The Highbridge Horizon spoke to students from Ms. Lisa Bell’s sixth-grade class at P.S. 126, who wrote and performed their original poetry for Black history month.

Highbridge Horizon: Describe what inspired you to write the poems you did.

Artist Dubose: “I wrote about Lewis Hayes. I wanted to express his feelings. I liked to hear him play his music.”
Lisa Ramirez: “I wrote a poem called ‘Living in the Ghetto.’ Most people I know live in these communities. Most of them are kids, and are completely unaware of what’s around them.”
Sade Collis: “I wrote a poem called ‘Why?’ I was inspired to write that because, in my community, I’m faced with a lot of struggles to survive. So I wrote about how I face those struggles and overcome them.

Highbridge Horizon: How do you see the relationship between poetry and spreading awareness of Black History month?

Cori Champagnie: “I think poetry can change people’s minds. Some people might not think ‘Oh, I can do this.’”
Michael Valerio: “Poetry makes people more confident. If you bring up a Black History topic, it might make you do what another person did.”
Linda Coos: “I think poetry is important for Black History Month because it might make people see and think about people who stand up for equal rights.”

Highbridge Horizon: Who are some of your heroes from Black history?

Idrissa Bantura:  “My hero would be Malcolm X, because he was a brave and intelligent person. Even though he had a rough childhood, he never gave up.”
Jaquan Alston: “Frederick Douglass. He gave speeches to people. He made them realize to stand up for what they hadn’t stood up for.
Kadasha Williams: “Maya Angelou, because she went through a lot of struggles, and she had the courage to write about it.
Prince Mcclehan: “My hero would be Rosa Parks, because she stood up for her rights. She wanted it to be equal.”
Sabier Richards: “My hero would be Dr. Martin Luther King. He gave speeches and he wanted to reach freedom. He kept on encouraging people to defend themselves.”

Highbridge Horizon: Why do you think it’s important for people of all races to study Black History?

Jheyline Leonard: “I think it’s important because each race should know about each other, because if you don’t know about someone, you could be wrong without even knowing.”
Cori Champagnie: “Because each race could come together as one big family and we could learn things about each other we didn’t know.”

Highbridge Horizon: What did you think about your performance during Black history month?

Henry Fragosa: “At first, I was nervous, because we performed in front of people and I was afraid I was going to mess up.”
Yoma Ira Fernandez: “I think we were nervous when we went to the show because of the [dance]stepping,  and the meaning of our poems. We tried really hard to make it our best.