The Black Student Unions (BSU) of Harriton and LM hosted a vibrant celebration of Black History Month that brought students, staff, families and friends together in the for an evening of artistry, entertainment and education.
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LMSD schools will celebrate Black History Month throughout February with a range of educational and enrichment activities. While African American history is embedded in the year-long curriculum at all levels, this month offers an opportunity for deeper exploration of significant figures and events. Schools will feature displays showcasing art, literature, and key historical insights, reinforcing classroom learning. Additionally, various programs and activities will highlight the profound contributions of African Americans throughout history.
Since 1976, every American president has designated February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme. The theme for Black History Month this year is A Century of Black History Commemorations.
Throughout the month, we will share information, events and programs celebrating Black History Month from all 11 schools. Click the respective links below to see what's happening at your school and be sure to check back here as we continue to add updates all throughout February!

Harriton High School is observing Black History Month with daily “Black Fact of the Day” announcements throughout February. Students also engage in Black History Month–focused advisory lessons on February 2 and February 6.
In addition, Harriton is planning a student-run Black History Month showcase during the week of February 23, with details forthcoming!

Lower Merion High School’s Black History Month programming centers on “Shades of Black,” a student-led celebration scheduled for February 26, with plans to partner with Harriton High School’s Black Student Union.
Throughout February, Black History facts are shared during morning announcements. Students can also participate in an after-school poster-painting session open to BSU members and friends, with artwork displayed in the Upper Atrium. Additional activities include Black History–themed Jeopardy during L&L periods and a Friday music playlist curated by the BSU, featuring Black artists, played between classes.

Black Rock Middle School is marking Black History Month with a series of meaningful, classroom-based and school-wide learning experiences designed to promote reflection, dialoguen and community. Throughout February, students engage with Black History Month themes through morning announcements and schoolwide participation in the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) African American Read-In on Friday, February 6, coming together to read and celebrate books by African American authors and illustrators in community.
Classroom-based lessons and library resources curated by the school’s DEIB team and librarian further support learning throughout the month, ensuring Black History Month is recognized across disciplines and grade levels. The school also features a large display of historic Time magazine covers highlighting influential African American leaders, icons, artists and politicians who have shaped Black history and culture.

Welsh Valley Middle School will observe Black History Month through a wide range of interdisciplinary, inquiry-based learning experiences across grade levels and subject areas. A centerpiece of the month is the Black History Month Walking Tour, which showcases student projects displayed on bulletin boards throughout the building and allows classes to engage with one another’s work through guided tours and reflection.
Throughout February, students explore Black history and culture through research projects, multimedia exhibits, collaborative art, literature, music and STEM-focused lessons. Activities include studying influential African American figures across science, mathematics, medicine and the arts; examining historical eras such as Reconstruction; exploring Black contributions within global and Francophone cultures; and reflecting on ethical questions, identity, creativity and social impact.
School-wide experiences—such as morning announcements, the African American Read-In, and service-learning projects connected to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy—further reinforce learning, dialogue and community connection across the school.
View a PDF with more detail here.

Belmont Hills Elementary School is celebrating Black History Month through a variety of engaging, school-wide activities that highlight African American history, culture and contributions. Students will participate in daily, student-led morning announcements and explore Black History Month themes through reading and writing lessons infused into the regular curriculum.
In addition, Belmont Hills will host an African Music and Culture assembly, as well as a first-grade assembly spotlighting famous African Americans. Student learning will be showcased through hallway displays and digital signage throughout the building, creating visible opportunities for reflection and celebration across the school community.

Cynwyd Elementary is hosting a Black History Laser Light and Music Assembly on February 5, combining multimedia elements with lessons on why Black History is commemorated, how Black communities preserved their stories before official recognition, and how Black History Month grew from a week into a nationwide movement. The program emphasizes how students can carry this legacy forward through kindness, inclusion, and active participation in history.
Students will also contribute to a collaborative bulletin board highlighting historical and contemporary Black trailblazers. Each student draws and writes about a trailblazer they learned about, creating a shared visual display.

Gladwyne Elementary is recognizing the 100th anniversary of the first Black History Month through a school-wide, interdisciplinary approach. Each grade level and special area class is assigned a thematic focus—such as arts and music, sports and entertainment, scientists and inventors, trailblazers and “firsts,” and leaders and activists—and studies one African American individual and their contributions. Students create visible displays or projects to share with the school community.
Throughout the month, students participate in daily Black History trivia questions and a Black History Month scavenger hunt. The month culminates in a whole-school morning meeting on February 27, led by Wolf Ambassadors, where students will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Merion Elementary’s Black History Month programming is embedded across grade levels. Fourth-grade students are creating character trait portraits, while first-grade students read mini-biographies using PebbleGo, focusing on trailblazers such as Bessie Coleman. Each student completes a mini biography displayed in the hallway.
Second-grade students participate in a class-wide biography project, collaboratively researching one influential Black individual. Groups focus on different aspects of the person’s life—early life, later life, achievements, timeline, portrait, and sources—combining their work to create a classroom door display.

