Important Lessons

• In teaching children about black history, there are a few specific areas of importance to remember. Start with political history. The Civil War is essential, because it marks the beginning of African American emancipation from slavery. And the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s is also vital, as key figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X came to prominence in this era. Another aspect of black history that kids should learn about is sports. The stories of Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali (or any other prominent black athlete) will be easily related to by kids who are interested in sports. One final aspect to touch on is black history in the entertainment industry (Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, Will Smith, Spike Lee).
  
  

Activities

• There are a lot of ways to learn about black history, but kids will be more receptive to something fun. For example, have the kids perform a play about an important aspect of African American history. They can dress up and perform the stories of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson or Barack Obama.
  
  Another idea is to sing songs. Instead of just telling the kids about famous black musicians, sing their songs as a group.
  
  Or you can have the children draw scenes of important historical moments. Break out the crayons and pick a topic (civil rights, sports, music, entertainment).
  
  

Music

• One of the most important historical aspects of black history is African American music. An easy way to teach them about the history of black music is to take a song from every facet and tell them about the time it was created before playing it. Start with slave music, a simple negro spiritual like "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." Next, play Louis Armstrong for jazz. Follow that with B. B. King for blues, Aretha Franklin for gospel, Chuck Berry for rock 'n' roll, and then finish up with a clean hip-hop song that they might all know (maybe by Will Smith or Gnarls Barkley).