31 Classroom Black History Month Bulletin Board Ideas
31 Classroom Black History Month Bulletin Board Ideas
Are you looking for some black history month bulletin board ideas? If so then this post is for you. I’ve gathered inspirational ideas to decorate your bulletin boards for the entire month of February and I’ve included tons of meaningful black history month activities too!
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Leaders and Legends Bulletin Board Idea
Create a board featuring influential Black leaders that have made significant contributions to society such as Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Nelson Mandela. Include photos, short biographies, and inspiring quotes from each.
- Classroom Activity: Have students add their own research about modern leaders like Kamala Harris or Amanda Gorman.
Check out some inspiration to create a leaders and legends wall in your school.
1 | A Moment in Time
To copy this creative bulletin board idea display Time magazine covers that feature famous African Americans.
2 | Modern and Historical Black Leaders
A great way to keep students engaged with learning during black history month is to feature both modern day and historical black leaders such as Simone Biles and Jesse Ownes.
3 | Black History Month Flip Display
This interactive bulletin board display allows students to flip up the card to answer questions such as What is the Black Lives Matter movement and What is the green book?
4 | Famous Quotes Bulletin Board Idea
This printable Black history month bulletin board set features 24 prominent figures with inspirational quotes. It comes in 3 different colors too! You can find this printable set on Etsy here.
5 | The Civil Rights Timeline
Display key events from the Civil Rights Movement on a timeline, starting with the Emancipation Proclamation and ending with modern-day movements like Black Lives Matter.
- Interactive Activity: Allow students to add new events as they learn throughout the month.
Inspiring Black Inventors
Highlight African American inventors and their contributions, like Garrett Morgan (traffic signal), Dr. Patricia Bath (laser cataract surgery), and George Washington Carver (peanut innovations).
- Classroom Activity: Encourage students to create mini posters featuring an inventor, their invention, and its impact on the world.
Check out how to pull off an inventor bulletin board below.
6 | Inspiring the Future
Have students help you create this bulletin board by researching inventions from black inventors and then creating pictures to decorate the display.
Celebrating Black Arts and Culture
Feature Black artists, musicians, and writers such as Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Aretha Franklin.
- Student Activity: Let students contribute by drawing, painting, or writing poems inspired by these artists’ work.
Take a look at some examples of creative bulletin boards featuring artists that you can copy for your classroom below.
7 | Celebrating Black Artists
This is the perfect wall display idea for an art class. Have students draw famous black artists on brown construction paper with black markers to create these unique illustrations. Print out a piece of art for each artist and feature it on the wall as well.
8 | Black Musicians Hallway Display
February is the perfect time to feature some of the best black musicians throughout history. You can create an afro with vinyl records to really make your display pop!
Hidden Figures: Black Women Who Changed History
Focus on Black women trailblazers like Katherine Johnson, Madam C.J. Walker, and Shirley Chisholm. Use photos, quotes, and short bios to highlight their achievements.
- Classroom Activity: Have students write a paragraph about a Black woman who inspires them.
Check out some examples of bulletin board ideas featuring trailblazing black women below.
9 | From Hidden to Modern Figures
This interactive board features NASA’s hidden figures and modern women of STEM. Students are able to scan the QR codes to learn about how women of color have provided innovation in the fields of science and engineering.
10 | Influential Women of Black History
This BHM bulletin board features these 3 influential women:
- Mae Jamison, the first black woman to travel to space
- Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in history.
- Katherine Johnson, the first black woman to work for NASA as a mathematician.
Black History Word Wall
Create a colorful board with significant words related to African American history, like “resilience,” “freedom,” “equality,” and “empowerment.”
- Classroom Activity: Each student can choose a word and write a short essay or paragraph on its significance in Black history.
Read on to see how to pull off this bulletin board idea in your classroom.
11 | I Can Change the World with My Words
This bulletin board reminds students that they can change the world with their words. It features famous African Americans who have done just that along with inspirational words.
The Colors of Freedom
Use the colors of the Pan-African flag (red, black, and green) to create a visually striking display. Include historical figures, freedom fighters, and activists who embodied these colors.
- Classroom Activity: Let students create artwork or poems reflecting the themes of unity, strength, and liberation.
Check out an example below of a bulletin board featuring the colors of the Pan-African flag.
12 | Black History Month Bulletin Board Idea
This bulletin board features the colors of the Pan-American flag along with inspirational words and figures to represent black history month.
13 | African American Literary Giants
Dedicate the board to African American authors and poets like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Toni Morrison. Include their famous book covers, quotes, and excerpts.
- Student Activity: Host a reading challenge where students share their favorite passages.
Unsung Heroes Classroom Black History Month Bulletin Board Idea
Highlight lesser-known figures in African American history, such as Claudette Colvin (who refused to give up her bus seat before Rosa Parks) and Bayard Rustin (a key strategist behind the Civil Rights Movement) or the librarians during the time that it was illegal for black people to read.
- Learning Activity: Encourage students to research and present on an unsung hero of their choice.
14 | Librarians Bulletin Board Idea
Here’s a great idea for a black history month bulletin board for the school library. This bulletin board features black librarians who contributed to the field.
Feature an African American Leader
Teach the class about one influential African American leader and create a bulletin board centered around that person. You can even get the entire school involved by creating a black history month bulletin board contest. You can assign each classroom one black historical figure to research and then showcase on their hallway bulletin board.
