Black History Month Poem for Kids

I’ve share Ty’s incredible Martin Luther King Rap that he wrote and performed in Grade 3, but now he’s taken it to another level. Yesterday, he was asked by his teacher to share something with his class for Black History Month…so he came up with this great poem to explain to kids who may not know about civil rights, slavery and injustice.

I’m so proud of my Ty, who at 12 years old, really has learned so much about black history and wanted to share it with his peers. Here’s what he is sharing with his grade 7 class tomorrow.

Black History Month Poem

In Black History Month, we recognize that in the past, people of color were treated much differently, and were thought of as inferior to white people. A long time ago, people of color could even be sold as slaves, to work for white people. Black people would be forced to drink from a different water fountain, go to a different washroom, and swim at different pools than white people. You had to eat at different restaurants and live in different neighbourhoods, as well as playing in different areas.

What does Black History Month mean to me?

As most of you know, my mom is white, and my dad is black. If we were back in those times, where discrimination was a huge problem, I would not have been born, because my parents wouldn’t be allowed to be together. I wouldn’t have some of my best friends, like Andre, Jakob and Michael, and a lot of other great friends. I hope you understand a bit more about Black History Month, and what it means to me.

Now here’s a poem that I made about this important topic.

Way back when, in the day,

Kids of different colour,

Couldn’t play with one another.

Different schools, different pools,

Different restaurants, different rules.

Can you imagine being on the bus,

And being told to go to the back?

All because the color of your skin

Was black?

Martin Luther King Jr. had something important to teach,

Through his famous ‘I Have a Dream Speech’

He fought to eliminate the inequities of the past,

By declaring the words, free at last, free at last

It’s been long since then,

But we still have a ways to go,

Thank you for listening,

It’s the end of the show,

And now you know about discrimination,

And how Martin Luther changed a nation.

Although we’ve come a long way, there is still discrimination,

Check out the controversy with no black Oscar nominations.

But thanks to Martin Luther, we celebrate the lives of Blacks,

Like Kobe, LeBron, Drake, and also Fetty Wap.