Latine/Hispanic Heritage Month(September 15 – October 15) serves as a national celebration to honor the history, culture and influence of the generations who have come from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Cultural Calendar
A diverse array of events, engaging panel discussions, valuable resources, community spotlights, and much more!
September
September 15 - October 15
National Hispanic Heritage Month
September 21
International Day of Peace
A day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
October
October 1-31
LGBTQIAA+ History Month
LGBT History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. LGBT History Month provides role models, builds community, and represents a civil rights statement about the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community.
Student Resources
Click Here for Student LGBTQIAA+ Resources, Name/Gender Change Process, and District Policies.
Teacher/Staff Resources
Pride Month Toolkit – Learn more
This Toolkit includes a variety of resources, images, sample social media, and publications to support you in amplifying the voices and experiences of LGBTQ youth—this month, and every month!
Listen, Learn, & Share: Learn about LGBTQIA+ History by listening to these LGBTQIA+ Icons.
November
November 1-30
Native American Heritage Month
Native American Heritage Month, also known as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month in honor of the diverse indigenous populations here in America. This month is a time to reflect on the difficult history of colonization that affects many Native Americans who cultivated this land before most of us. It is a time to celebrate and uplift the voices that have historically been silenced by our history books and remember the importance of preserving histories that were almost forgotten.
Part of the equity work we are doing here in Philadelphia – work that is ongoing nationwide – is acknowledging, reflecting, appreciating, learning and more deeply understanding our history, especially the history of marginalized populations who have historically been mistreated. The Lenapehoking (Lenni-Lenape) people are native to the Philadelphia territory where we reside, work, or attend school. The City of Philadelphia has honored the Lenapehoking people through a land acknowledgement – a formal recognition of the indigenous population that came before us who were, often violently, removed due to colonization. This is a small, but vital, first step toward acknowledging our difficult histories and seeking restoration.
- Indigenous Peoples Day Philly
- Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania
- Penn Museum- Native American Voices
- Indigenous Pennsylvania
- Administration for Native Americans (ANA)
- Philadelphia’s Forgotten Forebears: How Pennsylvania Erased the Lenape From Local History
- Center for Native American and Indigenous Research
- National Museum of the American Indian logo
November 13-20
Transgender Awareness Week & Transgender Day of Remembrance
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
The week before TDOR, people and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise visibility for transgender people and address issues the community faces.
January
January 16
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Upcoming Events
January 15, 8:30am – 1:00pm MLK Day of Service at McClure School – Volunteers Needed
Alexander K. McClure Elementary School, 600 W Hunting Park Ave, Philadelphia, PA Learn More
January 15, 9am – 1pm – MLK Day of Service at Samuel Gompers School – 5701 Wynnefield Ave, Philadelphia, PA
January 15 – Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service. Learn More
February
February 1-28
Black History Month
Black History Month was created in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Initially called Negro History Week, the celebration expanded to a full month in 1976, in order to focus even greater attention on the contributions of African Americans in the United States and throughout the diaspora. Today, Black History Month continues to amplify and deepen the exploration and elevation of African Americans and their contributions to society through film screenings, museum exhibits, and by encouraging the study of the accomplishments of African Americans year-round.
Upcoming Events
February 6 | 5pm – 6:30 pm
Panel Discussion: Unapologetically Black Education: Strategies for Dismantling Systems of Domination
Dan Rodden Theater – La Salle University Union Building (1900 W Olney Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19141)
Register Here
February 9 | 5pm-9pm
Second Annual Rosa Parks Birthday Celebration
Free Library of Philadelphia – 1901 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Register Here
February 15, | 12:30pm – 2:30 pm
Living Wax Museum
Kearny School – 601 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19123
February 29 | 4-6pm
The Sound of Philadelphia: A Black History Month Dance & Music Production
Edward Gideon School 2817 West Glenwood Ave Philadelphia, PA 19121
Children $3 | Adults $5
March
March 1-31
Womens History Month
Women’s History Month began as a week-long celebration in March of 1982. In 1987, following the petitioning of the National Women’s History Project, March was declared “Women’s History Month.” Since then, Presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating March as “Women’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions of women to our nation and their achievements over the course of American history, in a variety of fields.
