Black History Month is a powerful reminder of the heritage, accomplishments, and impact that African Americans have had on our world. In 2023, brands and creators should not just stop at surface-level recognition – but take this special time to truly educate their audience about Black history and legacy by supporting Black creatives or businesses and advocating for change.
Let’s use social media in 2023 effectively to honor all those who’ve bravely worked through hardship – celebrating them respectfully during February and beyond with creativity! Keep scrolling for the ideas you can use on your respective social media platforms to amplify black voices and give visibility to the persistent fight of equality.
14 Black History Month Ideas
1. Highlight a Black Woman Quote
One of the best ways a brand can support black stories, or in the example below, black women, is to have an authentic commitment to them. This can be done through sharing a quote weekly by some of the most influential black women or by interviewing your black staff and putting a spotlight on your brand’s Instagram account.
It’s always the best practice to not assume that everyone assumes you support black people. However, to ensure that messages are clear, concise, and accurate, you must make it known that you are an ally by creating safe spaces, using inclusive language, and supporting initiatives that focus on uplifting black voices.
Check out our round-up of black woman quotes below:
Essential Audre Lorde Quotes on Self-Care for Growth and Reflection
20 Maya Angelou Quotes That Prove She Was A Phenomenal Woman
2. Feature Black Wellness Brands
You should think outside the box with this one by focusing on smaller, high-quality brands like KB IN BLOOM, and not just during the month of February. Whether on your stories or a static post, celebrating Black-owned brands year-round is crucial, not just when it becomes trendy.
With that said, there are countless ways to use your social media feeds from now until the end of the year. Create a folder with smaller brands and creatives and rotate highlighting them on your social media account. Make your audience excited enough to follow through and support these black-owned brands.🙏🏽✊🏿
3. Do a Black-Owned Restaurant Round-Up
Support black communities by purchasing from small businesses in your community. The example below-featuring blogger, Lead_and_Louise, provides you with the blueprint on the effective ways to highlight black businesses in the area.
If your audience takes to it, create a series on your Instagram featuring new businesses they need to know about. Whether it’s a local restaurant or an online store, give them the scoop on what they should check out and why they need to do it now.
Read about things to do in Savannah, GA:
Fun Things To Do In Savannah Ga For Couples
4. Create a Book Club/Round-Up
A great way to feature the books you’ve read and are currently reading is by featuring well-known and lesser-known black authors. In addition, many excellent books and authors from the African diaspora have contributed significantly to literature.
From Toni Morrison and Alice Walker to Zora Neale Hurston and Octavia Butler, these authors have created art for us to enjoy. Reading their stories allows us to gain insight into the vast experiences of black people throughout history.
Read our extensive list of black history books for adults and kids:
40 Black History Month Books for Kids They’ll Love Reading
Best Books for Black History Month for Adults to Read
5. Black Artists Series
It goes without saying how much black culture has influenced the music industry in the United States. You can pay homage to familiar artists like Louis Armstrong, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, etc., or point your audience’s ears to the future of black music by doing a reel round-up of artists to pay attention to in February and beyond.
Use the reel shared below as your guide to sharing underground black artists on your social platform. If you’re looking for artists and need help figuring out where to start, check out our list of songs about self-love and our other list featuring songs about confidence.
If you have a creative community that craves information on the many accomplishments of black Americans in the United States, doing a series for the month is ideal. Guardian spotlighted Toni Morrison on their page, which was a touching way to honor her legacy.
Additionally, you can curate content from various black authors, activists, athletes, artists, and more to educate your community on topics they most likely weren’t taught in school. Finally, you can call it your BHM minute and add a call to action in your caption to encourage others to learn more.✊🏾💕
Read more information about Black History Facts:
25 Black History Facts You Need To Know About
7. Support the Black Lives Matter Movement
Put some action behind your support and show how you support and advocate for racial justice. The social injustice and harm caused by racism over decades require consistent effort, attention, and commitment to dismantling systems of racism and oppression.
Here are a few ideas on how to do that:
- Donate a portion of your brand campaigns, checks to grassroots organizations
- Get involved in your local organizations fighting for change and engage in meaningful dialogue learning the ways you can help in your city.
