A packed crowd of students, families and legends such as Aretha Franklin, Bessie Coleman and B.B. King gathered at the Graduate School of Science and Technology Elementary School Thursday night.
During the school's Black History Month celebration, students researched and acted out the roles of black leaders in history and today.
Other students studied black inventors and recreated their inventions, such as Alexander Miles, who invented the automatic elevator door, and Alfred Krall, who invented the ice cream scoop.
“Today, our young people carry on the legacy of African American history,” said Development Director Dennis Hutchinson Bell. “It’s great that they took the initiative to really look at what African Americans have contributed to society.”
Hutchinson-Bell said teachers engage students from early childhood through high school in the classroom with lessons designed to incorporate Black history.
Dean K. Simon said students worked for seven weeks to prepare for the event. This is the second year the school has held this event, but this year the “Living History” museum is a new initiative.
Fifth-grader Victoria Patterson researched Bessie Coleman, the first black woman to earn a pilot's license.
“She had to get her pilot's license in France because she wasn't allowed to get one in France,” Patterson said.
Sixth graders Makayla Irving, Eva Aguilar and Olivia Daniel researched Alfred Krall, the inventor known for his ice cream scoop, and created their own scoop. They drafted their plans on notebook paper before testing the scoop in a computer program and creating a replica model.
“We love ice cream,” Irving said.
Fifth grader McCanthony Dyke studied guitarist BB King. Dyck said the musician's birth name was Riley B. King, but he took the name BB from his nickname, “Beale Street Blues Boy.”
Dyke said he hasn't listened to much of King's music, but plans to. Simon suggested that Dyke consider choosing King, as he was a member of his school's guitar club.
“He also served in World War II and was a qualified pilot,” Dyck said. “And he won 15 Grammy Awards, plus his Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to music and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush.”
Aretha Franklin was played by 5th grade student Avery Nuels.
“I decided to choose her because I had learned about her in social studies class,” Nuels said. “I learned that her mother died when she was 10 years old and that she also goes by the name 'Queen of Soul.'”
The event will feature readings of Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech, Langston Hughes' “Harlem” poem, a play about Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected, and more. There were dance, music, poetry and acting performances. meeting.
Sixth grade student Violeta Gonzalez said it was a fun experience to participate.
“You get to meet new people and experience new dance moves. It's a really good experience,” Gonzalez said.
Students experience Texas State Aquarium's wildlife conservation program
Del Mar College faculty discuss the effects of local and state-wide racism
Years after Corpus Christi ISD ends its dual language program, another district takes over its dual language program.
