5 New YA Books on Black History and Life
Some members of the Facing History staff are exploring these five new books published within the last year, and we invite you to explore them alongside us and share your reactions with us. These 5 titles cover essential topics from Black history with young audiences and address contemporary experiences of young Black people.
![Cover for the book: Ain't All Burned the Bright](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/aint_burned_all_the_bright_book_cover.jpeg?h=2ce16ca3&itok=EOMN4a3M)
Black Athletes and Civil Rights: 6 Upstanders to Introduce to Your Students
Beyond the 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team immortalized in the film Cool Runnings, Black athletes have played more central roles at the Winter Olympics than many people might realize. As we cheer on the 2022 Black Olympians, Black History Month is a great time to look back on the impact that Black Olympians and other Black athletes have beyond the world of sports.
![Portrait photo of boxing champion Jack Johnson in b&w](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/Jack_Johnson_portrait_photo_b%26w.jpeg?h=b388cfb8&itok=faMo6l1d)
Why and How to Teach Brown Girl Dreaming
Facing History offers an overview and guide for Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming, an ideal book to teach in the middle school classroom.
![The Book Cover of Brown Girl Dreaming.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/brown_girl_dreaming_cover_graphic.jpeg?h=d7fada95&itok=N_RjYI_j)
African Americans and the History of "Human Rights"
As a United Nations panel of experts is set up to investigate systemic racism and human rights abuses against Black people around the world, we explore a series of African American leaders who have invoked the language of “human rights” to underscore the urgency of their situation here in the U.S.
![Olympians on the podium, bowing their heads and raising a fist with a black glove.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/Fist_raised_Olympics_1968public_domain.jpeg?h=96687ce6&itok=yaBd2oCU)
5 New Books on Black History
These titles cover themes in Black history that are closely connected to the themes of our educator resources including the significant roles of Black people in the construction of the U.S. and the implications of decisions to memorialize (or not memorialize) those events.
![Book cover images of The South and Black Hands, White House](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/south_black_hands_book_covers.jpeg?h=cabca9e9&itok=Jexh0Mbc)
Deep Dive into Black History: 12 Events + Resources for Educators
Below is a curated list of classroom resources and educator-relevant events available from Facing History’s peer and partner organizations across the education space this month and beyond.
![Black Soldier Reading on Truck photo in b&w](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/black_soldier_reading_on_truck_b%26w_photo.png?h=a6c55029&itok=LH_UL_Yi)
9 Leaders from Black History You Should Know
Learning about the larger systems and historical events that have played central roles in shaping Black history is vitally important, but it is also valuable to explore the individual lives, ideas, choices, and legacies of key figures in that unfolding story.
![Clara Luper Giving Speech Microphones Photo](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/Clara_Luper_speech_microphone_photo.png?h=047a4db4&itok=aXSNGzW9)
15 Classroom Resources on Black History and Life
What follows is an invitation to engage with important themes raised by Black History Month this February and throughout all of the months of the year.
![Shirley Chisholm B&W Portrait Photo](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/Shirley_Chisholm_b%26w_portrait_photo.png?h=a6c55029&itok=4x3iaEkx)
13 Teaching Ideas on Human Rights
During Universal Human Rights Month, in December, we invite you to use any of these Teaching Ideas grounded in social-emotional learning (SEL) that provide ample social and historical context while being concise and easy to integrate into your classroom conversations.
![Paper cut outs of face profiles in different skin tones.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-04/graphical_diversity_paper_faces_1894061167.jpeg?h=3a5dff94&itok=qAstbdWw)
The Targeting of Uighur Muslims in China
Help students understand the Chinese government’s violations of Uighur people’s human rights, hear the voice of a young Uighur woman, and consider the international community's response.
![Two ethnic Uighur women pass Chinese paramilitary policemen](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/GettyImages-89015108.jpg?h=271dca7e&itok=dfBOIEgW)
Dismantling Democracy (UK)
Students examine the steps the Nazis took to replace democracy with dictatorship and draw conclusions about the values and institutions that make democracy possible.
![Germans look on as the Reichstag building burns on February 27, 1933.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Holocaust_1933_ReichstagFire_%20FH229429.jpg?h=40d6a7d7&itok=PBcAxqXk)