Black History Month Celebration Recap

Oh, What an Afternoon and Evening!

On Friday, February 23, over 250 members of the BFS community gathered for our annual Black History Month Celebration. Students from Preschool through Middle School participated in workshops ranging from African Drumming and Dancing to Comic Book Making and Coding, while Upper School students participated in a special workshop in partnership with the PAT Service Learning Committee, “An Introduction to Afrolatinidad: Raising Awareness and Inspiring Action.”

After the workshops, we gathered for a delicious community dinner. We then moved into the meeting house for a wonderful evening program, which began with a truly uplifting rendition of the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” sung by Kenneth Alston Jr.  Throughout the evening, the audience was engaged by our young students as they quoted inspiring passages from prominent African Americans throughout our history. Older students presented spoken word poetry and performed as part of the Panthers Supreme Dance team.

The BFS orchestra, joined by special guests, performed a piece by Joseph Bologne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges who is widely considered the first classical composer of African ancestry. Many Lower School students performed a moving, original song about our school by BFS parent Marie-Alyce Devieux. The evening also premiered a short film titled, Let Us Be Courageous, created by Automatic Studios and BFS students. The program ended with an original performance by Full Force Wellness & Dance Repertory. In what has become a tradition of the event, students, parents and faculty all danced the rest of the night away at a celebratory dance party in the lobby of Pearl Street.

Led by co-chairs Lisa Stephenson and Vonetta Storbakken, the committee members include: Dehomey Agrippa, Crystal Backus, Cameron Caldwell, Karim Camara, Debra Edwards, Noah Isenberg, Iyaka Jack-Simpson, Kwasi Konadu, Josiane Leacock, Raymi Ramseur, Sharon D. D. Reid, Marcia Thurmond, and Afriqiyah Woods. Thank you to the PAT, and PAT Co-Presidents Megan Hertzig-Sharon and Eisa Ulen Richardson. And thank you, thank you to the amazing committee who worked very hard to put this and other events throughout the month together!