- Classroom Activity: Have students right a paper about how this individual has influenced history.
Here are some Ideas of Famous Black Americans that you can feature on your bulletin boards:
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Rosa Parks
- Barak Obama
- Maya Angelou
- Malcolm X
- Harriet Tubman
- Frederick Douglass
- Ruby Bridges
- Carter G. Woodson
- Thurgood Marshall
- Jackie Robinson
- Michelle Obama
- Oprah Winfrey
- Muhammad Ali
- Serana Willaims
Check out some inspiration below of bulletin board displays featuring famous African Americans throughout time.
15 | Martin Luther King Jr. Bulletin Board
Have each student work on one piece of the artwork that combines to create Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Students can also research and add their favorite MLK quote.
16 | Muhammad Ali Bulletin Board Idea
Student in this elementary classroom each wrote several interesting facts about Muhammad Ali. The hallway features his quote, “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it then I can achieve it.”
Inspirational Classroom Black History Month Bulletin Board Ideas
February is the perfect time to inspire young minds with stories of change from black leaders that did not accept the status quo. Take this opportunity to create a bulletin board that inspires them to be the change as well. Check out some amazing bulletin board ideas that do just that below.
17 | Meet the Change Agents Bulletin Board Idea
This bulletin board features famous African Americans that inspired change throughout history.
18 | Inspirational Black History Month Bulletin Board
This inspirational bulletin board features some of the greatest African American leaders and challenges students to dream like Martin, Invent like George, Run like Jesse and be brave like Ruby!
We Are Black History
To inspire your students, create a bulletin board with the important message that they are part of black history. To do this you can use pictures of African American leaders to create part of a person for example their hair or their body. Check out some examples of what I mean below.
19 | This is Us
This creative bulletin board uses pictures of black leaders to builds a woman’s afro.
20 | Creative Black History Month Display
This woman’s body is created with pictures of famous black leaders both past and present. Her curly hair was created with rolled black construction paper stapled to the bulletin board.
21 | I am Black History Classroom Door
Here’s an inspirational idea that you can use for a black history month classroom door or bulletin board. Compile black and white photos of African American leaders to create a large afro with a crown on top.
February Bulletin Board Ideas
In addition to February being black history month it’s also the month of Valentine’s Day. Many teachers like to incorporate the two themes into one bulletin board. Check out some examples below of how to pull that off.
23 | Valentines and Black History Month Bulletin Board Idea
Here’s an idea to combine your Valentines and Black history month décor for February. This is a printable kit that you can find on Etsy here. The conversation hearts features the names and photos of 35 black heroes.
24 | Getting to the Heart of Black History
Another way to incorporate a little Valentine Day theme is to write, “Getting into the Heart of Black History” in large bulletin board letters. Have students research one influential African American individual and create a poster all about them to decorate this display.
Black History Month Bulletin Board Ideas for Elementary School
If you want some ideas for your elementary classroom to teach your students about black history month and also to decorate your class bulletin board then check out these next few ideas.
25 | Printable Black History Month Bulletin Board
This printable bulletin board kit can be found on Etsy here. It features 25 notable black figures, with name tags and a description of each. You can have students each choose one person to research and write a paper about.
26 | We Have a Dream
This classroom activity is perfect for younger students to complete on Martin Luther King Day. Have students use shapes to create Martin Luther King Jr and then have students write about their dreams for a better future.
27 | Black History Wax Museum Activity
Putting on a live wax museum for black history month is a creative way for students to learn about the achievements of black Americans! Here is how you pull it off:
- Have students each choose one famous black person to research and create a poster about.
- Then have students dress like that person and give a short bio for the live wax museum.
- Invite parents and other students to walk through the museum and learn about these black historical figures.
- Be sure to take pictures for your BLM bulletin board!
Black History Month Bulletin Board Ideas High School
For a high school or middle school check out some creative bulletin board ideas to catch your student’s attention during black history month.
28 | Histagram
For a play on Instagram create a Histagram featuring a picture and description of famous black individuals.
29 | Squad Goals
Here’s a great bulletin board idea to copy for a high school or middle school hallway. Feature famous black inventors, mathematicians, engineers and architects on clipboards. Add QR codes so students can scan to learn more about these important people.
Black History Month Posters
If you want an easy idea that also looks great how about getting some black history month posters. Then use the posters to decorate your bulletin board. Check out below some awesome looking posters that I found for black history month and where to get them.
30 | Colorful Black History Month Posters
These great posters would make a statement on your classroom bulletin board. This is a printable kit of 10 posters that you can instantly download and print yourself. This kit is available on Etsy here.
31 | Printable Black History Month Posters
These beautiful posters are each mini works of art. They each have an artistic portrait, a quote and a mini biography. You can find this set of 12 printable PDFs available as a digital file format on Etsy here.
I hope you’ve found some new classroom black history month bulletin board ideas and classroom activities that you’re going to try this year. As you are gathering your favorite ideas feel free to save them to your Pinterest boards. To do that just click on the picture and then the P and choose your board.
Here are some more classroom ideas for this time of year…
29 Cute Valentine’s Day Classroom Door Decorating Ideas
50 Fun & Engaging 100 Days of School Ideas for Teachers