Throughout the month of February, special classroom activities and division-wide Assemblies were held in honor and celebration of Black History Month.
Lower School
In honor of Black History Month, students in Lower School (LS) participated in meaningful homeroom activities designed to deepen their understanding of community, history and culture.
In Kindergarten, girls learned that Black History Month honors and celebrates the different cultures, traditions and customs of people of the African Diaspora and that celebrations occur throughout the year. After reading “Black is a Rainbow Color” by Angela Joy, each student colored a special rainbow with her name on it.
In Class 1, students discussed what makes various communities equitable, sustainable and innovative. They understand that being part of a community necessitates finding ways to make sure everyone has what they need and that throughout history, people have fought to be treated fairly as workers or a group of people who provide services. Homeroom teachers taught them about Black activists, including Hattie Canty, a leader in both the labor and Civil Rights movements, who founded the Culinary Training Center in 1993; and A. Philip Randolph, the head of the March on Washington who also helped porters in Chicago establish the first predominately Black labor union and paved the way for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The girls then had a thoughtful discussion about equality, bravery and being kind to others. Noting Chapin’s motto — Brave for Others, Brave for Self — their teachers asked each to fill in a worksheet with the prompts ‘I am brave for myself when…’ and ‘I am brave for others when…’ Their teachers emphasized that “no action is too small.” The students finished by adding illustrations and words like love, caring, strong and bold, to Chapin’s Wheel.
Class 2 explored the history of Seneca Village, which once stood where Central Park is today, and also learned about Sankofa, a concept that came from the Akan people of Ghana that emphasizes the importance of learning from the past to build the future. Broken down as San (return), Ko (go) and Fa (look) is often visually represented as a stylized heart shape or a bird with its head turned backwards. After their discussion, students brought this tradition to life by creating their own Sankofa hearts using colorful yarn and clear boards.
Class 3 focused on the history of protest and civic action. Teachers invited students to share what they know about why people go on strike and why they protest. After discussing the Civil Rights Movement, the students read “Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop,” by Alice Faye Duncan. This historical fiction book tells the story of the Memphis Sanitation Strike, a pivotal protest organized in 1968 with the goals of receiving higher wages, improving working conditions and union recognition. Students learned how civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. traveled to Memphis to participate in the strike and stand in solidarity with the sanitation workers.
The Lower School capped off their Black History Month studies with a division-wide Assembly, where they were treated to a performance by our Middle School Dance Club; learned from our youngest about influential people they researched, including Alma Woodsey Thomas, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Obama and Maya Angelou; and enjoyed a presentation from Class 3 Teacher Ms. Washington about step dancing followed by a demonstration by two Middle School friends!
Middle School
The Middle School (MS) gathered at their Assembly in February to share and celebrate the history and culture of Black Americans and their unique role in shaping American history. The Junior Council introduced the event and each group, beginning with the MS chorus, who led the MS in a rendition of the famous hymn, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon and set to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. They next introduced the SHADES MS affinity group who took to the stage to give a presentation highlighting why we celebrate Black History Month, its importance and specific historical events and influential people. “Learning Black history” they said, “is crucial for understanding America's complex past, dismantling stereotypes and inspiring future generations by highlighting Black struggles for justice, and their joy and resilience.”
They discussed important figures like astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson, writer James Baldwin, writer and activist Angela Davis, and civil rights leader Ella Baker. They also shone a spotlight on Black female athletes making an impact on contemporary sports, including basketball players A’ja Wilson and Angel Reese and tennis player Coco Gauff. They rounded out their presentation by sharing three important historical moments: the Harlem Renaissance, an explosion of art, music, literature and culture; Black Wall Street (also known as the Greenwood District in Tulsa), one of the most prosperous African American communities in the U.S. which was destroyed in an unprecedented wave of racially motivated violence; and Juneteenth, the day when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced the end of slavery by executive degree in 1865, freeing the more than 250,000 enslaved people in the state.
MS Dance Club followed the SHADES presentation with a special performance that included “Revelations,” a famous piece choreographed by Alvin Ailey. Their performance was a powerful and beautiful artistic representation of the history just shared by their peers and was much loved by the rest of the MS who watched with rapt attention and enthusiastic applause. A group from Class 6 concluded the Assembly with an interactive Stepping performance that brought the whole division together through rhythm and dance.
Upper School
Earlier this month, the Upper School (US) held an Assembly in honor of Black History Month hosted by Building Love & Community (BLAC), an US student affinity group. Student leaders opened by sharing the history and significance of the month and reflected on why it continues to be marked today.
They explained that Black History Month began as a week-long observance in 1926 by historian, author and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Carter G. Woodson, “to promote the contributions of Black Americans, laying the foundation for the broader observance we know today.” During the 1960s, as participation in the week significantly increased in schools and communities, the Civil Rights Movement helped to expand it beyond a single week. In 1976, 50 years after its founding, President Gerald Ford formally recognized February as Black History Month and since then it has honored and celebrated the past, present and future of the Black community.
Students highlighted that the United States and Canada are not the only countries that honor this month. Observance has spread globally, with countries such as Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands also honoring Black history and culture. BLAC student leaders said, “This global spread also emphasizes intersectionality, recognizing how race intersects with culture, nationality, gender, class and other identities to shape diverse Black experiences around the world.”
A central theme of the Assembly was the importance of engaging with the past while continuing toward a future of equity and justice. That message came to life through a student-created video featuring Chapin faculty and students sharing their cultures, favorite foods, personal pride, as well as the vast contributions of Black people both in the United States and abroad. The audience cheered as friends and teachers proudly shared stories in the video about themselves and their families.
To close the engaging and lively Assembly, the leaders of BLAC, with help from Associate Head of School Xiomara Hall, taught their peers and faculty how to do the Cupid Shuffle dance. With music playing through the speakers, the community joined together, dancing, laughing and celebrating as one.
Browse more photos HERE. (Click on the brackets in the upper right corner to view the photos in full resolution.)