13 Black History Resources for Educators
Twenty years ago, New Jersey lawmakers set out to reform the way public schools address the history, accomplishments and experiences of Black Americans with The Amistad Bill. The bill, which became law in 2002, requires New Jersey public schools to incorporate into social studies and other content area lessons, materials and texts that “integrate the history and contributions of African-Americans and the descendants of the African Diaspora.”
The bill also formed the Amistad Commission, which ensures schools are adequately teaching Black history, contributions and experiences. This is done through members that survey school materials, help maintain a consultant directory and act as a liaison between textbook publishers, legislators, schools and resource organizations.
The Commission outlines three goals:
- To infuse the history of Africans and African-Americans into the social studies curriculum in order to provide an accurate, complete and inclusive history.
- To ensure that New Jersey teachers are equipped to effectively teach the revised social studies core curriculum content standards.
- To create and coordinate workshops, seminars, institutes, memorials and events which raise public awareness about the importance of the history of African-Americans to the growth and development of American society in global context.
There are many free, accessible resources online that offer guidance, lesson plans and more on how to incorporate Black American contributions into the curriculum. Below are many we highly recommend.
In 2019, The New York Times dedicated an issue of its magazine to deeply examine 400 years of American slavery. The name is a nod to August 1619, when ships carrying 20 enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia. The project’s goal is to reframe how our history has glossed over the horrors of slavery and the Black American experience. In addition to the physical magazine, the project includes an interactive website and project curriculum for schools and educators.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has a whole page for Black History Month, which includes multiple lesson plans, children’s book recommendations and a resource library for educators. The ADL also features a downloadable guide with ideas for teaching Black history to students.
African-American History Month
The African-American History Month website is a collaborative project between many of our national museums. There is a special section for educators, who have access to lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids in the form of links and PDFs.
This online reference center makes it easier for people to access Black history resources, with a focus on getting these resources into classrooms. Information covers the history of Black people both on the continent of Africa and in the United States. The platform works with a group of more than 800 historians, an academic advisory board, as well as an international advisory board. BlackPast has received many awards and distinctions, including the National Education Association’s Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award.
The Civil Rights Teaching website is a project launched by Teaching for Change. It examines the Civil Rights movement from an everyday person’s perspective. The website’s goal is to elevate the stories of lesser-known activists and organizers within the Civil Rights movement. The platform believes “Students learn to believe the way that change happens is by following the next ‘big leader,’ instead of an accurate history that emphasizes immense contributions from all people working together to make a difference.”
Education.com’s Black History Month resource page is filled with lesson plans, guided lessons, activities, online games, worksheets and more that help teachers give their students a robust learning experience. Teachers can filter by grade (K-5 is available), subject, topic and standard. The website also has opportunities for students to learn about African cultures by making country flags, African musical instruments and cooking African food.
A partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Trust for the Humanities, EDSITEment offers high-quality humanities education materials for teachers, students and parents. One of EDSITEment’s features are resources for National History Day projects, including Black History Month. These special activities feature “Ask an Expert” videos and Learning Lab collections specific to the annual theme.
Facing History and Ourselves offers resources that address racism, antisemitism and prejudice throughout history. This February, Facing History is honoring the themes of Black Agency and Black Joy. The organization chose this theme because “it’s also critical to honor the resilience, creativity and vitality of Black people in the face of inequity and violence, past and present.” Educator resources include teaching prompts, lesson plans, blogs, webinars, workshops and more.
Through free resources, Learning for Justice Learning for Justice seeks to uphold the mission of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which works to dismantle white supremacy and advance human rights for all. Previously Teaching Tolerance, the organization updated its name to better represent action against racial injustice. Resources include teaching strategies, lesson plans, printable posters, learning plan builder, webinars, facilitator guides, podcasts and more.
Bring rich, museum content into the classroom. The National Civil Rights Museum website offers materials that coincide with the museum. Student activities are designed to get students to reflect on history and how it relates to modern times. The website also has educator workshops and activities specific to e-learning. There is also a 50 Weeks of Action archive, which helps teachers incorporate Civil Rights learning in the classroom year round.
National Education Association
A variety of lesson plans, quizzes, videos, background resources and activities for grades K-12 are available through the National Education Association. Topics include hip-hop history, the Black arts movement, African-Americans in athletics and much more.
One of the most learning-forward organizations in the United States has curated education materials that include standards-aligned videos, interactives, lesson plans and more. Explore topics under eight subjects that range from world languages to engineering and technology. To find resources addressing Black history, simply search for related terms and filter by content area or grade-level. PBS also has a section for preschool teachers and professional-development resources for educators.
Sift through thousands of resources per topic via the Smithsonian Learning Lab. One search for “Black History” yields 52,291 resources and 85 collections. Likewise, “Civil Rights” search results offer 1,399 resources and 238 collections. Smithsonian Learning Lab is also chock full of distance-learning resources, including training and support to assist caregivers, teachers and students navigating through remote schooling.
If you’re considering following your dream of teaching, Rutgers Alternate Route can offer you the support and training you need to succeed. Be sure to follow Rutgers Alternate Route on Twitter for more information and stories from the field of education.
Heather Ngoma has over 25 years of experience collaborating with educators across New Jersey to drive education innovation. She currently serves as the Director of the Rutgers-GSE Alternate Route Program in the Department of Learning and Teaching, a program which helps career changers, recent college graduates, and other aspiring education professionals become licensed teachers in New Jersey. Follow her on Twitter @heatherngoma.
