Black History Month: how to support your school
Black History Month: how to support your school
October is Black History Month in the UK and a time to celebrate the contributions black people have made over the centuries in shaping the dynamic and diverse country we have today. Celebrating Black History Month in school is also the perfect time to educate your teachers and their classes on the importance of this, and what they can do to help.
What is Black History Month?
Black History Month is about celebrating and sharing knowledge; celebrating the contribution black people have made to freedoms, our culture and our society – from books, music to art, with authors such as Malorie Blackman, musicians such as Arlo Parks, and scientists such as Maggie Aderin-Pocock, there are many great individuals to celebrate.
Entering its 35th year of celebration, Black History Month 2022 UK runs throughout the month of October. This year’s theme, ‘Time for Change: Action Not Words’, focuses on the double-burden black people carry - experiencing racism and discrimination and then being expected to fix the problem themselves. The event encourages people to get involved by taking action using the ‘see something, say something’ idea of tackling racism.
One of the key aims of the history curriculum is to know and understand the history of the British islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day. This includes how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world, which helps build an understanding of a shared British and world history.
To celebrate Black History Month, GLS has come up with ways you can influence your school with activities and engage in the month beyond school assemblies.
Use literacy to explore British history
Celebrating Black History Month in school can be difficult. One way to explore key events from history is through creative writing and poetry. They could even write a newsletter or magazine to distribute to parents. Include poems and short stories by black authors, as well as student-generated writings and images that centre on Black History Month. This way, you can get your teachers to encourage group work.
Use resources which include black people and their stories
Here at GLS, we know how easy it is to fall back on the tried and tested storybooks in the reading corner, or the films you watch in English. But this Black History Month could be an opportunity to assess whether your list of texts that you provide for your classes are as inclusive as they can be, and for you to discover more diverse resources for your school across the curriculum where you could learn, for example, about Black scientists such as Maggie Aderin-Pocock or Katherine Johnson or Black designers like Jessica Bellamy or Ozwald Boateng.
Looking for inclusive and inspiring books to share with or recommend to your class? Reading to your class is a wonderful, shared experience, and it’s an excellent opportunity to introduce young children to black history in a fun way. So why not help your teachers with resources and books to help educate your school? Puffin have lists of books for teaching Black history together with a list of empowering stories.
Study and create art
Art in the Black community carries so much historical and cultural significance that can inspire some great, illuminative lessons.
Provide resources such as arts and crafts for your school so they can decorate their classrooms. This will encourage group work and be great for your classes to get talking about why this is so important. Celebrating Black History Month in school is vital for children to learn from a young age and you can help with that. Art is a great way to get important messages across. Provide your teachers with paints and display paper to get them started.
Celebrate the achievements of Black Britons
Celebrating the achievements of Black Britons is important for your school to know. There have been so many key people in history that they may not know about. Instead of simply sharing a short biography of a person, you could challenge your classes to do their own research and put together a creative fact file or use drama to role-play key events and hot seat as individuals. The Black History Month website is a useful tool for information and profiles on a variety of people and events. This year they have created a resource pack including posters, worksheets and teaching notes.
Make sure Black history isn’t confined to a month
Black History Month can be an opportunity for educators to make a conscious decision to go further in diversifying the curriculum for the whole of the academic year. As a start there are small things, which many teachers are already doing, which can make a difference to supporting inclusivity in the classroom – such as making sure all ethnicities are represented in photos, artwork or pictures used in resources across all subjects, all year round. Any of the Black History Month information or activities in this blog, or elsewhere, can be taught year-round, not only in October.
In a school with a wide mix of cultures, backgrounds and faiths, children often move beyond stereotypical assumptions about race. At a young age children can learn that they can be friends with and learn alongside others regardless of diversity.
To learn more about Black History Month, visit their website.
