Well, we’re about halfway through Black History Month! Are you wondering what you can do to be more involved? How can you learn more about Black History and its contemporary implications? And what about your kids?
I often find myself trying to think of more ways to help my kids. I want them to grow up understanding black history more fully so they grow up with a mindset of inclusivity and empathy, rather than discrimination. To that end, we’ve compiled a list of books and other media for kids. They’re good stories for your kids to ingest, and they can also be instrumental in helping root out the lingering racism in our contemporary society.
Book and Movie Lists For Kids and Teens
We’ve compiled four lists. So I guess you could say it’s more than just a black history month booklist for kids. The four lists are: books for kids, books for teens, movies for kids, and movies for teens. Now obviously this list is not comprehensive, but it’s a good place to start if you need some recommendations. And if you have recommendations for us, let us know in the comments! Let’s all help each other fill in the gaps in our knowledge of black history. I’m right there with all of you wanting to understand these racial issues better and help our kids do the same.
Books For Kids
- Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
- Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History
- Hair Love
- Schomburg: the man who built a library
- Mufaro’s beautiful daughters
- Sulwe
- Your name is a song
- I got school spirit
- You matter
- A history of me
Books For Teens
- To Kill a Mockingbird (Caveat: Not a black author, but the content is so relevant we had to add it to the list)
- The Color Purple
- I Know why the caged bird sings
- Cry, the beloved country
- The Hate U Give
- Dear Martin
Movies/Shows for Kids
- Soul (pixar)
- The Princess and the Frog
- Garrett’s Gift
- Reading Rainbow
- Dancing in the Light: The Janet Collins Story
- The Journey of Henry Box Brown
Movies/Shows for Teens
- Self Made (2020)
- Harriet
- Hidden Figures
- Selma
- Just Mercy
- The Hate U Give (movie version of the book we recommended above!)
- Belle (2013)
- Marshall (2017)
More Resources
For more ideas on what to read and watch for Black History Month, see our Juneteenth Reading List! There’s a little overlap, but lots of ideas to get you started.