Black History Month - Teacher Resources

Children's TV presenter Nigel Clarke celebrates the lives of six extraordinary people and their contribution to British history.

This animated film compares the lives and adventures of two different explorers, Neil Armstrong and Matthew Henson.

This animated film compares the lives of Emily Davison and Rosa Parks, two activists from different times and places, who both successfully protested against unfair rules.

A collection of short films for primary schools, exploring the experiences and contributions of people from communities across the UK, and celebrating the rich contribution of the black community to the culture, society and economy of the UK.

An animation exploring the life of Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who joined NASA's space program in the 1950s and played a crucial role in calculating the trajectories for their space missions.

This animated film explores the life and achievements of Wangari Maathai, an environmental activist from Kenya who founded the Green Belt movement. Her courage and dedication was recognised in 2004, when she won a Nobel Peace Prize.

In this short drama Harriet Tubman explains how she escaped slavery and then helped others to do so.

The life of Victorian nurse Mary Seacole is told in three short video episodes aimed at 7-11 year-olds.

In this short audio clip we hear from a woman who remembers, as a girl, being taken by her father to hear Dr Martin Luther King's famous 'I have a dream' speech.

This short film explains how Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a bus changed the rules of American society.

A short film about the life and work of Pablo Fanque, a famous equestrian performer from the Victorian era.

Trailblazing composer Florence Price was the first black female to have a symphony performed by a major American orchestra. Discover more about Florence and her music with BBC Ten Pieces.

Composer, sportsman, fashionista - Joseph Bologne was an 18th century superstar. Find out more about the man and his music with BBC Ten Pieces.

A framework for delivering an assembly about the life and work of Rosa Parks.

A framework for delivering an assembly about the life and work of Mary Seacole.

A framework for delivering an assembly based around Dr Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream...' speech.

A framework for delivering an assembly about the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Ayshah Tull and Mrs Vee explore the inspirational lives and contributions of black writers, musicians, activists and more. Together with guest readers Angelica Bell and David Lammy, they explain how language is used in songs and speeches to inspire us, demonstrate the importance of proof-reading, and challenge pupils to write about their dreams for a better world.

This short film for secondary schools looks at the New Cross house fire of 1981, and the protests, unrest and accusations of indifference that followed and defined race relations for a generation.

This short film for secondary schools examines how black children in the 1960s and 1970s were disproportionately sent to schools for the so-called ‘educationally subnormal’.

This short film for secondary schools looks at the Black Power movement in the 1960s in the UK, surveying both the individuals and the cultural forces that defined the era.

This powerful collection of short animated films uses real testimony from young people of colour to explore personal experiences of racism, bullying and isolation. These are real stories of racism in the UK.

Short educational films exploring the lives of London's West Indian community during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, produced alongside the BBC One collection of films directed by Oscar winner Steve McQueen. These films combine extracts from Steve McQueen's collection of films with archive and bespoke narration, to bring significant moments from recent black British history to life for students.

Three short films from a BBC documentary examining the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Exploring identity, diversity, institutional racism and justice.

David Olusoga explores stories of colonial troops serving in World War One in these short films for secondary schools.

In this series of short documentary-style films, historian David Olusoga explores new historical evidence of slavery in 1830s Britain.

A series of short films in which historian David Olusoga investigates the lives and experiences of migrants to and from Britain throughout history.

Teenager Elliott talks to his grandfather about his first impressions of London as an immigrant from Ghana and his grandmother about the racism they experienced because of their mixed race marriage.

John Agard explores and performs his poem 'Checking Out Me History'.

Andrew Marr analyses 1860s America and the American Civil War, explaining how the conflict, and Abraham Lincoln, changed American history forever.

Howard Goodall explores the origins of blues music and ragtime and looks at how the invention of recorded music popularised folk and spiritual African American music.

Sir Trevor McDonald reports on Nelson Mandela, who went from freedom fighter to become South Africa's first black president.

Sanjeev Bhaskar finds out how Dr Martin Luther King advanced the Civil Rights movement in America through non-violent resistance.

Space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock explains why being different is no barrier to success if you are passionate about something.

Ronnie Ochero turned his childhood obsession of playing video games into a career, by making them. For Ronnie, it was a natural process to go from playing games to inventing them.

Meet Aiyshat Akanbi. She’s a determined, fashion-forward young stylist. In this short film we see her attention to detail and passion for fabric and colour put to good use, as we follow her at work designing ‘tour’ looks for her client, the rapper Labrinth.

Paralympic champion Ade Adepitan explains that he lost the use of his legs as a result of childhood polio, but decided to become an athlete after becoming obsessed with the Olympic Games as a boy.

In her own words, Christine Ohuruogu tells the story of how she became a top athlete.

How Black History month is celebrated around the world

Discover Black History Month with clips, quizzes and stories from across CBBC

In celebration of Black History Month, Oti Mabuse brings you a selection of Horrible Histories sketches and songs featuring Rosa Parks, Civil War spy Mary Bowser, pioneering boxer Bill Richmond, plus Mary Seacole and Martin Luther King Jr.

On this CBeebies page, younger pupils can watch dads and daughters discussing everything from Rosa Parks to the Jamaican football team.

This Newsround guide offers an introduction to the slave trade, including how slaves were treated and how slavery was abolished.

De-Graft Mensah presents a Newsround special all about fairness, protest and people coming together to reject racism.

Watch with your class to find out how history can inspire creative writing. Catherine Johnson is an award-winning author and screenwriter who has used historical settings in many of her novels – and she reveals some of her secrets! Designed for schools in Scotland, P5 – S2.

Celebrating African and Caribbean heritage, watch and listen to documentaries and interviews with Jazzie B, Alexandra Burke and Labrinth.