This month, the School District of Philadelphia celebrates and acknowledges the contributions women have made to our District, city, and nation.
Upcoming Events
Welcome to our Women’s History Month student digital art & performance gallery.
- Mayor’s Office of Engagement for Women
- Health & Wellbeing Resources for Families from the Office of Family & Community Engagement
- Philadelphia Resources for Black Women
- West Philadelphia Skills Initiative
- Economic Empowerment Resources for Women
- Women’s Opportunity Resource Center– WORC provides training, individual business assistance, incentive savings program, job placement, and access to business and financial resources.
- Women in Nontraditional Careers
- Self Employment Training Program
- Women’s Way – To inspire and mobilize the community to invest in organizations and leaders that will advance the rights of and opportunities for women and girls, and achieve gender equity for all.
- SCORE for Women Entrepreneurs – SCORE is here to help you fulfill your business ownership goals and achieve greater success. Along with resources and tools created especially for women entrepreneurs, SCORE offers free and confidential business advice. SCORE mentors, many of them successful women small business owners, are ready to help you achieve your business goals.
- The Wardrobe
- City of Philadelphia: Education Resources for Women and Girls
- Renegament Center
- City of Philadelphia Health and Wellness Resources for Women and Girls
- Women In Transition – offers free and confidential services in Philadelphia: telephone and crisis counseling, peer support groups, individual empowerment counseling, client advocacy and referrals, community education trainings, and WAVE empowerment self-defense classes.
- Resources for Human Development– RHD’s Family House programs – operating in Philadelphia and Norristown – remains one of the few programs in the country that works with mothers and children together in a residential treatment setting. RHD also provides a full network of supportive services for parents and their children in programs like Families in Transition, a transitional housing program that features intensive case management.
- Womenshelters.org
- Hope Pregnancy Centers
- Elect Program
- Maternity Care Coalition
- Women’s History Month Website
- National Women’s History Museum
- National Women’s History Alliance
- National Archives-Women’s Rights
- National Parks Service- Women’s History
- Unladylike 2020
- New York Historical Society’s Center for Women’s History
- Women’s Way
- Amnesty International Women’s Rights
- U.S. Department of State- Global Women’s Issues
- Womenkind Worldwide
- UN Women
- How Men Can be Better Allies to Women
- UNICEF Gender Equality
- 9 Ways Men can become Allies for Equal Rights
- Girls’ Education and Gender Rights Issues
April
April 1-30
Arab American Heritage Month
This April the School District of Philadelphia celebrates Arab American Heritage Month. Honoring the rich contributions of the diverse population of Arab Americans, April has been recognized as Arab American Heritage Month since 2017.
An estimated 3.7 million Americans have Arab roots, according to the Arab American Institute, with ancestries traced to 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and others.
In a letter to the Arab America and the Arab American Foundation, President Biden wrote, “Diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and it is essential that we continue celebrating, promoting, and educating others about the myriad ways that the Arab people have advanced human civilization and contributed to the well-being of our nation.”
Upcoming Events
April 1-30
Diversity Month
Celebrate Diversity Month takes place in April every year. It was initiated in 2004 to recognize and honor the diversity of the world around us. It is a time to recognize and understand our differences, be it gender, race, ethnicity, faith, sexual orientation, and other factors, while honoring the common essence of humanity.
Welcome to our Diversity Month student digital art & performance gallery.
Multilingual/Linguistic Resources
- Multilingual Family Support
- Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs (OMCP)
- Multilingual Contact
- Philly Language Services
- Philadelphia Translation Services
- Translators
Neurodiversity Resources
- Neurodiversity Network
- Neurodiversity Work How More Inclusive
- Specialized Services
- Neurodiverse Social Communication
- Neurodiversity Articles
Accessibility/Disability Resources
- Office for people with disabilities
- Accessibility standards in the US
- Accessibility-checklists
- Workplace Accessible
- 5 Documentaries to watch on the importance of accessibility and inclusion
- Liberty Resources
- Disability Pride PA
Cultural/Immigration Resources
May
May 1-31
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Each year, May presents an opportunity to learn about and pay tribute to the enormous and diverse contributions that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have made throughout American history. AAPI stands for Asian American and Pacific Islander. The term is used to describe a diverse and growing population of 23 million Americans that include roughly 50 ethnic groups with roots in more than 40 countries. The term, “Asian American,” was first used by activists in 1968. Its creation was the direct result of radical cross-racial and ethnic solidarity movement building in the US in the 1960s. Very different peoples from the Asian diaspora realized that once coming to America, racism shaped particular shared histories and experiences that tied very disparate ethnic groups together. The term “Asian American” is deeply rooted in the community’s attempts to fight racism and other oppressive systems by building a sense of unity.
