Lewis and Clark Middle School students shared the stories of famous Black athletes, scholars, politicians and activists of the past and present Thursday night at the Lewis and Clark Live Black History Museum.
The organizer, special education teacher Jessica Green, said she put the event on to teach kids research and presentation skills.
"It also helps to give them an opportunity to just kind of be the center of attention for a little bit because a lot of them, they don't necessarily know what that feels like," she said. "So today they get to know what that feels like: all eyes are on you, let's get it rolling. And it helps them to learn how to speak when they're presenting something, and they get to learn about people they may not have known about before."
Green said the event has been done at elementary schools in the district, but she believes it's the first event of its kind at LCMS.
Each student put together a poster board with information about their chosen figure and presented from their perspective.
Sixth-grader Nehemiah Nelson presented on John Lewis. Nelson said he was pretty confident going into the presentation.
Nelson said he knew a bit about John Lewis prior to putting together the poster, such as his phrase "good trouble," and he had read some of his books.
Nelson said he chose Lewis "because he's a very good person and did very amazing things."
Seventh-grader Nevaeh Hite presented on Harriet Tubman.
Hite chose Tubman because she found her inspiring and had learned a lot about her.
Hite said the most interesting thing about Tubman is that she risked her life many times to help slaves escape and never lost a passenger on the Underground Railroad.
Sixth-grader Amora Greenlee said she knew a bit about Rosa Parks but learned a lot more about her through the project.
"She always just kept fighting for her beliefs, and even when people brought her down, she got arrested, she still kept going," Greenlee said.
Sixth-grader Autumn Padelford, on the other hand, said she had never heard of Shirley Ann Jackson prior to the project, but she became interested when she heard Jackson was a physicist who had worked with nuclear technology.
There were also posters and presentations on Cori Bush, Tina Turner, Stephen Curry, Martin Luther King Jr., Simone Biles and Ruby Bridges.
Also attending the event were representatives from Sigma Gamma Rho, a historically Black sorority incorporated in 1922. The table was adorned with the sorority's colors of blue and yellow and various memorabilia, including the crest, flower and a picture of the seven founders.
Lincoln University brought its marching band, cheerleaders and mascot to the event and played a few tunes.
Green said the school has been talking about Historially Black Colleges and Universities this month, so the band provided an opportunity to make it real for the students.
"I'm hoping that they walk away with knowing more about the history of Black Americans and how there are Black Americans out there doing some great things," she said.
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NoneIn the digital edition, watch special education teacher Jessica Green talk about the purpose of the Live Black History Museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVB0NYEIsYw