Every month is Black History Month, right? But because folks pay more attention to Black history in February, I decided to share a few resources. The first two are probably most useful for middle and high school teachers. The last is probably most useful to elementary teachers.
Hidden Stories: Montana's Black Past
Everyone should watch this remarkable video, produced by Kate Hampton of the Montana Historical Society's State Historic Preservation Office. Completed in 2022, the 57-minute movie traces Montana’s African American history from the Civil War to the present day. It foregrounds Montana’s pioneering Black residents and frames their experiences within the greater context of Montana history across space and time. I just found out it is debuting on Montana PBS on February 13, but it is also available to view on YouTube.
Elementary and middle school teachers should watch it for background knowledge, but we think high school teachers should share it with their students. Colleague Bryan Baldwin created this teaching guide, which breaks the video into three parts, and provides summaries, discussion questions and vocabulary terms for each part.
Montana African American Heritage Resources Website
There is so much information collected on this website, including a number of brief essays on various aspects of Montana's African American history; census data from 1910 and 1920; and a list of laws passed by the Montana legislature intended either to discriminate against or protect the rights of its African American citizens. My very favorite item on this site is the Story Map, “Montana in the Green Book”.
"Between 1936 and 1967, Victor H. Green & Company published The Negro Motorist Green Book, which offered listings of lodgings, restaurants, service stations, and recreation opportunities for African American travelers. According to the 1949 introduction, the publication's goal was "to give the Negro traveler information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trips more enjoyable. ... It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication for then we can go wherever we please, and without embarrassment." Find out which Montana venues advertised that they welcomed African American travelers.
Elementary Lessons
Last year I worked with the Helena Black History Education Initiative to create six elementary school lessons. Each is tied to an anchor text and includes an activity. Only one is related to Montana history. You can read more about and find links to the lessons here.
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