As you've probably heard me say before, I believe that every month should be Black History Month; in other words, we should constantly be talking about African American history, which is central to the American story. However, there's nothing wrong with an annual reminder to include African American stories in our history classes!
For Montana history, the best thing out there is Hidden Stories: Montana's Black Past, a 55-minute documentary and well worth watching. We created a teaching guide that divides the film into three parts and provides discussion questions for each segment.
The buffalo soldiers are among the best-documented African American Montanans, especially the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps. Here's a great article from the Smithsonian and a link to a 55 minute documentary.
An estimated one in four cowboys on the open range were Black, including cowboys who trailed cattle up from Texas to Montana. One who decided to make his home in Montana was Joseph Proctor. Born into slavery, he was a renowned horseman who ended up ranching in Rosebud County and was ultimately inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame. Here's a video of Andy Hedges reciting Wally MacRae's poem "Ol' Proc" at the 35th Annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
Looking beyond Montana, here are six elementary lessons I helped create (one for each grade) around anchor texts for the Helena school district. But honestly, there is so much good stuff out there, that you'll be tripping over great lessons after a quick internet search.
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