There are more fun ways to celebrate Black History Month than dinners and talent shows. Here are Black History activities for church that can entertain and help organizers cover annual building expenses.
16th Street Baptist Church bombing Reenactment
The racially motivated bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama killed four young African-American girls. A reenactment can help younger church members learn more about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Members of the congregation can play the KKK members who bombed the church. Younger kids can also play the four girls who died in the incident. Instead of setting a real fire, use a special effects CD or video to display similar sounds.
This activity can include poetry readings and songs that were made in remembrance of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. There are numerous literary works and music that was influenced by this Black History event. Conclude this Black History month activity for church with a movie night. Display the movie Four Little Girls for your entire congregation to remember what happened in Birmingham, Alabama.
Host a Black Playwright
Schedule a date or weekend for live plays written by one black playwright to be displayed at church. There are many writers around the country who have an off-Broadway that has not been produced. This gives your congregation an opportunity to support African-American playwrights and possibly make it a fundraising event. Plays are complex black history activities for church, especially for inexperienced producers. Showing a play during the last week of black history month will provide enough time for your church to plan this even accordingly.
Select plays with stories that are relevant to the black community on a local or national level. The main roles in the story of your final chosen play for performances at church should be designated for black characters. This will allow you to hire or assign African-American actors to participate in these black history activities for church. Professional actors may be best to ensure a high quality play is shown to audience members. It is a suitable choice if this play will be publicized for members of the community to watch. Members of your church can also participate in the performance if it is only being shown to the congregation.
Indoor and Outdoor Black Street Fairs
The winter season offers limited opportunities to raise funds for church externally after the Christmas holiday. Plan a street fair or flea market that takes place on the sidewalks and main dining halls of your church. Invite black vendors to participate in this event by renting a table length space and selling merchandise. Meet with church organizers to develop a set of rules for these black history activities. Restrict the number of children who are allowed to vend and they must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Determine how much space is available to figure out the maximum amount of vendors allowed at this street fairs. The amount of available vending space may be directly related to the number of tables you have available at church. Church organizers may also benefit from designating one table to represent the entire congregation, where food and refreshments are sold. Do not allow multiple vendors to sell identical goods in the same category. A food vendor selling pies should be restricted to desserts if someone else including church organizers wants to sell hot dogs and sandwiches. Charge $5-$10 more for certain indoor tables where electricity is available in your church facility.
