Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. -MLKJ
February was my favorite month as a grade schooler, Black History Month or African American History Month. I loved learning Black History. The underground railroad stories were my favorites. I loved hearing about all of the brave individuals who escaped from slavery and made a better life for themselves. As a child, it made me feel like good always wins. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about dreaming of white children holding hands with black children and I had black classmates and friends. So it felt good to be on the right side of history. Now that I’m older and more cynical, I know that there is more to be done. The documentary 13th had me in tears, but in order to do better – we must know better.
These are some of our picks for Black History Month reading. You don’t have to buy the books, most local libraries have many awesome Black History Books for Children on display this month. Our local librarian loved showing us some of the beautiful books for educating the little historians.
A Kid’s Guide to African American History: More than 70 Activities (A Kid’s Guide series) Paperback – by
African American Legends for Little Learners (Volume 1) – by Marlena Nkene
Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. by
What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors – by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Recommended ages 7-11. This was a library find. Honestly, I would have skipped right over it if I hadn’t noticed that it was a science book written by a basketball player. It’s a brilliant book about so many relatively unknown black American inventors as they made influential contributions. My daughter is a scientist and she particularly enjoyed this read.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. – MLKJ
Piper and I have a late night movie date scheduled to go see Hidden Figures, I’m excited and I love space movies! I keep meaning to sit down and do a Black History Month Playlist with Miles Davis and Etta James, and maybe some Hendrix and B.B. King. I’ll post it when I finish it.
What are you doing for Black History Month with your kids?
Related – 50 Picture Books Starring Black Mighty Girls