P.S. 126 students in kindergarten through the sixth grade used poetry, recitation, music, and dance to honor Black history month during a series of performances at the school.

One of the poems read by Ms. Guishard’s sixth-grade class posed a question that could have been a theme  for the program: “Black history, black history/why is it such a mystery?”

Indeed, the students of P.S. 126 worked hard—sacrificing lunch periods and staying after-school in some cases— to shed light on an increasingly-acknowledged reality of U.S. society: More than three decades after the first official Black History month was celebrated in this country, the historical, cultural, and political experience of African-Americans remains undervalued, unheralded, and in some cases, unknown.

“It’s our history,” said the school’s principal, Nadine Kee Foster. “To really understand people, religions, organizations, you need to understand history.”

A February 13 version of the program, entitled “A Salute to the African American Family,” began with an impressive reading of excerpts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, by kindergartner Hassan Simmons.  Simmons hardly missed a beat and the thoughtful measure with which he read King’s words suggested an understanding of the speech that extended beyond his own young age.

Arts and culture—both modern and traditional—were heavy elements of some of the next few performances. Ms. Cabrall’s kindergarten class danced to The Supremes’ hit “Baby Love” and then the spiritual “Swing Lo, Sweet Chariot.”
Ms. Daley’s second-graders sang along to Louis’ Armstrong’s classic, “It’s a Wonderful World.”

Many of the older student groups expressed messages of empowerment through poetry, with some emphasizing the work of famous Black poets, and others reading their own original works. Ms. Lisa Bell’s sixth-grade class took the stage with many students dressed in black hats, dark sunglasses, and black shirts. As they took turns reading the poems they had written, classmates stood at the front of the stage with their arms folded defiantly.

Some of the poems paid tribute to those who fought for racial justice: “Frederick Douglass was a slave/then he became brave,” began a composition by Jequan Alton. 

Lisa Ramirez chose to honor Dr. Martin Luther King who “wanted to be heard, so he could spread the word.”

Other poems focused on key issues that the young poets felt most deeply affected their lives and communities. “Why do I wake up to the voices in the/ hallway bickering?/ Why is there no heat?/I wake shivering,” began a poem by Sade Collis. 
Writing about the “N” word, Idrissa Bangura penned, “We need to stop now!/ Or we will never get this disease out of our minds.”

Ms. Wolfe’s sixth-grade students recited Maya Angelou’s renowned poem, “Phenomenal Woman.” Before they alternated reading it, one student declared: “This poem is important because we don’t get to learn about women in history.”

Speaking in her office after the program, Foster said Angelou was a personal hero of hers because she found the poet’s self-expression empowering to women. Foster also commented more generally on the importance of Black history month to her.
“I appreciate the fact that I’m an African-American woman in a position of administration,” Foster said, “because of the men and women who came before me, and pushed for equality and rights and privileges.”