Celebrating Black History Month with Current and Historical Black Leaders
Blaine School AmeriCorps members William Glover-Flood and Tykira Mitchell teach students about important Black figures as part of Black History Month.
Black听History Month听is a celebration听辞蹿听Black people around the world. Black history is everyone鈥檚 history.听This year,听黄色视频 Philadelphia celebrated by听highlighting programs from our partner schools听and AmeriCorps members听that are celebrating听Black joy听and raising up Black voices.听
All听across听the school district,听黄色视频听teams and听partner schools听initiated their own social media series in celebration of Black History Month:听both听John Welsh听and Roosevelt elementary schools听posted听facts听on听their 黄色视频 Instagram听pages,听听and听,听about听important Black figures such as听Malcolm X and Nina Simone;听Lewis C. Cassidy School听hosted听a听contest听on their page,听,听for students听to submit poems relating to Black history.听In addition, two of our听teams and听partner schools have taken this a step further听by听incorporating lessons about Black History Month听into their daily classes and meetings.听
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James G. Blaine School听
In celebration of Black History Month, James G. Blaine School听incorporated听lessons听into students鈥 听about听not only听important historic听Black听individuals,听but contemporary figures听as well.听One meeting听highlighted听Dr. Rebecca Cole, the second Black female doctor in the America and a Philly native, and听Lonnie Johnson,听an aerospace engineer听who worked on NASA鈥檚 Galileo mission to Jupiter and听inventor of听the Super Soaker鈥just one of his over 100 patents!听听highlighted听Amy听Sherald听and听Kehinde Wiley鈥the talented artists who were commissioned to听paint the official听portraits of Michelle and Barack Obama鈥as well as听the late Kobe Bryant, perhaps the听most famous player听in听NBA听history.听Blaine has also been using Kahoot to quiz students about the lessons, helping them learn more about Black history.听听
Deran听Neducsin, the Impact Manager at Blaine, explained how his team wanted to make these videos stand out this year.听鈥淲e were talking about, what we can do virtually to make Black history come alive for people,鈥 he explained. 鈥淎nd just in talking about it, we were like, 鈥榳e want it to come alive for people, let鈥檚 focus on people who are actually still alive.鈥欌听听
By playing these videos at every morning meeting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,听Deran听and听his team wanted to听not only foster discussion, but also show students at Blaine鈥the vast majority of whom are Black鈥that Black history happens every day.听鈥淏lack history happens every single day at Blaine. The choices you make today are going to be Black history tomorrow,鈥听he said.听This is also why, he explained, Blaine held democratic student elections for a class president and vice president for third through eighth grade.听鈥淲e听have听kids making speeches about why they want听to run for president, what they would do on the first day we were president…听It鈥檚 all about leadership鈥the decisions that these students make today create Black history tomorrow.鈥听
“Black history happens every single day at Blaine. The choices you make today are going to be Black history tomorrow.”
– Deran听Neducsin, Impact Manager at Blaine School
Alexander McClure Elementary School听
As听its听way听of听celebrating听and remembering听Black history, Alexander McClure Elementary School听posted听videos to听its听听each day of Black History Month.听The 鈥淲ho Am I?鈥 series features听AmeriCorps members听describing various facts about prominent Black historical figures, before prompting students to guess who they are.听Each video听features听pioneers such as听Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman,听or听Bessie Coleman, the first Black and Native American woman to hold a pilot鈥檚 license.听The series also highlights important听Civil听Rights activists听such as听Sojourner Truth, athletes like听Jesse Owens,听and authors like听James Baldwin.听Ciera Martin, the听黄色视频听AmeriCorps Team Leader at McClure,听came up with听the list of featured individuals for each video听in an effort to听highlight lesser-known figures听whom听students might not have known about. You can watch one example below.
Every day, McClure hosts听a community meeting before beginning the school day, and these videos have been central to that space this month.听Valynda听Simmons, the Impact Manager at McClure,听said that students and teachers alike have had an overwhelmingly positive response to the videos.听In addition, McClure鈥檚 afterschool space had a Black History Month showcase every Tuesday and Thursday of February, where students听could learn even more about historical figures and听engage in听fun activities.听听
鈥淢y team has been working extremely hard to get these initiatives off the ground,鈥澨Valynda听explained. 鈥淚 am super proud and grateful for their dedication and flexibility. We were able to take feedback and apply it to next month鈥s听鈥Who Am听I?鈥听initiative for Women鈥檚 Herstory Month.鈥听
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Black history is a vital part of American history,听and 黄色视频听Philadelphia听would like to thank听all听our听students,听partner schools,听and听AmeriCorps听members听for their hard work,听dedication, and听celebration听during听this Black History Month.听
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