Virtual Events Celebrating Black History Month

The team at Education Today has rounded up some virtual events for Black History Month that might help you to create an incredible celebration this year. Supplement your classroom plans, give great asynchronous assignments for student-led virtual learning, or even use these virtual celebrations to invite families to join your dialogue.

We’re excited to profile some incredible organizations and their work here, and hope you’ll join us on social media to share other open events that haven’t made the list.

Join Black History Paint Night! (February 4 & 19, $10)

Hosted by Brown Girls Unite, Black History is to be remembered every day of the year. It originates in a week-long recognition initiated by Carter G. Woodson in 1926. Now Black History Month has grown and is celebrated internationally. Join the celebration with an evening of painting. Get step-by-step instruction to create a beautiful canvas painting that celebrates giants in African American history. Enjoy curated music, learn, and create a memento of Black History.

Celebrating Black Engineers – Past and Present, with Raytheon Technologies (February 10)

STEM careers are the fastest growing and among the most well-paying roles in the US today. However Black engineers continue to be underrepresented, making up only 6% of engineers in the US. There are multiple social and systemic reasons for this statistic, but we know one thing: it must change. As a step in this direction and in honor of Black History Month, Raytheon Technologies invites you to attend a virtual presentation to learn about and celebrate Black engineers who have made their mark in history and paved the way for the four panelists – Black engineers. The engineers will discuss who inspired them to forge a career in engineering and technology, how they broke through barriers in their path, and how they are now defining the future of aerospace and defense with Raytheon Technologies.

The Council for Economic Education Three-Part Black History Month Series (February 16, 17, and 25)

Join the Council for Economic Education’s Black History Month series that will examine three key topics: the price of excluding Black English Vernacular in schools; Kareem Abdul- Jabbar and the pedagogy of preparation; and Black Wall Street and the threat of black financial stability.

Stax Music Academy, A Virtual Celebration of Struggle, Collaboration, and Peace (February 17)

Throughout American history, music has played a pivotal role in the fight for racial equality. From the message songs imprisoned Africans crafted as a way to communicate with each other during slavery, to impassioned protest songs during the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century, the soundtrack generated by Black singers, musicians, and writers has provided as much nourishment for the struggle as any factor in the fight for freedom. Today, the world-renowned Stax Music Academy (SMA) plans to blend these echoes of the past with technology of the future by offering a virtual Black History Month production in February 2021 titled “Rhythm and Revolution: Expressions of Struggle, Collaboration, and Peace.”

Black History Month Virtual Festival, Association for the Study of African American Life and History (all month long)

Throughout the month of February 2021, ASALH will host a festival, virtual programming in observance and celebration of the strengths, struggles, resistance—and the sheer perseverance of the Black family.  The festival will be a series of stellar educational events that demonstrate how Black people helped shape the American landscape and were shaped by it, posited through the lens of food, religion, social justice, education, economics, and  music arts and their impact on the endurance of Black families.  

Oldways, A Food and Nutrition Nonprofits (all month long)

Commemorate Black History Month in February with an African Heritage Recipe Celebration. Their monthlong celebration will include a weekly recipe challenge on social media, as well as three virtual events with authors, chefs, and experts in African Heritage cuisine. Here’s how you can celebrate along with them.

Book Unique Virtual Museum Experiences (all month long)

In alliance with museums, cultural centers, and historic sites all around the country, Microsoft Community is curating a customized series of immersive virtual experiences for K-12 Students. Students can take a virtual walk with MLK in the Selma-to-Montgomery Marches of 1965, take a virtual scavenger hunt through George Washington Carver’s most noted inventions, and more!