1. Black History Month
Person of the Day

2. Morning Announcements Intro Script
Black History Month
Morning Announcements Intro Script
Good morning [NAME OF SCHOOL] family! The month of February is Black History Month, and each day of this month we will teach you about one notable African American.
Teachers, take a minute to open your Person of the Day PowerPoint so all students can follow along with us to learn about today’s special person.
Today, we are going to celebration…. (fill in person of the day’s name here)

3. Carter G. Woodson February 1
Born in 1875 in New Canton, Virginia, Carter G. Woodson was the second African American to receive a doctorate from Harvard, after W.E.B. Du Bois. Known as the "Father of Black History," Woodson dedicated his career to the field of African-American history and lobbied extensively to establish Black History Month as a nationwide institution. 
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

4. February 2
Rosa Parks
Civil rights activist Rosa Parks (February 4, 1913 to October 24, 2005) refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama bus, which spurred on the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott that helped launch nationwide efforts to end segregation of public facilities. The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. Rosa Parks received many accolades during her lifetime, including the NAACP's highest award.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

5. February 3
W.E.B. DuBois
Scholar and activist W.E.B. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In 1895, he became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Du Bois wrote extensively and was the best known spokesperson for African-American rights during the first half of the 20th century. He co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (N.A.A.C.P.) in Du Bois died in Ghana in 1963.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

6. Sojourner Truth February 4
Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree, c to November 26, 1883) was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist best-known for her speech on racial inequalities, "Ain't I a Woman?", delivered extemporaneously in 1851 at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention. Truth was born into slavery but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in She devoted her life to the abolitionist cause and helped to recruit black troops for the Union Army. Although Truth began her career as an abolitionist, the reform causes she sponsored were broad and varied, including prison reform, property rights and universal suffrage. 
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

7. Harriet Tubman February 5
Born into slavery in Maryland, Harriet Tubman (c to March 10, 1913) escaped to freedom in the North in 1849 to become the most famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. Tubman risked her life to lead hundreds of family members and other slaves from the plantation system to freedom on this elaborate secret network of safe houses. A leading abolitionist before the American Civil War, Tubman also helped the Union Army during the war, working as a spy among other roles. 
After the Civil War ended, Tubman dedicated her life to helping impoverished former slaves and the elderly. In honor of her life and by popular demand, in 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the center of a new $20 bill.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

8. Serena Williams February 6
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American professional tennis player currently ranked as the 22nd best player in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). Williams began intensive tennis training at age three. She won her first major championship in 1999 and completed the career Grand Slam in Along with her individual success, Serena has teamed with sister Venus Williams to win a series of doubles titles. In 2017, she defeated her big sister at the Australian Open to claim the 23rd Grand Slam singles title of her career.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

9. Katherine Johnson February 7
Born in 1918 in West Virginia, Katherine G. Johnson made the most of limited educational opportunities for African Americans, graduating from college at age 18. She began working in aeronautics as a "computer" in 1952, and after the formation of NASA, she performed the calculations that sent astronauts into orbit in the early 1960s and to the moon in Johnson was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, and saw her story brought to light through a book and a feature film the following year.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

10. Sidney Poitier February 8
Sidney Poitier was born on February 20, 1927, in Miami, Florida. After a delinquency-filled youth and a short stint in the U.S. Army, Poitier moved to New York to pursue an acting career. He joined the American Negro Theater and later began finding roles in Hollywood. In 1964, he became the first black man to win an Academy Award for best actor. He also directed several films, including Stir Crazy and Ghost Dad.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

11. Garrett A. Morgan February 9
With only an elementary school education, Garrett Morgan, born in Kentucky on March 4, 1877, began his career as a sewing-machine mechanic. He went on to patent several inventions, including an improved sewing machine and traffic signal, a hair-straightening product, and a respiratory device that would later provide the blueprint for WWI gas masks. The inventor died on July 27, 1963, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

