Black History Month
On February 6, 2021 by Barbara GordonEach February, Americans across the United States commemorate Black History Month, a month-long national celebration of the contributions and achievements that Black men and women have made throughout U.S. and world history.
As we look back on the events of 2020, honoring Black History Month remains as important as it has ever been, as it is an inclusive call to action for all Americans to recognize the Black experience while remembering our nation’s past, challenging its present, and inspiring its future.
Check out the DOE’s Morning Bell for book suggestions regarding Black history and the Black experience that we feel families and educators can read aloud or assign to their students in grades 3K–12 throughout February and beyond.
Additional Resources for Black History Month
NYC DOE
Two collections including dozens of resources organized into categories to support the integration of Black history and experiences in school curricula and at home.
Center for Racial Justice in Education, Black History Month Resource Guide for Educators and Families and Black History Month Resources #2
A collection of 333 ebooks and 112 audiobooks for young people relating to the Black experience in the US and beyond. Available to NYCDOE students and teachers by logging into the Sora app with their NYCDOE credentials.
NY Times Black History Month Events
List of cultural and historical events occurring in February to honor Black History Month with registration links. New York Times, Honor and Learn This Black History Month
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library celebrates Black History Month throughout February with live online events and programs, blog posts, recommended reading, and a wide array of digital resources available to anyone with a library card.
New York Public Library, Black History Month at NYPL
Schomburg Center for Research
For 95 years, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has preserved, protected, and fostered a greater understanding of the Black experience through its collections, exhibitions, programs, and scholarship. In response to the uprisings across the globe demanding justice for Black lives, the Schomburg Center has created a Black Liberation Reading List. The titles on the list represent books we and the public turn to regularly as activists, students, archivists, and curators, with a particular focus on books by Black authors and those whose papers we steward.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Black Liberation List for Teens and Black Liberation Reading List for Kids
A listing of the public events hosted by the Schomburg Center for the month of February. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Public Programming
NYC Parks and Recreation
Bailsey Boulevard and 177th Street
February 6, 2021, from 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Celebrate Black History Month in Parks with the Urban Park Rangers. This program highlights the significance of Queens for notable and impactful Black historical figures throughout history.
NYC Parks and Recreation Black History Month: Black History in Queens