'Black History: NRC Celebrates National African American History Month' photo (c) 2013, Nuclear Regulatory Commission - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

February is Black History Month in the United States. I thought a “The Best…” list focusing on African-American history would be timely and helpful.

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And MANY more related lists can be found here.

As usual, I’ve only included sites that I feel are accessible to English Language Learners.

Here are my picks for The Best Websites To Teach & Learn About African-American History (not in any order of preference):

* The History Channel’s Black History site has many videos, quizzes, images, and information.

* The Biography Channel Black History site has a number of online videos and other features.

* Kulture Kidz has simple and accessible materials on Black History.

* The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a series of articles written in simple English about accomplished African-Americans in history.

* InfoPlease has a simple African-American History timeline, too.

* I’ve posted several times in the past about how much I like Brainpop for my English Language Learner students, and that it’s one of the very, very few web applications out there that I think is worth paying for. Brainpop has a Black History Month collection that’s pretty impressive. Again, you have to subscribe in order to view them, but you can sign-up for a free trial offer. Plus, two of the movies in this particular collection are free for viewing without signing-up.

* EL Civics, which is on many of my “The Best…” lists, also has a series of resources on Black History Month.

* Journalist Cynthia Tucker has written an article saying Black History Month should be eliminated.  It isn’t accessible to English Language Learners, but a teacher could frame the question, and its background, in a comprehensible and engaging way.

* Teachnology has a number of accessible worksheets related to African American history that can be printed-out.

* The Do’s and Don’ts of Teaching Black History is a good guide from Teaching Tolerance.

* The New York Times has an extensive collection of lesson plans titled Celebrate Black History Month.

* The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has a feature on African American History Month where they “provide an economic snapshot of African Americans in the United States today.”
It’s quite accessible, and even provides audio support for the text.

An article titled The End of Black History Month? Why I’m not ready to ditch it—yet.

PBS showed a film on the Freedom Riders, civil rights activists who challenged segregation in the South. The website for the film has an interactive timeline and several video excerpts.

Teaching The Civil Rights Movement is from The New York Times Learning Network.

The Politics of Children’s Literature: What’s Wrong with the Rosa Parks Myth is from The Zinn Education Project.

America’s ‘Slave Narratives’ should shock us is from CNN.

Here’s how StoryCorps describes their new animated video:

When Theresa Burroughs came of voting age, she was ready to cast her ballot—but she had a long fight ahead of her. During the Jim Crow era, the board of registrars at Alabama’s Hale County Courthouse prevented African Americans from registering to vote. Undeterred, Theresa remembers venturing to the courthouse on the first and third Monday of each month, in pursuit of her right to vote.

Text to Text | ‘Why Reconstruction Matters’ and ‘Black Reconstruction in America’ is from The New York Times Learning Network.

The Black History Month Debate is Back is from NBC News.

 

Unpublished Black History is from The New York Times.

Civil Rights: Then and Now is from PBS.

The history behind Black History Month is from Vox.

The history of African-American social dance is a new lesson and video from TED-Ed:

Wow – What An Impressive Site On The Great Migration

Black History and Culture is a very impressive site from the Google Cultural Institute.

Celebrating Black History With The New York Times is from The New York Times Learning Network.

Analysis: Do We Still Need Black History Month? is from NBC News.

Memo to the White House on the Contributions of Frederick Douglass is from The Atlantic.

 

TED-Ed has published this video and lesson:

 

Google Supports Development Of New “Lynching In America” Interactive

Students & Teachers Can Transcribe Ads From Former Slaves Looking For Their Families

NY Times Video Interviewing Ruby Bridges’ Teacher

Black History Month Resources is from The Boston Teachers Union.

Teaching Tolerance published an impressive set of materials titled A Framework for Teaching American Slavery.

African American History Month Resources is from The Utah Education Network.

28 Days, 28 Films for Black History Month is from The New York Times.

Black History Month is from National Geographic.

Black Monuments is from Vice.

National History Day: African American Civil Rights Movement is from The Smithsonian.

27 black women activists everyone should know is from For Harriet.

 

The Staying Power of Black History Month is from The American Prospect.

Celebrating Black history in our lives today is from Google.

“Fixing” Black History Month is from Ed Week.

This is a good YouTube playlist from RetroReport for Black History Month.

 

Black History Month Re-imagined is from Discovery Education.

60 Minutes Airs Segment On Memorial To African-Americans Who Were Lynched

Segregation In America is a very impressive interactive website documenting – in multimedia – the history of…segregation in the United States. It was just unveiled by the Equal Justice Initiative, who last year released an equally impressive site on Lynching In America (see Google Supports Development Of New “Lynching In America” Interactive).