12. Zora Neale Hurston February 10
Born in Alabama in 1891, Zora Neale Hurston became a fixture of New York City's Harlem Renaissance, thanks to novels like Their Eyes Were Watching God and shorter works like "Sweat." She was also an outstanding folklorist and anthropologist who recorded cultural history, as illustrated by her Mules and Men.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

13. President Barack Obama
February 11
President Barack Obama
Born in Honolulu in 1961, Barack Obama went on to become President of the Harvard Law Review and a U.S. senator representing Illinois. In 2008, he was elected President of the United States, becoming the first African-American commander-in-chief. He served two terms as the 44 president of the United States. 
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

14. Cullen Jones
February 12
At age five Cullen Jones nearly drowned while splashing around at a Pennsylvania water park. Immediately after that incident his mother Debra enrolled him in swim lessons and it soon became clear that Jones had natural talent as a swimmer. Jones was born on February 29, 1984 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Jones grew up in Irvington, New Jersey.  In college, Jones won the 50 free at the 2005 World University Games which made him the first African-American athlete to win a gold medal in the history of the World University Games. At the 2008 Olympic Games, Jones became the second African American to win a gold medal as part of the 400 free relay team.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

15. February 13
Laila Ali
American athlete Laila Ali, born December 30, 1977, in Miami Beach, Florida, is the daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. In her own career ( ), she defeated some of the most prominent names in women's boxing, retiring with a 24-0 record. Ali has appeared on television as a fitness correspondent on news programs, a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and a co-host of American Gladiators.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

16. Watch her sing on Sesame Street!
February 14
Janelle Monae
Born in Kansas City in 1985, singer Janelle Monáe began performing as a child and got her big break in 2005 when she was invited by Big Boi to perform on several OutKast tracks. She was later signed by producer Sean "Puffy" Combs to his Bad Boy Records label. In 2010 her debut full-length album, The ArchAndroid, rose to No. 17 on the Billboard U.S. album chart and received a Grammy nomination. In 2016, she starred as Mary Winston-Jackson in the biopic Hidden Figures, which follows the lives of a small group of African-American women who worked as aeronautical engineers at NASA during the Space Age.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.
Watch her sing on Sesame Street!

17. Michael B. Jordan February 15
Born February 9, 1987, Michael B. Jordan was raised in Newark, New Jersey, where he got his start as a model and actor. His first significant break was an appearance on The Sopranos in He later landed major roles in landmark TV shows like The Wire and Friday Night Lights. Jordan garnered acclaim for his role in the film festival favorite Fruitvale Station (2013) and for his role as a boxing protégé in the latest installment of the Rocky franchise, Creed (2015). He returned to the big screen in early 2018 in the Marvel superhero flick Black Panther.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

18. February 16
Ryan Coogler
Ryan Kyle Coogler was born on May 23, He is an American film director and screenwriter. His first feature film, Fruitvale Station (2013), won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.[2] He also wrote and directed the seventh, spin-off, film in the Rocky film saga, Creed (2015). He latest project is the 2018 Black Panther movie which he co-wrote and directed.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

19. Gwendolyn Brooks February 17
Civil rights activist Rosa Parks (February 4, 1913 to October 24, 2005) refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama bus, which spurred on the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott that helped launch nationwide efforts to end segregation of public facilities. The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. Rosa Parks received many accolades during her lifetime, including the NAACP's highest award.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

20. February 18
Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges (born September 8, 1954) was six when she became the first African-American child to integrate a white Southern elementary school on November 14, 1960, escorted to class by her mother and U.S. marshals due to violent mobs. Bridges' bravery paved the way for continued Civil Rights action and she's shared her story with future generations in educational forums.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

21. February 19
Shani Davis
Born on August 13, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois, Shani Davis emerged from an inner city upbringing to star for the U.S. speedskating team. Despite unusual training methods, he became the first black athlete to win an individual Winter Olympic gold medal with his 1,000-meter victory at the 2006 Winter Games. Four years later, Davis became the first man to successfully defend his gold medal in the event.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

