We will also do virtual tours of historical locations that were part of African American music history.
*Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899–1974)
Duke Ellington was one of the most important creative forces in the music of the twentieth century. His influence on classical music, popular music, and, of course, jazz, simply cannot be overstated.