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Black History Month

Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by Black Americans. The event stems from "Negro History Week", the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans, according to history.com. Every United States president since 1976 has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month.

Prominent African Americans from Kansas include writers Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Kevin Young, and Frank Marshall Davis, photographer, film producer, and writer Gordon Parks, film producer and director Oscar Micheaux and Kevin Willmott,  inventor George Washington Carver, actress Hattie McDaniel, football players Gale Sayers and Barry Sanders, baseball player Elwood “Bingo” DeMoss and musicians Charles “Bird” Parker, Coleman Hawkins and Eva Jesse.

Here are some Black History teaching resources, as well as other interesting links about black history in Kansas.

Resources/Links

 TitleDescription
The Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Black History (Teaching Tolerance)Before teaching anything, please read this.
NEA - Black History Month Lessons & ResourcesThis site has several resources including quizzes, printables and videos for all grade levels.
Education World Teacher ResourcesThis site has lots of lesson plans and link with various grade level applications.
Edutopia 6 Teaching Tools for Black History MonthThis site lists six teaching tools. It also includes a link to Pat Russo’s article on the Do’s and Don’ts of Teaching Black History Month.
Scholastic Black History MonthThis site has a limited number of resources, lessons and units, but they do have lessons for Pre-K through 12. Resources include lesson plans and some audio and video resources.
Public Broadcasting (PBS) Newshour Teacher ResourcesThis site has 17 lesson plans and resources that cover topics ranging from important civil rights anniversaries to discussions about race in current events.
African-American History MonthThis site references primary and secondary sources from the Library of Congress, National Archives, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service and the National Gallery of Art. Contains exhibits, images, audio and video.
Famous Black Kansans/The History of African-Americans in KansasThe Kansas Historical Society’s site contains information about famous African-American Kansans. It also contains information about involvement of African Americans in Kansas.
The Kansas African American MuseumThe Kansas African American Museum, formerly the venerable Calvary Baptist Church, was once the cornerstone of Wichita’s vibrant black community. It was built in 1917, and in 1973 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kansas African American Affairs CommissionThe Kansas African American Affairs Commission is a catalyst for positive change in African American communities across the state of Kansas.
Nicodemus National Historic SiteNicodemus represents the involvement of African-Americans in the westward expansion and settlement of the Great Plains. It is the oldest and only remaining black settlement west of the Mississippi River.
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic SiteThis historic site in Topeka tells the story of Brown v. Board of Education, which ended legal segregation in public schools.

Program Manager - Humanities
Nate McAlister
(785) 296-3892
nmcalister@ksde.org

Program Manager - Humanities
Joann McRell
(785) 296-2144
jmcrell@ksde.org

Deputy Commissioner:
Division of Learning Services

Dr. Ben Proctor
(785) 296-2303
bproctor@ksde.org

Director: 
Career, Standards and Assessment

Beth Fultz
(785) 296-3142
bfultz@ksde.org

Assistant Director: 
Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Natalie D. Clark
(785) 296-4351
​ndclark@ksde.org

Assistant Director: 
Curricular Standards

Dr. David Fernkopf
(785) 296-8447
dfernkopf@ksde.org

Assistant Director: 
Assessment

Julie Ewing
(785) 296-2325
jewing@ksde.org

Assistant Director: 
Kansas Volunteer Commission

Dr. Jessica Dorsey
(785) 296-3163
jdorsey@ksde.org

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