22. Simon Biles
February 20
Born in Ohio in 1997, Simone Biles has become one of America’s top gymnasts. After dominating at the junior elite level, she won her first U.S. and world all-around titles in In 2015, she claimed a record third straight world all-around title. She went on to lead the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team, nicknamed "The Final Five," to win gold at the 2016 Summer Games, and dominated the competition, winning gold in the women's individual all-around, vault and floor exercise and bronze in the balance beam. With 19 Olympic and World Championship medals, she is the most decorated American gymnast. Simon currently lives in Houston, TX.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

23. Staar Andrews February 21
Starr Andrews was introduced to skating at the age of three years old.  Fascinated by the shiny blades, she found the job of watching her mom skate from the bleachers tortuous.  A precocious child and determined to skate, she took off at lighting speed once granted the privileged. At the age of 9, Starr hit center ice with her artistic "Whip My Hair" routine, earning her over 42 million hits on YouTube.  Starr continues to strive towards excellence in figure skating at the Junior Ladies Level, and now part of Team USA. With her eyes set on the Olympics of 2018 and 2022, she's moving forward in her dream to become the first African American to win Gold at a winter olympics.
Click here to watch a short video about this young and rising African American star.

24. February 22
Elijah McCoy
Elijah McCoy was born on May 2, 1844, in Colchester, Ontario, Canada, to parents who had fled slavery. McCoy trained as an engineer in Scotland as a teenager. Unable to find an engineering position in the United States due to racial barriors, he took a job working for a railroad. McCoy invented a lubricating cup that distributed oil evenly over the engine's moving parts. He obtained a patent for this invention, which allowed trains to run continuously for long periods of time without pausing for maintenance. McCoy died in Detroit, Michigan, on October 10, 1929.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

25. February 23
Maya Angelou
Marguerite Annie Johnson Angelou (April 4, 1928 to May 28, 2014), known as Maya Angelou, was an American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet and civil rights activist best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. Angelou received several honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009. 
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

26. Jackie Robinson February 24
Jackie Robinson (January 31, 1919-October 24, 1972) became the first black athlete to play Major League Baseball in the 20th century when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers in Throughout his decade-long career, Robinson distinguished himself as one of the game's most talented and exciting players, recording an impressive .311 career batting average. He was also a vocal civil rights activist. He died in Connecticut in 1972 from heart problems and diabetes complications.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

27. February 25
Mo’Ne Davis
Mo'ne Ikea Davis (born June 24, 2001)[3] is an American former Little League Baseball pitcher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was one of two girls who played in the 2014 Little League World Series and was the first girl to earn a win and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history. She was the 18th girl overall to play, the sixth to get a hit, and the first African-American girl to play in the Little League World Series. She was also the first Little League baseball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Little League player.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

28. Michael Jackson February 26
Known as the "King of Pop," Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 to June 25, 2009) was a best-selling American singer, songwriter and dancer. As a child, Jackson became the lead singer of his family's popular Motown group, the Jackson 5. He went on to a solo career of astonishing worldwide success, delivering No. 1 hits from the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. In his later years, Jackson was dogged by allegations of child molestation. He died of a drug overdose just before launching a comeback tour in 2009.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

29. February 27
Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson was born in New York City on December 19, 1924 (although some believe her birth year to be 1933). She built a successful career by carefully choosing roles that exemplified quality and depth. She has won accolades and awards for her performances on TV, stage and in film, with credits including Sounder, Roots, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, and The Help. Tyson has won three Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, among other honors, over the course of her acting career. She was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.

30. Dr. Charles Drew February 28
Charles Richard Drew was born on June 3, 1904, in Washington, D.C. He was an African-American physician who developed ways to process and store blood plasma in "blood banks." He directed the blood plasma programs of the United States and Great Britain in World War II, but resigned after a ruling that the blood of African-Americans would be segregated. He died on April 1, 1950.
Click here to watch a short video about this notable African American.