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Black History Month Resources for Educators

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Black History Month Resources for Educators

Black History Month in February is a time we honor and celebrate the culture, history, and contributions of Black Americans. Celebrating Black History Month in classrooms and schools can help students and families feel seen, heard, and valued –– and it creates space for all students to learn about the contributions of Black Americans to our country’s prosperity and spirit. 

We aim for SDCOE to be a place where in accordance with our board goal of providing educational opportunities and support so that all students are successful — we prioritize the specific needs of Black Americans and all historically marginalized communities. The following resources are compiled for you to use in the classroom this month and throughout the year. 
 

Supporting Black Students in Public Schools

In order for educators to really value our experience as a Black learner, they have to learn how to value our experience as Black people first.
- San Diego County student

Rooted in the San Diego County Office of Education Equity Blueprint for Action and its foundation of socially conscious leadership, this resource aims to center and uplift the struggles, triumphs, and excellence of the Black community by providing information and resources to support the celebration of Black History Month.

SKIP TO SECTION

Elementary Resources Middle and High School Resources For Educators

people in street marching holding black lives matter signs

Student Voices 

We seek to listen to diverse voices within our community and honor their knowledge and beliefs about educational concerns and best practices for our students. These statements were shared by Black students and community members, and we strive to listen and amplify these voices. 

  • Center students’ languages, literacies, cultures, and histories 
  • Diversify the curriculum, ensuring positive representation
  • Support parent and family voice
  • Ensure safe and inclusive classrooms
  • Learn about and accommodate religious holidays
  • Collaborate with community partners

SDCOE held student panels featuring San Diego County students of Black students who shared their experiences in education. 

Watch the full SDCOE Black Student Experience Panel where students speak about their experiences in education.
 

Resources for Educators

Curricular Resources: Grades TK-5

Video Resources: Grades TK-5

Curricular Resources: Grades 6-12

Video Resources

  • Black History is American History, Okalani Dawkins (video below)
  • The History of Black History Month, Good Morning America (video below)

 
 

Educator Resources: Grades TK-12

Additional Reading for Educators

  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (2015)
  • Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-first Century by Monique Couvson (2014)
  • Cultivating Genius and Unearthing Joy by Gholdy Muhammad (2020)
  • Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta L. Hammond (2014)
  • How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith (2022)
  • In All Lanes: Action Steps for New Leaders to Empower Black and Brown Students, Rethink School, and Transform Behavior by Taryn Fletcher (2020)
  • Linguistic Justice by April Baker-Bell (2020)
  • Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit (2006)
  • Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Joy a Degruy (2017)
  • Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique M. Morris, Kristyl Dawn Tift, et al. (2018)
  • RATCHETDEMIC - Reimagining Academic Success by Christopher Emdin (2022)
  • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (2019)
  • The Dreamkeepers Successful Teachers of African American Children 3rd Edition by Gloria Ladson-Billings (2022)
  • The Talk by Darrin Bell (2023)
  • Teaching for Black Lives by Jesse Hagopian , Dyan Watson , et al. (2018)
  • The Politics of Black Joy by Lindsey Stewart (2021)
  • Punished for Dreaming by Bettina Love (2023)
  • Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum (2017)
  • Young Gifted and Black by Antwaun Sargent, Thelma Golden, et al. (2020)

Discussing Intersectionality

  • What is Intersectionality? A video by Kimberlé Crenshaw 
  • Teaching About Intersectionality, Educators 4SC, an organization that equips teachers with resources to develop their students’ capacity to become effective civic leaders who write persuasively, speak passionately, and actively participate in the creation and dissemination of ideas.
  • Queering Black History by Rethinking Schools: Rethinking Schools
  • Queering Black history means lifting up the stories of Black LGBTQ people. It means resolving that not one more student learns about the I Have a Dream speech without learning about Bayard Rustin, the man who led the planning of the March on Washington — at least not on our watch. It means really learning about him: knowing his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, reading Time on Two Crosses right next to The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., having discussions in our classrooms and on our social media about Letter from a Birmingham Jail while also discussing why Bayard Rustin too was arrested, how he was relegated to the background by his peers, and what we must do to prevent that from ever again happening in the Black freedom movement.

 

Resources for Families

the black families' guide for talking about racism you matter so much by naomi o'brien & lanesha tabb

 

 

Books by Grade Level

Grades TK-2

  • Before the Ships by Maisha Oso, illustrated by Candice Bradley
  • Brown Girl, Brown Girl by Lesle Honore, illustrated by Cozbi Cabrera
  • Crowning Glory by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes
  • Everywhere Beauty is Harlem by Gary Golio, illustrated by E.B. Lewis
  • Juneteenth Is by Natasha Tripplett, illustrated by Daniel O'Brien
  • The Last Stand by Antwan Eady, illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey
  • My Block Looks Like by Janelle Harper, illustrated by Frank Morrison
  • My Daddy is a Cowboy by Stephanie Seales, illustrated by C.G. Esperanza
  • My Hair is a Book by Maisha Oso, illustrated by London Ladd
  • Ode to Grapefruit by Kari Lavelle, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Grades 3-8

  • Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renee Watson
  • Black Star by Kwame Alexander
  • Gamerville by Johnnie Christmas
  • Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek by Kwame Mbalia
  • Mid-Air by Alicia Williams
  • One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
  • The Science of Friendship by Tanita Davis
  • The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon
  • Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston
  • Weirdo by Tony Weaver

Grades 9-12

  • The Black Girl Survives in This One edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell
  • The Color of a Lie by Kim Johnson
  • Ida in Love and in Trouble by Veronica Chambers
  • Love Requires Chocolate by Ravynn Stringfield
  • Ruin Road by Lamar Giles
  • Tangleroot by Kaela Williams
  • Twenty Four Seconds From Now by Jason Reynolds
  • The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shante
  • Under the Heron's Light by Randi Pink 
  • With Love, Miss Americanah by Jane Igaro
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More to explore

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