A free course for Black History Month and beyond...

29 Black History Facts You (Probably) Didn't Learn in School: A Curriculum for Educators, Parents and the Community

Context: In January of 2024, Mr. Ernest Crim III collaborated with CBS 2 Chicago to create a unique series for Black History Month that would air daily on CBS 2 in Chicago, as well as in Atlanta. This series, ‘29 Black History Facts You (Probably) Didn’t Learn in School,’ went on to be nominated for an Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Chicago/Midwest Chapter. 

Directions: In this course, you will find guided questions, and the scripts, for each day in this series. Each day at the beginning of class, or with your family, discuss the Opener. Please answer the question thoroughly with a minimum of a topic sentence and two additional supporting detail sentences.

Afterwards, click the link to watch the appropriate video for the scheduled day. Watch the video while reading along with the script. Next, answer the Reflection question thoroughly with a topic sentence and at least two additional supporting sentences. Each reflection question should also be aligned with at least one Nguzo Saba principle. Lastly, share your answers with your class, or family, and contemplate on how you can apply that information to your life. 

Please don’t feel restricted to only using this curriculum during February. Dr. Carter G. Woodson created Black History Month (originally as Negro History Week) as a way to recognize, acknowledge and celebrate the ways in which we celebrated ourselves and history the other eleven months. Think of February as a family reunion of Black history. We love and celebrate each other all year round, but this month we bring it together in unison. Ideally, you’ll go over this as many times as you need for the participants to not only know the information, but to also internalize how it can be used for external liberation and justice. From then, participants should engage in a process of doing their own research and creating their own art to continue the conversation, because we can’t truly create a world where justice and equity is the norm without first seeing past examples of it and imagining what it looks like for us moving forward. 

Enjoy!