The history of AAPIs in America is a complicated one. As a country, we must reckon with the virulent and explicitly racist policies and practices that have been directed at Asians and Asian Americans for generations, as well as the consequences of a history of imperial conquest, militarization and extraction in Asia and the Pacific. But there is also a proud history of resistance and resilience, battles hard fought – and won – from Supreme Court landmark cases to cultural and linguistic reclamation and deepening roots of belonging, to the fight for visibility in education as well as in career fields. In AAPI America, the statement “We belong here” is not only a denial of AAPI people being viewed as “perpetual foreigners” – people who can never be real Americans – but a firm positioning of a people’s right to be here. Affirming Asian American historical presence and the long, ongoing struggle for civil and human rights as Americans is what we celebrate this month.
Affirming Asian American historical presence and the long, ongoing struggle for civil and human rights as Americans is what we celebrate this month. Yes, AAPI heritage is worth celebrating too. Our food, fashion, folk tales, festivals, and famous people matter as well. But it is the history that remains invisible. Using May to lift up that history for even a brief moment helps to fight invisibility, and we celebrate that after nearly three centuries of presence in the US, the AAPI diaspora is finding glimmers of visibility.
Upcoming Events
- AAPI Planning Committee
Next Meeting: Thursday, May 9th from 1:00pm-2:00pm - May 13, 4:30 – 6:30 | Legacies of Japanese American Incarceration and the Philadelphia ConnectionShofuso Japanese Cultural Center
Lansdowne and Horticultural Drives
West Fairmount Park
Robert Buscher, Lecturer – Asian American Studies Program
University of PennsylvaniaFor 5 years, at least 125,284 people of Japanese descent including infants and the elderly were forcibly relocated and incarcerated in 75 identified incarceration sites. At the end of World War II, they were released from incarceration. Philadelphia served as one center of relocation for those who had been incarcerated. Learn about the role that Philadelphia played in the resettlement of Japanese Americans, with a particular focus on those Philadelphians who became actively involved in the Civil Rights movement.Attendees will get free Admission to the Shofuso Museum and a copy of the updated School District of Philadelphia Japanese American Incarceration curriculum guide. Refreshments will be served. - May 21, 4:15-5:30 | Humanizing China – COVID and Xenophobia Professor Guobin Yang
FACT Charter School – 1023 Callowhill Street(Parking available onsite)
Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Sociology and Communication
Director, Center on Digital Culture and Society
University of PennsylvaniaDuring the crises of COVID lockdowns, coverage of China focused on China as the source of COVID. The humanity of the people actually facing the terrible death tolls at ground zero of the pandemic were erased in the US consciousness. Anti-Chinese sentiment was spurred on by government officials at the highest levels. Ordinary Asian American citizens faced increased levels of attacks and incidents of anti-Asian violence soared. How do public portrayals of the Chinese hide the humanity of a people allowing for racial violence to become acceptable?SDP Teachers in attendance will receive a copy of Dr. Yang’s book as well as the young adult book Morning Sun in Wuhan. Refreshments will be served.
- Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month
- Reflections on (AAPI) History Month – Make Us Visible
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Month – 2022– This comprehensive guide offers resources for studying AAPI from a variety of perspectives.
