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Black History Month

Celebrate Black History Month and the achievements of African Americans in civil rights, science, art and sports.

Credit: St. George

Teachers: Visit the free MY HERO Black History Month Lesson Multimedia Plan. Includes discussion and activity guide and learning outcomes.


Featured Hero Showcase: John Lewis

Congressman John Lewis, Portrait by Robert Shetterly, AWTT.org

By: Xenia Shin

To Celebrate Black History Month, we present stories, films, art and audio from the MY HERO archive highlighting the life of Congressman and Civil Rights Hero John Lewis.


Eva Haller Hosts a Salon with Guests from The MY HERO Team

Eva Haller Salon (excerpt) - BlackHERstory ft UNLADYLIKE2020

By: Eva Haller
Eva Haller hosts guests from the MY HERO Team to celebrate Women's History Month joined by Charlotte Mangin and Sandra Rattley from the UNLADYLIKE2020 Project

Emerging Filmmakers

The following films by emerging student filmmakers have been recognized at the MY HERO International Film Festival.

Racism Must Stop

Azomali Obisakin | In-Progress
A documentary short exploring the impact of racism on the lives of children and adults.

My Hero - Maya Angelou

By: Sakura Forney
Maya Angelou's life and how she changed her community's perspective on racism and sexism.

Dorothy Cotton

By: Dylan Winiger
Dorothy Cotton was an American civil rights activist,

Fannie Lou Hamer - A Civil Rights Unsung Hero

By: Elia Grace Defore
This documentary is about the unsung hero Fannie Lou Hamer who helped African Americans receive their right to vote.

Breonna's Garden AR

Lady Phoenix & Sutu
Breonna’s Garden is an Augmented Reality experience being created in collaboration with Ju’Niyah Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s little sister.

Heroes Wanted

Trey Carlisle
Trey celebrates the best of humanity with this original hero anthem!

Bombingham

Produced by:Gabrielle Gorman

An expressionistic account of a devastating historical event by emerging filmmaker Gabrielle Gorman.

Jahkil Jackson Wins the Youth Activist Award at the 19th MY HERO International Film Festival.

60 Sec Docs with Jahkil Jackson

By: 60 Sec docs
Jahkil Jackson from Chicago is the founder of Project I Am, an organization raising awareness about homelessness.

Jahkil Jackson

By: Abigail Richardson
A Young Philanthropist Making a Big Difference

The Equal Justice Initiative

Bryan Stevenson

By: Arthur (Trey) Carlisle
Bryan Stevenson has been recognized across the globe for the work that he has done to address poverty and racial inequality.

The Equal Justice Initiative

Gabriel Diamond
Bryan Stevenson and Equal Justice Initiative litigate cases for the unjustly imprisoned and work to reform the justice system.

Margot Lee Shetterly - Shining a Light on Hidden Figures

Katherine Johnson has become a household name thanks to writer and researcher Margot Lee Shetterly. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson were African American mathematicians, at that time called “human computers,” who worked for NASA during the space race.

Margot Lee Shetterly: Shining a Light on Hidden Figures

By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Margot Lee Shetterly is the author of "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race."

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

By: Margot Lee Shetterly

Our Curated Showcases

Click on the following thumbnails for curated stories, art and films on Civil Rights Heroes and World Leaders; Heroes in Art, Music & Literature; Sports Heroes; and Science Heroes, as we celebrate Black History Month.

Black History Month | Civil Rights and World Leaders

By: MY HERO Staff

MY HERO Celebrates Black History Month. Be Inspired by African American Civil Rights Heroes and World Leaders Barack Obama, Ralph Bunche, Michelle Obama.

Black History Month | Heroes in Music, Art, and Literature

By: MY HERO Staff

MY HERO Celebrates Black History Month. Be inspired by African American Heroes in Music, Art, and Literature: Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Dizzy Gillepsie, Louis Armstrong, more.

Black History Month | Heroes in Sports

By: MY HERO Staff

MY HERO Celebrates Black History Month. Be inspired by African American Heroes in Sports who broke personal and professional barriers.

