Inspirational Black Americans You Rarely Hear About: A Black History Month Special

Every February, we celebrate Black History Month, a time to recognize and honor the contributions and achievements of African Americans throughout history. This is an important opportunity for children to learn about the history of their country and to appreciate the achievements of people who may look different from them but who have had a significant impact on our world.

Did you know that one of the first black people in America to own land was a man named Anthony Johnson? This may seem ordinary today, but back then, it was unusual for black people to own land.

Another amazing person from black history is George Washington Carver. He was born into slavery but went on to become a prominent scientist and inventor. He developed over 100 products using one major crop, peanuts, including dyes, plastics, and gasoline. He also taught at Tuskegee Institute.

I've compiled a list of 10 INSPIRATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICANS you and your children may not have heard of before. (I definitely did not!) I encourage you to read about each one in my printable fact sheet and then do some more reading afterwards.

Also, below is a list of 10 books about inspirational Black people or those with Black main characters that I highly recommend reading (and they should be read any time of the year):

1. Counting on Katherine by Helaine Becker

2. Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed

3. Stacey’s Extraordinary Words by Stacey Abrams

4. A Is for Awesome!: 23 Iconic Women Who Changed the World by Eva Chen

5. Courageous People Who Changed the World by Heidi Poelman

6. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

7. Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees by Franck Prevot

8. The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks by Cynthia Levinson

9. Andrew Learns About Lawyers by Tiffany Obeng

10. Jesse Owens: Ready-to-Read Level 3 by Laurie Calkhoven

The first and last are my son’s favorite.

Black history is full of inspiring stories. African Americans have made significant contributions to various fields and shaped our world.