- AAPI Heritage Official Website
- History of AAPI in Philadelphia
- Power of Words Handbook A Guide to Language about Japanese Americans In World War II
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Month – 2022
- AAPI Population in Pennsylvania
- Mayors Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs
- AAPI Data
- Korean American Historical Society
- AANHPI Resource Center
- Central Asian American Course
- South Asian American Digital Archive
- The History of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- Erasure and Resilience: The Experiences of LGBTQ Students of Color
- Coming Out Sheets: Multilingual
- Family is Still Family PSA’s
- Unspoken: Asian Americans on Coming Out to Immigrant Parents
- Telling Our Own Stories: Queer Asian Youth Writing Project
- I am Asian American
- First Queer Generation
- Kumu Hina: A Place in the Middle
- Always Love: Joanna Fang
- 10 South Asian LGBTQ Books that Changed My Life
- Q&A Space: Stories and Resources for the API LGBTQ Community
May 1-31
Jewish American Heritage Month
Jewish American Heritage Month, originally recognized as a week in 1980 and later expanded to a month in 2006, is a time to honor the rich history, culture, and contributions of Jewish Americans within our nation and abroad.
During this month, while celebrating the profound influence of Jewish Americans on our society, we must also take time to understand the history and pervasiveness of antisemitism. We acknowledge the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its impact on the American Jewish community as well as American society at large. Jewish American Heritage Month provides an opportunity to understand the history and complexities of the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to explore ways to engage in dialogue that upholds a commitment to understanding diverse perspectives, as well as combating hate in all forms.
As we honor Jewish American Heritage Month, recognizing the deep and personal grief many community members feel as they grapple with global current events and the uncertainty of tomorrow, it is important to use this month as a way to also highlight how Jewish Americans have helped and continue to shape the fabric of this country. With a focus on the age-old Jewish tradition of Tikkun Olam (healing the world), we aim to work collectively to promote empathy, critical thinking, understanding, and respectful dialogue that uplifts the rich legacy and the continued contributions of the Jewish American community.
Upcoming Events
Jewish American Heritage Month Planning Committee
Next Meeting: Tuesday, May 7th from 2:00pm – 3:00pm
To support your efforts to teach and learn about Jewish American culture, not only in May but all year long, please refer to these resources
ADL – https://www.adl.org/resources/tools-and-strategies/jewish-american-heritage-month-resources
Jewish American Heritage Month Website: https://jewishamericanheritage.org/for-educators/
Institute for Curriculum Services: https://icsresources.org/
The Weitzman Museum: https://theweitzman.org/education/
Jewish American Heritage Month Posters – also can be requested from Weitzman Museum
Jewish American Heritage Month – Learning Resource Calendar
Celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month
June
June 1-31
Pride Month (LGBTQIAA+)
Each June Pride Month holds intentional space to affirm and uplift the diverse LGBTQIA+ community throughout the United States. Initially celebrated in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Riots, and serve as a reminder that PRIDE began as a protest in response to police brutality and other injustices against the LGBTQIA+ community. While strides have been made toward mitigating oppression of the LGBTQIA+ community, there is still much to protest. Anti-LGBTQ legislation and acts of hate are increasing in this country which impacts the safety and rights for individuals. Pride Month is a time not only to celebrate the many contributions that the LGBTQIA+ community have given to society, but to also speak out as allies against homophobic/transphobic language and actions that impact this historically marginalized population. Whether you support LGBTQIA+ businesses, engage in Pride events and parades, donate to organizations that support this community, or speak up and engage in political action, Pride Month is a time to come together and show that love is always stronger than hate.
In addition to recognizing PRIDE, June is also World Refugee and Immigration Awareness Month, Caribbean American Heritage Month, and National PTSD Awareness Month.
Upcoming Events
June 5 – 12:00pm – 1:00pm | Virtual Pride Panel Discussion
Join us for a groundbreaking event this Pride month as the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will host a Virtual Panel dedicated to uplifting, educating, and highlighting the LGBTQIA+ experience.
Student Resources
Click Here for Student LGBTQIAA+ Resources, Name/Gender Change Process, and District Policies.
Teacher/Staff Resources
- Resources for LGBTQ+ Inclusive Schools K – 5
- Request free LGBTQ+ inclusive books for your K-3 classroom
- Resources on creating affirming spaces
- Trevor Project – 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health
- GLSEN 2021 National School Climate Survey
- LGBTQ Book List
- Pride Month Toolkit – Learn more
This Toolkit includes a variety of resources, images, sample social media, and publications to support you in amplifying the voices and experiences of LGBTQ youth—this month, and every month!
Listen, Learn, & Share: Learn about LGBTQIA+ History by listening to these LGBTQIA+ Icons.