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Honoring Black Leaders

Honoring Black Leaders

People of color have been historically underrepresented and underacknowledged. Students will address this as they learn about and showcase Black leaders.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper
  • Poster Board

Steps

  • Step 1

    Despite growing diversity, increased Black representation in leadership positions has been minimal. As of 2021 Black employees in the United States held only 7% of managerial roles despite comprising 14% of all employees. Have students research some examples of Black leaders, both historical and modern day. What is their background? What are they known for? What steps did they take to achieve their position? What obstacles did they face?

  • Step 2

    Ask students to choose one of the leaders they researched and create a poster to highlight the person's life and achievements. Encourage them to include a drawing of the person and some significant facts to highlight.

  • Step 3

    Have a discussion about the importance of DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) in the workplace. Then ask students to present their posters and discuss the person they highlighted.

Standards

SS: Time, Continuity, and Change: Analyze the causes and consequences of past events and developments, and place these in the context of the institutions, values and beliefs of the period in which they took place. 

SS: Time, Continuity, and Change: Read, reconstruct, and interpret the past. Imagine the future. Place oneself in various times and spaces and reflect on change.

SS: Power, Authority, and Governance: Develop awareness of rights and responsibilities of people, in specific contexts.

Adaptations

Have students research the life and accomplishments of Frederick Douglass, a man who escaped slavery and went on to become the key leader in the African-American civil rights movement in the 19th century.

Have students read Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and then ask them to reflect on how it impacted civil rights. What progress has been made? What still needs to be done?