Using music for Black History Month can be incredibly powerful in the classroom—but only when it reflects what should already be happening throughout the year. Authentic diversity teaching does not start and stop in February. Instead, Black History Month should act as a spotlight, highlighting musicians, genres, and stories that deserve a permanent place in music education.
When Black History Month comes around each February, many music teachers want to do more than press play on a playlist or rush through a single lesson. We want our students to engage, to understand, and to feel connected to the music they are hearing. At the same time, there is often an underlying worry: Am I doing this in a meaningful way, or does this feel tokenistic?
In this post, I’ll share how music for Black History Month can support authentic diversity teaching through listening, performing, and composing, while also linking to practical lesson ideas and low-prep resources that work with real students in real classrooms.
Music for Black History Month Should Be Part of Year-Round Music Teaching
Music for Black History Month works best when it connects naturally to what students are already learning. Black musicians are not a separate chapter in music history—they are central to it. Genres such as blues, jazz, rock and roll, soul, gospel, rhythm and blues, hip hop, and even popular music as we know it today would not exist without Black artists and composers.
When students only encounter Black musicians during February, it unintentionally sends the message that these contributions are “extra” or seasonal. Authentic diversity teaching happens when Black musicians are embedded across units on rhythm, melody, harmony, structure, texture, and style throughout the year.
Black History Month then becomes a time to pause and reflect, rather than start from scratch.
If you’re looking for practical ways to do this, I’ve shared classroom-ready ideas in this post:
20 Easy Lessons for Celebrating Black History Month in Music Class
Click here to read the blog post for more Black History Month teaching ideas.
These lessons are designed to work in February—but they’re just as effective for any time of the year when revisiting the same musicians, genres, and musical ideas.
Music for Black History Month Works Best When Students Actively Listen
One of the biggest challenges music teachers face is low classroom engagement. Playing songs about Black History Month without a clear purpose often leads to passive listening, vague student responses, and surface-level understanding.
Your music students will engage more deeply when they know what they are listening for.
Using songs about Black History Month alongside structured elements of music listening questions helps all music students focus on musical elements rather than just reacting emotionally or guessing. Asking students to identify rhythm patterns, chord progressions, texture, structure, or tone colour gives them a musical “job” and a clear reason to listen.
For example:
- Identifying a 12-bar blues structure
- Recognising repeated chord progressions
- Describing call-and-response patterns
- Noticing changes in texture between verses and choruses
This approach works across all ability levels and builds student confidence in both discussion and written responses.
To support this, I created Black History Month Musician Worksheets, Research and Music Genre Activities, which will guide your music students through researching about 29 famous black musicians and composers that have made significant contributions to popular music.
Link to the Black History Month Musicians Research Worksheets here.
These worksheets help students stay engaged while keeping lesson preparation manageable.
Using Music for Black History Month Helps Students Connect With Real People
Music becomes meaningful when all students understand the people behind it. Black History Month music offers a powerful opportunity to humanise learning by connecting sound to real lives, real experiences, and real cultural impact.
Here in Australia, I teach a lot of Aboriginal students. One important thing I’ve learned is that identity is not always visible. Aboriginal students do not always “look” Aboriginal—they may have blue eyes or red hair. I can’t judge a book by its cover. What matters is knowing my students and understanding what they will connect to.
The same applies when teaching music. Your music students will connect more deeply when they feel seen, represented, and respected. Using music by Black artists allows students to engage with stories of resilience, creativity, innovation, and influence—stories that often mirror experiences of marginalisation and strength across many cultures.
A great place to build these connections is through historical context. This post supports that approach:
Famous Musicians in the 1950s That Music Students Should Know
Follow the link here to read this blog post.
By learning about musicians as people, students begin to understand music as lived experience, not just sound.
Music for Black History Month Belongs in Listening, Performing, and Composing
Authentic diversity music teaching does not, and should not stop at listening. Black History Month and music should be woven through all musical classroom experiences: listening, performing, and composing.
Listening
Listening tasks introduce students to new styles and voices. Structured elements of music listening questions help them identify musical features and connect sound to cultural context.
Performing
After listening, students can perform excerpts, chord patterns, or rhythmic ideas from the music studied. Blues patterns and call-and-response structures are particularly accessible and encourage participation in the classroom.
Composing
Composing tasks allow students to apply what they have heard. Using a 12-bar blues structure or familiar chord progressions gives students a scaffold for creativity while reinforcing stylistic understanding.
If you’d like ideas for this approach, these posts may help:
- 12 Jazz Music Lesson Ideas for the General Music Classroom
- How to Make Your Blues Music History Lessons Fun
Songs of Black History Create Powerful Conversations in Music Class
Using music for Black History Month helps to open the door to meaningful classroom discussions—without turning your music lessons into lectures.
One example I love teaching is Fats Domino. His music provides a natural way to discuss how Black musicians shaped rock and roll, while others profited disproportionately from their work. These conversations can explore fairness, influence, intellectual property, and cultural appropriation in an age-appropriate way.
Music gives students a safe entry point into complex topics. Rather than feeling abstract, these discussions are grounded in sound, style, and historical context.
For additional background support, this resource is helpful:
Music Appreciation Resources to Teach the Background of Jazz Music
Use the link here to read the blog post
Black History Month Songs Should Reflect Musical Diversity
Black music is not one sound or one genre. Teaching with music for Black History Month should reflect the incredible diversity within Black musical traditions.
Genres you might want to include:
- blues
- jazz
- big band jazz
- ragtime
- gospel
- rhythm and blues
- soul
- hip hop
- reggae
Musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Etta James, Dizzy Gillespie, Robert Johnson, and Fats Domino show students the breadth of style, expression, and influence easily when using music for Black History Month.
Presenting this musical diversity helps avoid stereotypes and reinforces that Black musicians are not a single story, but many.
Why Music for Black History Month Works Best With Low-Prep Listening Resources
As a music teacher, you know you are busy. One of the biggest barriers to teaching music for Black History Month is time. Planning new lessons from scratch during an already full term can feel overwhelming.
Using low-prep listening resources solve this problem by providing:
- clear structure for students
- consistent expectations
- reusable templates that work with any music selection
I use the same listening frameworks throughout the year, adjusting only the music choice. This consistency helps students feel confident and allows teachers to focus on discussion and connection rather than paperwork.
If you’re looking for support, Black History Month Music Research Activities, Listening Worksheets and Lessons Bundle are designed to slot easily into your existing music teaching programs.
Grab your Bundle of Black History Month Music Resources here
February Is the Spotlight, Not the Finish Line
Black History Month matters. It provides an opportunity to pause, reflect, and intentionally highlight voices that deserve recognition. But authentic diversity teaching happens when Black musicians are embedded across the entire music curriculum—not confined to one month.
When students regularly listen to, perform, and create music shaped by Black artists, they don’t just learn music. They learn respect, empathy, and understanding.
If you’re looking to strengthen how diversity is embedded across your curriculum, my Makeover Your Curriculum resources are designed to support long-term, meaningful planning—not quick fixes.
Get your FREE Makeover Your Curriculum E-Book here
Music education is at its most powerful when every student feels seen. Black History Month is an important reminder of that—but the real work happens all year long.
Until next time
Happy Teaching
Julia from Jooya