Black History Is My History: Teaching My Children the Legacy My Grandmother Never Got

TheTeacherMama.XO
Feb 3
4 min read

Black history didn’t start in a textbook. It didn’t begin with a school assembly or a poster in February. For me, it started long before I was born. It started before my grandmother.

Who came into this world in 1922, four years before Carter G. Woodson launched Negro History Week in 1926. Before the country even attempted to honor Black history, she was already here—a living archive, a keeper of stories, a quiet witness to a world that refused to see her fully. She grew up in a time when Black history wasn’t celebrated, wasn’t taught, and wasn’t protected. And yet, she carried it in her bones. She lived it every day.

I’m the granddaughter of four Black American grandparents, with roots stretching from Louisiana on my dad’s side to Mississippi on my mom’s. My family lived through Jim Crow, segregation, migration, reclassification, and reinvention. They survived systems designed to erase them — and still managed to pass down pride, resilience, and a sense of belonging that I now carry into my homeschool.

These aren’t abstract ideas for me. They’re personal. They’re stitched into my family’s story.

And now here I am — a former classroom teacher turned homeschool mom of five. A tween, a first grader, a toddler, and newborn twin boys. Five little people who deserve to know the truth about where they come from, what their ancestors survived, and the brilliance they inherit.

So when I teach Black history, I’m not teaching content. I’m teaching legacy. I’m teaching lineage. I’m teaching family.

And I’m inviting you to learn alongside us.

Why I Built This Living Library

I created this page because I needed a place to gather the resources that tell the full story of Black American history—not the sanitized version, not the four famous figures version, not the we’ll squeeze it in if we have time version.

I wanted a place for families who want to raise kids who understand:

where Black Americans come from, what we’ve survived, what we’ve built, and why our stories matter

I wanted a space where our history wasn’t reduced to a handful of names or a single month. A space where the complexity, the pain, the brilliance, and the joy could all exist together.

This page will grow as I grow. As I learn more, I’ll add more. As I find better tools, I’ll share them. As I build new ORBIT activities, they’ll live here too.

This is our hub. Our archive. Our celebration.

Why I Created My Black American Activities

Let’s be honest. Most Black history resources barely scratch the surface. They skip the innovators. They skip the artists. They skip the organizers. They skip the Indigenous ancestry and forced reclassification. They skip the complexity that makes our story our story.

Not in my house!!!

Download your copy now: https://www.shuttleupandteach.com/blackhistoryfreebie

So I did what homeschool moms do best: I built the resource I couldn’t find.

I created a 30 day Black American Changemakers Study — a student led, hands on, ORBIT aligned exploration of 30 influential Black Americans across history, science, arts, activism, and culture. I made it for my kids, but I’m sharing it with yours. It’s free right now for the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, because this moment matters.

I also built age-banded ORBIT stations for Black History Month, parent context pages for the hard topics, and a growing collection of activities that honor the truth without overwhelming you. Everything is designed for real homeschool life, not Pinterest perfection.

Because our kids deserve more than a worksheet. They deserve a story that feels alive.

Why This Matters in My Home—and Maybe Yours

My grandmother was born in a world where Black history wasn’t celebrated. She lived long enough to see it recognized, honored, and taught. And now I get to teach it to my five kids—with pride, with accuracy, and with joy.

When I teach Black history, I’m teaching her story. I’m teaching my parents’ story. I’m teaching my children’s story.

And if you’re here, maybe you’re teaching your family’s story too. Or maybe you’re teaching your kids to understand a story that isn’t theirs, but still shapes the world they live in.

Either way, I’m honored to learn with you.

This is our history. Our legacy. Our responsibility. And our joy.

And this living library is just the beginning.

More coming soon as I build out the full Black American history collection.

Verified, Accessible Black History Resources

These are the sources I return to again and again—the ones that tell the truth without hiding the hard parts or flattening the brilliance.

Kid Videos

Brain Pop Free Black Hitory Videos https://www.brainpop.com/unit/black-history/

Voices of the Civil Rights Movement https://www.youtube.com/@VoicesoftheCivilRightsMovement

Google Arts & Culture

Black History and Culture — Google Arts & Culture

Indigenous Enslavement & Early Black American History