How to Celebrate Black History With Your Children

While February is best known as the shortest month of the year, it can also be one of the most enlightening ones. That’s because Black History is celebrated for the entire month. Beginning on February 1, communities, schools, and museums have planned events to commemorate the achievements and history of Black Americans.

Every year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History releases a theme for the year, according to AP News.  The 2025 theme is African Americans and Labor, and focuses on the role of Black workers in building the country.

While there are concerns this year about losing ground that has been gained, this just makes Black History Month even more important and even more necessary.

African Americans, Black folks throughout the world, just like all cultures throughout the world, have taken ownership of their history,” Worth K. Hayes, an associate professor of history and Africana studies at Morehouse College told AP . “And these various political developments may shape the contours of it. But this story is going to be told regardless of the political dynamics of the particular time.”

These troubling times makes it even more important to teach children about their culture, heritage, and remarkable history. Here are three ways to celebrate Black History Month with your children.

Read Books About Black Americans Who Made History

Children love to be read to and you can celebrate Black History Month by reading about leaders who made a large impact on their communities and the country, according to a

blog on TeachStarter. Read about Booker T Washington who was born into slavery and went on to become an educator, author, and orator in Jabari Asim’s Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington or celebrate Ruby Bridges, by reading her autobiography I Am Ruby Bridges.  She made history when she was only six, by being the first Black child to attend a formally all white school in Louisiana and went on to become a civil rights activist. There are many more books to choose from.

Watch an Inspirational Movie

There are a myriad of movies about Black Americans who had great achievements. While this doesn’t have to be restricted to Black History Month, watching a movie together as a family can be a great learning and bonding experience. Here is a list of movies compiled by Goodnet:

March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World – is aScholastic Storybook DVD of 4 civil rights stories. Ages 4+
A Ballerina’s Tale – Examines the life and career of Misty Copeland the first African American principal dancer. Ages 9+
Remember the Titans – a true story about the struggles and victories of a newly integrated high school football team in 1971. Ages 10+
Hidden Figures – Is based on an inspiring true story of African American women who worked at NASA in the 1950s and 1960s. Ages 10+
Betty & Coretta – a biographical movie about the widows of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. that shows the civil rights movement from the perspective of the women who continued the cause after the death of their husbands. Ages 11+
Selma – a historical drama based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. Ages 13+

Take a Virtual Tour

Don’t let cold wintery weather stop you from exploring museums that celebrate Black History. Take a virtual tour from the comfort of your home. These inspirational museums may motivate you to visit them on your next family vacation, according to the blog Momma Wanderlust.

The Smithsonian Natural Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC opened in 2016. Visitors learn about history through a journey in time from slavery, emancipation, segregation, and all the way to today.

If your children love sports, watch a film about the Negro League baseball players at the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

Learn about art at The Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles, California. The museum promotes and preserves art by people of African descent.

Music lovers can visit the Archives of African American Music & Culture in Bloomington, Indiana to gain an appreciation of Black Music that ranges from religious to popular music that includes Hip Hop and R&B.

To learn about the Civil Rights movement, you can virtually visit The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia. The King Center is part of a memorial to King and contains letters, documents and artifacts.