Black History Month this year will focus on African Americans and labor and the influence encourages all Americans to “recognize the important contributions made to our nation’s life and culture by Black citizens,” according to The Association for the Study of African American Life (ASALH.)

According to ASALH, the theme prioritizes the types of labor African Americans have provided throughout the country’s history, including “free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary.”

The theme aims to inspire comprehensive reflections on the connections between the work of Black individuals and their various workplaces, highlighting significant moments, themes, and events in Black history and culture across time and geography, particularly within the U.S., Africa, and the Diaspora, the ASALH website says.

Get kids excited about work and types of careers they may want to pursue, as well as the influence of black Americans in the workplace. Have them create a watercolor painting, like the watercolor painting below of President Obama, the first African American President. Inspire kids to learn about leaders like Jackie Robinson, the first Black American professional baseball player, or Bessie Coleman, first black female aviator. Let kids know that they too can make a difference in today’s modern world. Black leaders#Black history#Obama#art projects!