In February, Lake Ridge New Tech Middle School and Calumet New Tech High School acknowledged Black History Month with two grand ceremonies featuring the talents of students and teachers.
Eighth-grade Science Teacher Marsha Daniel organized the middle school event with a focus on the African nations that were a part of selling Africans to slave traders. This led to the transatlantic slave trade and the arrival of enslaved blacks to the shores of the United States.
Students gave a brief history of the African countries involved in the slave trade. Afterwards, they carried a small flag of the country around the floor of the LRNTMS gym. Daniel said it is important that students know the history of how the slave trade began.
“I wanted the kids to know the nations that actually took part in the slave trade with the European countries,” said Daniel. “I wanted them to know when it took place, when they brought them over, and some of the things they suffered coming over.”
Daniel also shared artifacts from her private collection featuring everyday items designed or invented by African Americans.
LRNTMS students carried the flags of the African nations that took part in the slave trade around the gym.
A table featured everyday items designed or made by African-Americans.
The rich cultural contributions of blacks to American music was honored by students at Lake Ridge New Tech High School, as they put on a top-notch concert. Students performed classic soul and blues hits like “A Change is Gonna Come” by the great Sam Cooke, and BB King’s legendary “The Thrill is Gone.”
Junior Ina Bengaly hosted the afternoon concert, which kicked off with Music Teacher Rhonda Franklin’s uplifting version of the Black National Anthem. Junior lead guitarist Quentin Falls and his band, Love and Soul, rocked the crowd with “The Thrill is Gone.” The band features sophomore Jorge Soria on bass and junior Nathan Smith on drums.
When asked how a teenage generation raised on hard-core rap music could relate to a 55-year-old blues song, Falls said: “The song just sounds good. It tells a story, and the guitar parts make me want to play better.”
Other singers included ninth grader Tori Flowers and her rendition of, “A Change is Gonna Come.” Fellow freshman Alexander Stevens excited the audience with his take on the Ben E. King hit, “Stand By Me.”
Franklin said she was proud of her students’ performances, partly because it was on short notice.
“I was asked on February 1 to get a Black History program together,” said Franklin. “That’s not a lot of time, but the students really stepped up and got ready. They did a good job.”