Black History Month Self Study Guides
Because the Federal Government Doesn't Run Your House
The executive orders about changes to the K-12 curriculum and the absence of Black History Month are unfortunate, but that doesn’t absolve us from learning about Black history and the contributions that Black people have made in America. It may even free us to present and teach a more accurate version of Black History that is messier, more aggressive and more nuanced than the projects on Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
I created these self-study guides for my high school students but they work for anyone who wants to learn a bit about Black History and it’s global impact. The links may lead you to Georgia based resources, however a Google search will get you right as rain. Feel free to download the pdf’s and share as you like.
The image of a woman with a large afro and a leather jacket has become the cultural touchstone for what a Black Panther looks like, but the Black Panther Party and the Black Power movement of the 1960's and 1970's can’t be boiled down to a few fashion choices.
This self-study guide will introduce to primary documents so that you can read about what the Black Panther’s stood from their official newspaper. You’ll research their key programs like the Free Breakfast Program and the Free Medical Clinics they started and why they started them. You’ll even learn about their global impact in New Zealand and within the United States with the Yellow Power movement. You may need your library card to access some documents but a quick Google search works just as well too.
African Americans have always had an international impact and it spans centuries. From the days of the Gens De Coleur Libres in New Orleans who sent their children to be educated in France when it was impossible to so in American in the 18th century, to soldiers in World War I who brought jazz to the country and stayed because the racial climate was so much better there than in the US. Josephine Baker took Paris by storm in the 1920's and dazzled the French public with her banana dance and gained international fame and James Baldwin took refuge their with the Black Literati like Richard Wright, Alain Locke and Zora Neal Hurston in the 40's and 50's. If you don’t know who any of these people are that’s ok. This self study guide will
lead you where you need to go. I focus primarily on African American ex-pats/immigrants and not the history of Afro-French from former French colonies. They have a deep history of their own to explore. You may need your public library card to access some of the links, but a quick Google search will help as well.
"We spend so much time listening to the things people are saying that we rarely pay attention to the things they don't," says poet and teacher Clint Smith. A short, powerful piece from the heart, about finding the courage to speak up against ignorance and injustice. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is largely considered the straw that broke the camel’s back in regards to the Civil War. It was part of the Compromise of 1850 that tried to govern how new states that joined the Union would be added. Would they be Free States or Slave states? If a slave ran away what responsibilities did they state have in returning that person to their owner? It was one thing to look the other way when an owner or even slave catchers patrolled the streets looking for so-called fugitives. It was quite another to require residents of Free states to assist in capturing their neighbors.
This self-study guide will assist you in learning about the Fugitive Slave Act and its continuing impact on American politics, specifically its similarities with Mississippi’s House Bill 1484 of 2025 which deputizes citizens to search and capture undocumented immigrants and then enslaves them for life. These deputies harken back to the origins of policing in America and the addition of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
I decided not to make my substack paid and unpaid. I’m not really a fan of paywalls, but if you like a thing or to you can Buy Me a Coffee!
If these have a familiar feel you might remember the syllabi released by the Langston League about Lovecraft Country. They inspired me to make my own.