Ahead of Black History Month 2021, global tech company Microsoft is celebrating Black changemakers and their contributions to modern-day American history.
The company recently created The Legacy Project, which strives to lead the world in re-envisioning Black History’s narrative to shine a bright light on the amazing accomplishments that African Americans have made in the past and are continuing to make right now.
Utilizing the world of technology, Microsoft will highlight and virtually transport 13 of the world’s top Black History Museum exhibits into every student’s home or classroom across North America. This partnership with museums, historical landmarks, cultural centers, athletes, and civic influencers worldwide will include a month-long series of FREE immersive and interactive experiences for K-12 schools and the community to celebrate and learn.
The Black History month journey will be available from February 1-28, 2021. Click to enroll in the program for your school and youth organization.
Microsoft wants the platform to inspire and educate the community about significant moments and prominent figures in Black History.
“Black History month is a time for us to emphasize the rich heritage and culture of black people as well as spotlight historical events and figures in the black community,” states Shy Averett, Global Sr. Community Program and Events Manager for Microsoft in Redmond, Washington.
“Black History Month is a time for people to come together and learn lessons from the past and apply them today and in the future.”
Participating classrooms will learn about policies that impacted Black communities. They will see a presentation that will showcase Muhammad Ali’s fight against systemic racism at the Ali Center’s “Truth Be Told” exhibit.
The students will also witness the struggle for life & liberty for all at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights as well as reading sessions of inspirational children’s stories about Black History like Hidden Figures & Let the Children March, with books read aloud by some of our favorite NBA & NFL players for K-2nd graders.
Highlights of the impactful virtual activities lined-up for students.
· Walk with MLK virtually & fight for civil rights in the Selma-to-Montgomery Marches of 1965
· Step back into the Civil Rights Era to witness the struggle for life & liberty for all at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights
· Learn about policies that impacted Black communities & Muhammad Ali’s fight against systemic racism at the Ali Center’s “Truth Be Told” exhibit
· Hear inspirational children’s stories about Black History like Hidden Figures & Let the Children March, with books read aloud by some of our favorite NBA & NFL players for K-2nd graders
· Fly through the eyes of WWII’s Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military aviators in the US Army Air Corps at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
· Hit a home run with Satchel Paige & Jackie Robinson at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
· Retrace Slavery from Enslavement to Emancipation – Ft. Monroe, Whitney Plantation, and Milton House – Tour Fort Monroe where the first Africans entered the country, explore the Whitney Plantation & see how Slaves lived & walk through the Milton House’s secret passageways of the Underground Railroad
· Explore the legacy of the African Americans in the US military at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
· Travel back in time with a fireside chat with Freedom Rider Hezekiah Watkins to protest social injustice & racial inequality & tour the Freedom Rides Museum
· Take a virtual scavenger hunt through George Washington Carver’s most noted inventions at the Carver Museum
· Celebrate today’s groundbreaking African American changemakers who are leading the world right now at Microsoft’s Current Day Black History Museum
· Listen to & learn about the origins of Black Music & Music of the Civil Rights Movement with the GRAMMY Museum