 

ARTIFACTS OF INJUSTICE: AN AMERICAN HISTORY COLLECTION is from The Seattle Times.

Emmett Till: Finding the truth behind decades of lies is from USA Today.

Steve King Shows Why We Need Black History Month is from Teaching Tolerance.

Five Things Not to Do During Black History Month is by Zaretta Hammond.

TED-Ed’s latest video and lesson is on Ida B. Wells, the famed journalist who was African-American.

Overlooked Obituaries for Black History Month is from The NY Times.

3 ways to improve education about slavery in the US is from The Conversation.

Lessons from — and for — Black History Month is from Usable Knowledge.

Google Earth has created a great tour, The Journey Of Us, for Black History Month.

NEW TED-ED VIDEO & LESSON IS ON BAYARD RUSTIN

Seven Black Inventors Whose Patents Helped Shape American Life is from The NY Times.

“BORN IN SLAVERY: SLAVE NARRATIVES FROM THE FEDERAL WRITERS’ PROJECT” IS AN AMAZING & HORRIFYING COLLECTION – WITH TEACHER RESOURCES

Here’s how “Voices Of The Civil Rights Movement” describes itself:

Voices of the Civil Rights Movement, a multimedia collaboration of Comcast NBCUniversal and the Equal Justice Initiative, honors the legacy and impact of the men and women who championed racial equality in the United States….Today, Voices of the Civil Rights Movement presents more than 16 hours of gripping firsthand accounts, historical moments and stories submitted by the public.

The site also invites the public to share their stories:

Share Your Story! with Voices of the Civil Rights Movement. Your voice matters. Help us continue the dialogue and capture more stories from this historic era. Grab your smartphone and share a memory from the movement, or reflect on how its legacy impacts you. Feel free to contribute your personal thoughts, or interview a loved one.

FREE ONLINE GRAPHIC NOVEL: THE MASSACRE OF TULSA’S “BLACK WALL STREET”

Hundreds March In Reenactment Of A Historic, But Long Forgotten Slave Rebellion is from NPR.

An Artist’s March to Freedom is a NY Times article about the same event.

It’s Time We Celebrate Ella Baker Day is from The Nation.

Google just published this intriguing video.  You can learn about the people they highlight at an accompanying website:

How Black Lives Matter Is Changing What Students Learn During Black History Month is from TIME.

Black History Month: Teaching the Complete History is from Teaching Tolerance.

Writing About Slavery? Teaching About Slavery? is from P. Gabrielle Foreman. I’m also adding it to USEFUL RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF BRINGING ENSLAVED AFRICANS TO AMERICA. Thanks to Dr. Kim Parker for the tip.

The Little-Known Southern Underground Railroad Into Mexico Is an Important Piece of Black History is from REMEZCLA.

Teaching Black History in Culturally Responsive Ways is from Edutopia.

Black History Month: Teaching the Complete History is from Teaching Tolerance.

Navigating The Green Book is an interactive from The New York Public Library.

Curate Your Legacy is from The National Museum of African American History and Culture. It would be a great project to have African American students document their family’s history.

We Return Fighting: The African American Experience in World War I is from from The National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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Watch Eyes On The Prize AND get a study guide from Facing History.

Black History In Two Minutes to

Sports: Leveling the Playing Field is from the Smithsonian.

Black History Is About More Than Oppression is from Education Week.

Here are a ton of resources from Facing History.

Black History Month is from Oprah Magazine.

Black History Month Lessons & Resources is from The NEA.

The Library of Congress has a ton of teacher and student resources.

Black History Month Teaching Resources is from Scholastic.

NEW SITE SHARES THE STORIES OF THOUSANDS WHO WERE ENSLAVED

Black History Month: Lesson Plans and Resources for the Classroom is from iCivics.

Massacres in the United States is an interactive map highlighting massacres in U.S. History, particularly those of African-Americans and Native Americans.

Check out the “Eyes on the Prize Interviews“:

The Eyes on the Prize I Interviews Collection consists of 127 raw interviews conducted with participants in the American Civil Rights movement, covering the years from the mid-1950s through to 1965.

SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE LAUNCHES ONLINE “SEARCHABLE MUSEUM”

‘Spirit of resistance’: Marking 500 years since the first slave revolt in the Americas is from NBC News.

Why does Black History Month matter? is from NPR.

Learning With the ‘Black History, Continued’ Series is from The NY Times Learning Network.

“Last Seen” Has Excellent Teaching Materials About The Formerly Enslaved Searching For Family Members

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Legacy Project unveiled an impressive website, including lesson plans. SNCC was a key part of the Civil Rights Movement.

Black Innovators is from Google’s Art and Culture.

Teaching Black History Beyond Bondage—All Year Long is from Edutopia.

If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.