Each February, Central takes part in America’s celebration of African American History Month. Central began celebrating the month eight years ago, when Mrs. Deborah Powell, a special education teacher of African American descent, came to the school.
“When I first came, students came to me and asked, ‘What are we going to do for Black History Month?’ So I asked them, ‘What do you want people to learn about it?’ And that began Black History Month at Central. Since then it has grown and more people have come on board,” Powell said
This year, the planning committee has tried to make the month’s activities reach out to a boarder audience by making it more interactive.
“Each year we are trying to make it more interactive, not only with our students, but with our curriculum,” Powell said.
One way that they are trying accomplish this is by hosting a door-decorating contest. This student-judged contest will have four winners, and is it meant to bring the school together. “We have a door decorating contest where we can integrate everyone in the entire school, so that all teachers and students can work together on making their own version on what they think black history means, to either their subject matter or their classroom,” Powell said.
Another event is the open forum. The forum panel will include CEOs and a former Civil Rights activist. “We’ve always had speakers in the past, but this year we have an open forum, where not only will students be able to listen to the panel, but they’ll also be able voice their opinion. We’re going to have a microphone where all students can step, express their question and directly be answered,” Powell said.
Overall, Powell hopes that diverse groups of people participate in the variety of activities planned for the month.
“You don’t have to be African American to be a part of Black History Month. The civil rights movement was people of all different nationalities coming together to stand for justice. The world works better when we work together,” said Powell.
