Students can create posters to share their reflections and responses to Black History Month. For instance, you could assign students to draft a poem or create a painting that expresses their reaction to a specified theme or topic such as slavery, the Jim Crow laws, Rosa Parks or "Bloody Sunday," which denotes the violence that erupted when Black civil rights activists famously marched from Selma to Birmingham. This activity invites students to meaningfully reflect on the lessons and to personally respond to the events of history.
Assign each student to research the passage of a piece of law or legislation or a court ruling that had significant impact on civil rights. For instance, assign students to research the Fourteenth Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the case of Plessy v. Ferguson and the case of Brown v. Board of Education. By studying legislation and court rulings, students will gain a better understanding of the government's role in shaping the experience of blacks in the country. Students' posters can be arranged chronologically and displayed in the classroom or in a hallway so that students can contextualize their assigned topic by seeing where it fits into the history of civil rights.
Students can each create a poster that profiles a noteworthy political figure or social leader who worked to help blacks achieve equal rights. Include famous leaders (such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and W. E. B. DuBois) but also lesser-known leaders who made an impact, even though they may have been overlooked by history. Posters might include brief biographical information about the person, historical facts about the major achievements and accomplishments and the overall impact of the person on the movement for black civil rights.
Kids can design posters to celebrate the famous firsts in black history. For instance, in the area of government and law, there is Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, L. Douglas Wilder, the first African American governor and, of course, Barack Obama, the first African American president. In the area of arts and entertainment, there is Halle Berry, the first African American woman to receive a Best Actress Academy Award, Oprah Winfrey, the first African American to host a television show, and Vanessa Williams, the first African American Miss America. In sports, Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in Major League Baseball, and Tiger Woods, the first African American Masters Golf Champion, are also notable. Posters should celebrate a famous first by including biographical information and facts about the achievements that made history. This activity is especially fun for kids, because it enables them to celebrate an African American in an area of personal interest.