Read a Book

• One of the best ways to celebrate Black History Month is to read a book on a famous black leader or pioneer, or a key event in black history. Myriad biographies have been written on such famous African-Americans as civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington; scientist George Washington Carver; baseball legend Jackie Robinson; and of course President Barack Obama. There are also many hundreds of good books on key events in black history, from the Civil War to Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement. Amazon.com has more than 76,000 listings for books under "Black History" (see Resources below). For families, make this a mandate for each member of the family, followed at the end of the month by a series of oral "book reports" and a roundtable discussion of the black experience, its struggles and its legacy.
  
  

Tap Into the Media

• The History Channel, A&E's Biography and other TV networks routinely celebrate Black History Month with various specials and documentaries on key African-American leaders, celebrities and events, from the struggle for equality to the Harlem Renaissance and the Motown sound. Vow to spend at least one night each week during Black History Month with your family, watching one of these programs together.
  
  

Charity

• Contact volunteer organizations serving low-income minority households to see what you can do to help. Again, involve the entire family. Duties can range from sponsoring a week at camp for a group of inner-city African-American youngsters to visiting a senior center and having the kids read, or stage a little show, for elderly black residents. Encourage visits with the elderly as well; your kids can learn a lot from speaking with an elderly African-Americans, particularly those who lived through the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
  
  

Focus on the Kids

• Use Black History Month as a "teachable moment" and augment what your child learns at school with extra lessons in the home. Try to find activities you can do together, such as quizzes or other projects; the Family Education website (see Resources below) has a variety of challenging and compelling downloadable exercises, from coloring books to quizzes.
  
  

Take a Trip

• If you've got the time and your budget allows it, schedule a field trip to a site of historic African-American significance. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace in Atlanta, Georgia, is a great place to start, but if that's too far, there are important places all over the country, from Armstrong Park in New Orleans, where slaves were bought and sold, to the National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen in Detroit, Emancipation Park in Houston, and the Underground Railroad homes in Kenosha, Wisconsin.