Black History Month | Heroes in the Sciences

By: MY HERO Staff

MY HERO Celebrates Black History with this feature on Heroes in the Sciences.

Lean more about LeVar Burton's 'Reading Rainbow' series

'Butterfly in the Sky': Winner of the MY HERO Media Award 2022

By: Naomi Gledhill

Butterfly in the Sky [excerpt]

Brett Whitcomb & Bradford Allen
Tells the story of the beloved series "Reading Rainbow," its iconic host LeVar Burton, and the challenges its creators faced in cultivating a love of reading

Amanda Gorman, America's First Youth Poet Laureate

Amanda Gorman: The Poet Who Healed a Nation

By: Shannon Luders-Manuel
Amanda Gorman, America's first Youth Poet Laureate, recited the original poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Hill We Climb by Poet Hero Amanda Gorman

"For there was always light. If only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it." Audio of The Hill We Climb

The historian Carter Woodson is known as the "Father of Black History Month."

In 1926, he established Negro History Week. He chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Half a century later, this observance evolved into Black History Month, which we celebrate during the entire month of February.

 

Carter G. Woodson

By: Raven from Colorado

Carter Woodson, "Father of Black History Month," founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.


Stories of black heroes in history across disciplines

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter: Empowering Change Through BeyGood Charity

By: Abigail Richardson
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, born September 4, 1981, is an American singer, songwriter, philanthropist and businesswoman.

Gregory L. Robinson: NASA Engineer

By: Naomi Gledhill
Gregory L. Robinson is an American Engineer who is most known for his work on the James Webb Space Telescope Program at NASA.

William Kamkwamba

By: Nathan P. from Ohio
William Kamkwamba

Constance Baker Motley

By: Jane Wallace
Constance Baker Motley was one of America's most effective, least known Civil Rights revolutionaries.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

By: Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt
Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt.

Katherine Johnson

By: Kyra from Ankara, Turkey
Her story was hidden for decades: Katherine Johnson plotted multiple flight courses for NASA, including the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the first spaceship to reach the moon.

The Word Revolutionist: James Baldwin

By: Sebastian Ruiz
James Baldwin was a highly influential author of the Harlem Renaissance.

Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Peter Norman

By: Jesse Zaragoza
Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and Peter Norman, who were part of the 1968 Olympic team in track and field, raised their fists during the US National Anthem in support of civil rights.

Stories for Younger Readers, by Younger Readers

Viola Desmond

By: Julia Sawyshyn

Viola Desmond was a black Canadian who refused to give up her seat in the whites' only section of a movie theater, which helped spark the civil rights movement in Canada.

Black History Month Films reflecting on the fight for civil rights

The March for Freedom 1963

Davon Johnson
Nonviolent civil disobedience based on Christian beliefs started long before the 1963 peaceful protest, March for Freedom on Washington D.C. PASSWORD: 2march4freedom1963

Citizenship

Produced by:Anson Schloat and John G. Young
A film about John Lewis on citizenship and character: "To be a good citizen is to obey the rules...the laws. Unless those laws conflict with your conscience.

William D Matthews: A Cure for Rebellion

Taegan Loy and Trent Powell

This documentary tells the story of William D. Matthews, the first African American officer in the Civil War, who assisted slaves escaping through the Underground Railroad, and heroically led troops to victory.

The March on Washington D.C. 1963

Devon Johnson

Two very talented Jazz musicians perform a tribute to MLK Jr. and the leadership of the March on Washington D.C. in 1963. The film features Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa.

Links to more Black History Month resources.


Our Curators

 

Short films curated by MY HERO International Film Festival director Wendy Milette

 

Hero Stories curated by MY HERO General Editor and Story Director Abigail Richardson.

 

Audio curated by MY HERO Audio director Stu Pearlman. 


Organizer created on 1/26/2015 12:46:18 PM by

Last edited 2/14/2024 9:19:08 AM by Abigail Richardson

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