- There are organizations like The Outrage that donates 100% of purchases made in their DC store or online back to BIPOC & LGBTIA+ organizations fighting for racial justice, queer liberation and women’s rights.
- Read. Black people are not here to teach you all the ways in how to not be racist. We are tired from being subjected to racism and we need you to take the initiative to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Educate yourself on the long history of racism in America, beyond slavery. This process will be uncomfortable but it is necessary for change.
8. Highlight Black Creators
I love when more prominent brands highlight small black creators on their platforms because if you’re like me, knowing one more dope black creative is a win-win to getting an instant to follow my timeline.
It’s refreshing to see big companies support black creatives because when they do, I keep my eye on them to see if they will do it again. Recently, Adobe featured a black artist who created this beautiful piece you see below. Kudos to their leadership team for featuring a talented black artist I now support online.
Check out the self-love drawings by BIPOC artists you’ll want in your home:
13 Self Love Drawings You’ll Want Framed in Your Home
9. Tag Your Favorite Black-Owned Businesses
Black entrepreneurs, specifically black female entrepreneurs, are the fastest-growing demographic in the United States. They are leading the way in innovative business practices and creating jobs for their communities. But unfortunately, many of these entrepreneurs still face financial hurdles.
So, when I saw this post on one of my favorite accounts I follow, I thought how cool it would be for other influential accounts to make this same approach with their audience. One of the purposes of Black History Month is to shed light on how you can support a black-owned business with your dollars.
From lesser-known designers to online jewelry stores like The Sable Collective, investing in diverse businesses is essential as these companies often need more resources that could help them grow and become successful.
10. Do a Round-Up of Black History Podcasts
February is the perfect time to put your audience on to some of your favorite podcasts about black history you faithfully tune into each week. Check out the carousel post below on how Endy made it easier for their audience to discover and amplify the brilliance of Black podcasters. 🖤
Check out our round of podcasts about black history below:
10 Podcasts About Black History You Should Check Out
11. Promote Black Wellness Organizations
The wellness influence of the black community has been a positive one for many years. It has allowed us to better understand how health and nutrition can help our overall well-being and provide the tools to lead healthier lives.
Through this improved understanding, we have sought our organizations to help support the wellness journey. The carousel post below is an excellent example of black wellness orgs supporting the causes of mental health, emotional healing, and overall well-being. If you have a couple in your community you back, create a similar post and post it during February.
Read our round up organizations that care about black people:
7 Self-Love Organizations That Care About Black People
12. Feature Black Wellness Podcasts in a Round-Up
I’ve grown my black wellness podcast significantly this past year alone, and I’m excited about the possibility of stumbling on more. So if you like sharing information with your audience with a call-to-action attached, doing a round-up featuring the wellness podcasts is your answer.
They are in need of our support, and this is the perfect way to do it!
Check out our podcast round-ups we’ve featured on the site:
These Black Women Podcasts Will Have You Tuning In All Summer
13. Do a Weekly Anti-Racist Education Video
For online educators, prominent leaders, or activists, this may be the perfect way to address your audience while making a significant impact. What better place to do anti-racist videos than Instagram?
Instagram user allyhenry did a phenomenal job of breaking down the controversial and often misunderstood concept of white centering. I enjoyed listening to every bit of what she had to say. White Centering is a term that refers to the practice of centering white experiences and perspectives in conversations or interactions while disregarding or silencing the experiences of non-white people.
It’s important to be aware of this phenomenon today as we strive for true equity, inclusion, and diversity in our communities.
14. Instagram Reel on Black History Facts
The history of black Americans in this country is one of struggle and triumph. Yet, despite these struggles, black people have made significant contributions to American culture and society that should be celebrated.
I stumbled onto this reel at the end of 2022, and I almost couldn’t believe this information was never relayed to me. If you love facts about black history in your local area or the places you travel to, then providing your audience with little black history gems is a great way to show your commitment to the cause.
Check out our round-up of black history facts:
25 Black History Facts You Need To Know About