Penn Valley Elementary is observing Black History Month with daily Morning Meeting lessons aligned to the year’s theme, student-led morning announcements, and grade-level instruction throughout February.
Grade-level themes include:
Key events include a school-wide Black History Month Morning Meeting on February 5 and a school-wide assembly on February 26 featuring The Rhythm World Drum and Dance Experience.

Penn Wynne Elementary is engaging students in multiple interactive Black History Month activities, including daily Black History trivia from February 2–27 and a school-wide scavenger hunt from February 6–27. Teachers are encouraged to guide students in visiting and exploring Black History–themed classroom door displays throughout the building.
Fourth-grade students will also participate in a Black History Month read-aloud with County Commissioner Jamila Winder on February 10. School-wide assemblies include a Black History Laser Tribute on February 9 and a Black History Month celebration led by Mr. Trawick on February 24.
The Black Student Unions (BSU) of Harriton and LM hosted a vibrant celebration of Black History Month that brought students, staff, families and friends together in the for an evening of artistry, entertainment and education.
Chosen Dance Company aims to demonstrate that Hip-Hop dance is a true art form, accessible to audiences regardless of age, ethnicity or gender!
OKRA Dance Company led students through a captivating journey across centuries of American history, demonstrating how migration, culture and communication have influenced the evolution of theatrical dance.
Students, staff, family and friends gathered in the auditorium and Aces’ Atrium to participate in this entertaining and educational celebration of Black History!
After completing a research project on influential African American inventors, scientists and innovators, students in Elaine Johnson’s third grade class welcomed guests to their classroom for a special "Gallery Walk" as they put their hard work on display.
The first grade class at Belmont Hills recently capped off Black History Month with a special assembly celebrating the life and works of iconic African American scientists.
In culmination of a month-long celebration of Black History at the middle school level, LMSD welcomed celebrated author Torrey Maldonado Bala Cynwyd, Black Rock and Welsh Valley from February 20-22, 2024!
The AARI is a groundbreaking effort founded in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to celebrate African American literature and authors, and to promote literacy as a significant aspect of Black History Month.
The Panthers welcomed Ugandan singer, songwriter and educator Ssuuna for an engaging and interactive assembly introducing students to the artistry of East African cultures through dance, music and storytelling.
As part of their Black History Month programming, students recently completed a research project combining elements from both their English/Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies classes.
In the fourth and final installment of the video series, Director of School & Community Relations Amy Buckman speaks with Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Shawanna James-Coles about Belonging.
Bala Cynwyd recently welcomed Hip Hop Fundamentals – an award-winning group of certified teaching artists and professional breakdancers – for an action-packed and educational cultural enrichment assembly as part of the Knights' Black History Month programming.
Gladwyne's theme for Black History Month was Amazing Young Activists Making Change in the World as students had the opportunity to learn about African-American youths who are working to create positive change in their communities and the world-at-large!
As part of the Black History Month programming at Welsh Valley Middle School, seventh grade social studies students spent time researching influential African-American historical figures before commemorating each of them in a giant, fourteen-foot-long mosaic!
Penn Valley recently welcomed Hip Hop Fundamentals for a fun-filled and engaging cultural enrichment assembly as part of the school's Black History Month programming!
When Carter G. Woodson established "Negro History Week" in 1926, he realized the importance of providing a theme to focus the attention of the public. The intention has never been to dictate or limit the exploration of the Black experience, but to bring to the public’s attention important developments that merit emphasis.
For those interested in the study of identity and ideology, an exploration of ASALH’s Black History themes is itself instructive. Over the years, the themes reflect changes in how people of African descent in the United States have viewed themselves, the influence of social movements on racial ideologies, and the aspirations of the black community.
The changes notwithstanding, the list reveals an overarching continuity in ASALH - dedication to exploring historical issues of importance to people of African descent and race relations in America.
Learn more about the ASALH and the origins of Black History Month here!
2026 marks a century of national commemorations of Black history. Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, George Cleveland Hall, William B. Hartgrove, Jesse E. Moorland, Alexander L. Jackson, and James E. Stamps institutionalized the teaching, study, dissemination, and commemoration of Black history when they founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) on September 9, 1915.
In 1925, when Dr. Carter G. Woodson planned the inaugural week-long observance of Black history, he could hardly have anticipated the imprint he would leave on the world. From Negro History Week to Black History Month, ASALH has carried forth the tradition, and the observances have become part of the warp and weft of American culture and increasingly the global community. For our 100th theme, the founders of Black History Month urge us to explore the impact and meaning of Black history and life commemorations in transforming the status of Black peoples in the modern world.
As part of the global African diaspora, people of African descent in the United States have viewed their role in history as critical to their own development and that of the world. Along with writing Black histories, antebellum Black scholars north of slavery started observing the milestones in the struggle of people of African descent to gain their freedom and equality. Revealing their connection to the diaspora, they commemorated the Haitian Revolution, the end of the slave trade, and the end of slavery in Jamaica. They observed American emancipation with Watch Night, Jubilee Day, and Juneteenth celebrations. Eventually they feted the lives of individuals who fought against slavery, most notably Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The scholar Arthur A. Schomburg captured the motivation of Black people to dig up their own history and present it to the world: “The American Negro must remake his past in order to make his future.”
