Black History Month takes place in February, coinciding with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and Frederick Douglass, a prominent author and activist in the civil rights movement.
The Black Student Union (BSU) and the Step team played a major role in planning and creating last month’s Black History Month assembly. They performed a story that depicted the emotions of African people when they were taken from their land and how the art form of step evolved when they came to America.
Planning such an impactful assembly took months of preparation by BSU members. The process began in October and continued until February. It was challenging to find ways to keep the student body engaged, especially considering some students have short attention spans. The team rehearsed every Tuesday after school, brainstorming new ideas and perfecting their step contributions.
“Even though this was a long planning process, it was worth it,” said Genesis Rayne, the president of BSU. “We enjoyed hosting it and hope that the messages of Black history were communicated.” Rayne also expressed her hopes for the future, saying, “I think students enjoyed the assembly and hope that it only gets better as me and many of my members on the planning committee graduate and continue our education.”
