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If you didn’t know, February is Black History Month, and we are going to be participating in the Here Wee Read: 29 Days of Black History Reading Challenge. I love reading challenges like this, because it gives me a bit of guidance in people I should learn about and topics around Black History I may not have even realize existed. That sounds bad, maybe a little ignorant, but if we’re being honest I really didn’t know much about Black History until college. Sure, I learned about the Underground railroad and Martin Luther King Jr….but Black History is so much more than this, and the more I learn the more ignorant I realize I really am on this subject, and I want to change that. I want to fix my own ignorance, and set my children up to go a little further. Though I don’t think we should just save talking about Black leaders and Black history for February, I think it is a good time to renew our commitment to learn more, listen more, and continue to dismantle racism in our own lives and communities.
Below, I am sharing some of the resources we’ll be using for Black History Month, as well as some resources I have found very helpful in my own journey of understanding racism.
Black History Month Reading Challenge
As mentioned above, we will be participating in the Here Wee Read 29 Days of Black History Reading Challenge. She has graciously offered a FREE poster that littles can color in as they complete the challenge. We printed our at FedEx, and the 11×17 size cost 23 cents! Really, less than a quarter. You can’t beat that. We will be completing the reading challenge using books from our local library. I discovered you can put books “On Hold” from any library in our county and they will send them to your preferred library to pick up. So I went through the challenge list and searched our library catalog for books. Ideally, I would have chosen books in Spanish, but sadly I had a really hard time finding Black History Books in Spanish. We’ll be using a mix of the few I could find at the library and resources from our home collection.
Spanish Black History Month Resources
Me Llamo Celia by Monica Brown
This fun book is about the life and career of Celia Cruz.
Wilma Sin Limites by Kathleen Krull
This picture book is about Wilma Rudolf, a world record holding Olympian.
A Ti Te Canto by Barak Obama
This books is a letter from former President Barak Obama to his children.
La Niña Que Podria Bailar en El Espacio Exterior by Maya Cointreau
This beautiful book is about Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space.
Black History Month Poster in Spanish
Ok, so this isn’t a book, but this Spanish poster can be a good starting point for talking about Black Leaders throughout history.
Books for Preschoolers
Here We Read is such an incredible resource for diverse childrens books, and she has a whole post about Black History Month Books for Preschoolers!
Music Appreciation
As with all of our World Love Wednesday features, I enjoy introducing my littles to new music. Black Coffee With White Friends is another blog that I really love and last year she created some amazing playlists in her Black History 2019 post. We have started listening to them on a regular basis, and I highly suggest them to all my friends.
Baby Devotions
This month for our Devotions, I will be highlighting some of our favorite Christian resources for preschoolers by Black authors. If you want to play-a-long, here is a glimpse at some of the books we will be using:
God’s Very Good Idea by Trillia Newbell
God Made Me and You by Shai Linne
David and Goliath by A.D. Largie
God’s Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Love Made by Quina Aragon
Jesus is My Best Friend by Sherelle Gaston
Black Faith Leaders
Take some time to learn about Black faith leaders. These coloring pages from Spark Ministry make it easy.
Free Coloring Pages of Black Faith Leaders
Resources for Parents on Racism
As I mentioned, I think that Black History Month can serve as a time to renew our commitment to dismantling racism in our lives and our communities. Maybe you are already on this journey, I encourage you to go deeper. Maybe this is a new challenge for you, I invite you to start. It’s hard work, but it’s good work. Some resources I personally recommend are:
Be the Bridge
Be the Bridge is an organization devoted to addressing racial brokenness and systematic injustice, leading our communities to reconciliation. If you are not apart of a local group, I encourage you to find one. If there isn’t one in your area, consider joining the Be the Bridge Facebook Group. Another great resource is Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison (founder of Be the Bridge).
#disruptingracismwithkids
Another resource that has really helped me on my journey is the hashtag #disruptingracismwithkids by The Conscious Kid. This series shares how racism develops in children (it starts earlier than you think) and how parents can be proactive in guiding our children in a better way.
Mockingbird History Lessons
Finally, Black Coffee With White Friends offers History Lessons for her Patreon Community. This is an excellent way to keep learning about Black History once February is over.
Not Just for February
This is our plan for February, but let’s not leave it there. Yes, we use February as a way to learn about Black history and leaders we haven’t learned about before, but let’s not leaving the learning there. Let’s continue to introduce our children to diverse leaders and voices year-round.
Baby Devotions 