Black History Month Bingo: Free Printable Cards With a Clue for Every Square
Black History Month bingo is a classroom game where each square is an important person, event or idea from Black history, like Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, George Washington Carver, Mae Jemison or the Underground Railroad. The caller reads a short clue ("She refused to give up her bus seat in 1955"), and players mark the matching square. Below is a 30-square list that prints as 5x5 cards with a free center, a clue for every square, and an easy 4x4 card for kindergarten to 2nd grade. Black History Month runs Monday, February 1 to Sunday, February 28, 2027.
The first button opens the generator with all 30 names and terms loaded. The second makes the 4x4 card for younger students. Set the number of cards to match your class and print.
▶ Make these Black History Month bingo cards
How to play Black History Month bingo
- Teach before you play. Spend a few days reading about the people on the card, or play the first round as a "learn as we go" game where you read the clue and the name together.
- Hand out cards and markers.
- Read a clue from the caller list below. For beginners, read the clue and the name. For older students, read the clue only.
- Players mark the matching square.
- Five in a row wins. The winner reads back each square and tells one fact about it.
Clue caller list (30 squares)
Read the clue, then wait for students to find the square. Check off each one as you call it so you can confirm the winner's card.
| Square | Clue to read |
|---|---|
| Harriet Tubman | She escaped slavery, then went back again and again to lead others to freedom on the Underground Railroad. |
| Frederick Douglass | He escaped slavery and became a famous speaker and writer who worked to end it. |
| Sojourner Truth | Born into slavery in New York, she gained her freedom and spoke out for the rights of Black people and women. |
| Phillis Wheatley | In 1773, she became the first African American to publish a book of poetry. |
| Benjamin Banneker | A self-taught scientist, he built a wooden clock, wrote almanacs and helped survey the land for Washington, D.C. |
| George Washington Carver | This scientist found many uses for peanuts and sweet potatoes and taught farmers how to keep soil healthy. |
| Booker T. Washington | An educator who led the Tuskegee Institute, a school in Alabama, starting in 1881. |
| Madam C.J. Walker | She built a hair-care business from the ground up and became one of the most successful businesswomen of her time. |
| Carter G. Woodson | This historian started a February history week in 1926 that grew into Black History Month. |
| Bessie Coleman | In 1921, she became the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license. |
| Langston Hughes | A poet who wrote about everyday Black life during the Harlem Renaissance. |
| Jesse Owens | This runner and jumper won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics. |
| Jackie Robinson | In 1947, he became the first Black player in modern major league baseball. |
| Rosa Parks | She refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. |
| Martin Luther King Jr. | A civil rights leader who gave the "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 and believed in peaceful protest. |
| Ruby Bridges | In 1960, at just six years old, she became the first Black student at her all-white elementary school in New Orleans. |
| Thurgood Marshall | A lawyer who won the case that ended school segregation, then became the first Black Supreme Court justice in 1967. |
| Katherine Johnson | A NASA mathematician whose calculations helped send American astronauts into space and around the Earth. |
| Mae Jemison | In 1992, she became the first Black woman to travel to space. |
| Shirley Chisholm | In 1968, she became the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress. |
| Wilma Rudolph | She wore a leg brace as a child after polio, then won three gold medals in track at the 1960 Olympics. |
| Barack Obama | He was the first Black president of the United States, serving from 2009 to 2017. |
| Ella Fitzgerald | This jazz singer was called the "First Lady of Song." |
| Garrett Morgan | An inventor who patented an early traffic signal and a safety hood that helped rescuers breathe. |
| Underground Railroad | A secret network of routes and safe houses that helped enslaved people escape to freedom. |
| Emancipation Proclamation | President Abraham Lincoln's order, which took effect on January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved people in the Confederate states free. |
| Juneteenth | On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free. It's now a federal holiday. |
| Montgomery Bus Boycott | For more than a year, starting in 1955, people in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to ride the city buses until the rules changed. |
| March on Washington | A huge 1963 march in Washington, D.C., for jobs and freedom, where Dr. King gave his most famous speech. |
| Civil rights | The rights every person should have, like voting, going to school and being treated fairly under the law. |
Black history bingo for K-2 (4x4)
For the youngest students, the 4x4 card has 11 well-known people, two key terms and three big ideas:
- People: Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Ruby Bridges, George Washington Carver, Mae Jemison, Jackie Robinson, Bessie Coleman, Katherine Johnson, Jesse Owens, Langston Hughes
- Terms: Underground Railroad, Juneteenth
- Big ideas: Freedom, Equality, Kindness
Call it with a picture and a simple clue: "She was six years old and very brave on her first day at a new school" (Ruby Bridges). "He was a scientist who loved peanuts" (George Washington Carver). "She flew into space" (Mae Jemison). For the big ideas, ask, "What word means everyone is treated the same?" (Equality.)
Ways to use the game
- Learn as you play: In the first game, read the clue and the name, then share one more fact. Students learn 30 people and events in one class period.
- Review game: After a unit, read clues only.
- Research stations: Each student or pair picks one square, researches it and becomes the "expert" who reads that clue in the next game.
- Daily square: Teach one square each school day in February. Play the full game at the end of the month.
- Writing follow-up: Each student writes three sentences about the person on their winning line.
Teacher tips for a respectful game
- Teach the history first. Bingo works best as review, after students have read and talked about the people on the card.
- Keep the focus on achievement and courage. The clues tell what each person did, and that's what students remember.
- Talk about hard history honestly and at the right level for the age. Younger students can learn that slavery was wrong and that people were brave in fighting it. Older students can go deeper.
- Celebrate all year. February is a great time to focus on Black history, and these people belong in lessons all year long.
- Check your list. Before printing, read through each clue with your class materials so the facts match what you're teaching.
More February classroom bingo
February is a busy month. Pair this game with kindness bingo, since so many of these leaders stood for treating people fairly. Groundhog Day bingo is a fun one for February 2, and classroom bingo has ideas for building your own review cards for any subject.
Common mistakes
- Playing before teaching. Students can't match a clue to a name they've never heard.
- Only the same few names. Many students know Dr. King and Rosa Parks. The card adds scientists, inventors, writers, pilots and athletes too.
- Skipping the read-back. Having the winner share a fact for each square is where the learning sticks.
- Making it only about one month. Use the clues again in other units during the year.
Want your own list, like a card on inventors or Harlem Renaissance artists? Open the bingo card generator and type your own words.
▶ Make these Black History Month bingo cards
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you play Black History Month bingo?
Each square is a person, event or idea from Black history. The caller reads a short clue, like 'She refused to give up her bus seat in 1955,' and players mark the matching square (Rosa Parks). Five in a row wins, and the winner shares a fact about each square.
Who should be on a Black history bingo card?
This card mixes leaders, scientists, inventors, writers, pilots and athletes, such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver, Bessie Coleman, Katherine Johnson, Mae Jemison and Jackie Robinson, plus events like the Underground Railroad and Juneteenth.
Is there a Black History Month bingo for kindergarten?
Yes. The 4x4 card has 11 well-known people, the Underground Railroad and Juneteenth, and three big ideas: freedom, equality and kindness. Call it with a picture and a simple clue.
When is Black History Month 2027?
Black History Month runs all of February: Monday, February 1 to Sunday, February 28, 2027.
How did Black History Month start?
Historian Carter G. Woodson started a February history week in 1926 to celebrate Black history. It grew over the years into the month-long celebration we have today.
