Black History Month

The 2025 Black History Month theme, African Americans and Labor, focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people. Indeed, work is at the very center of much of Black history and culture. To read more, click on ASALH.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, a Black scholar, did not aim to invent a new tradition, but rather expand the study of Black history. He founded Negro History Week in 1926, strategically placing it between the birthdays of President Lincoln and Fredericak Douglas - two significant figures who shaped Black history. This insightful move has evolved into Black History Month. Throughout February, we celebrate the diverse contributions of African Americans and their work of all kinds, including paid labor, community building and activism, that have and continue to shape American history.

Join @NMAAHC this month to celebrate @ASALH’s #BlackHistoryMonth theme of African Americans and Labor, with a focus on the world of work that African American women have faced over the past four centuries and how it has changed, https://nmaahc.si.edu/blackhistorymonth.

Here are some various ways to celebrate.

• Black History Month: Black To The Future! Kid's Black History Exploration
• Black History Month Family-Friendly Events and Activities in the Twin Cities
• Black History Month Film Festival
• Black History Month in Minneapolis
• Black History Month with Minnesota Historical Society and Black Communities
• The Sound of Gospel©: Celebrating Black History Month

More ways to celebrate Black History Month.

• Common Sense Education - Free Learning Resources for Black History Month (And Beyond)
• District 196 - Month Observances Resources
• History - Black History Facts
• MNOPEDIA - African Americans in Minnesota
• We Are Teachers - 40 Black History Month Activities for February and Beyond
• #38: Research Juneteenth
• #39: Listen to musician, Rhiannon Giddens, sing, "Build a House." It was originally performed for the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth with cellist, Yo-Yo Ma.

District 196 is seeking future teachers for its Grow Your Own program! Starting Fall 2025, the fourth cohort will receive scholarships, mentorship, and professional development for three years toward earning their first teaching degree with a Tier 3 teaching license.

If you or someone you know is interested, visit the GYO webpage (www.district196.org/GYO) or contact Yen Huynh-Vue at 651-423-7941or yen.huynhvue@district196.org.

They are located on the Equity and Inclusion Website.