Claude A. Taylor Elementary Celebrates Black History Month!

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Throughout the month of February Claude A. Taylor Elementary celebrates Black History month. Our goal is to celebrate African Americans who have made an impact on our society and to introduce African American literacy to our students through various events.

1. We will continue our Black History Trivia contest as in the past. Each week Monday - Thursday a black history trivia question will be read on the WCAT-TV morning show beginning Feb. 2nd. Please write your answer down on a strip of paper for your homeroom and send it down by one student to be placed in the box outside of room 1 (Mrs. Adams classroom). On Friday we will announce the winning homerooms for the week and a prize will be placed in the homeroom teacher’s box before the end of the day on Friday. We hope that each homeroom will participate this year in this fun but educational activity. On Friday’s we will have a third, fourth and fifth grade class introduce famous facts and information they have studied in the classroom during February.

"Not having been taught black history -- except for the once-a-year hanging up of the pictures of Booker Washington, George Washington Carver, and Mary McLeod Bethune that marked Negro History Week -- we did not know how much of the riches of America we had missed."
--- Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple

The quilt of America's rich history includes patches from many peoples and many cultures. Black Americans are featured in abundance on that quilt. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Louis Armstrong are there. Harriet Tubman and Langston Hughes are too. Rosa Parks and Chuck Berry. Barbara Jordan and Muhammed Ali. Without their inclusion, America's quilt would lack color, texture, life….

This month -- February, Black History Month -- is a time when many teachers draw special attention to the contributions of black Americans to "America's quilt." Whatever grade the students are in, teachers can find plenty of rich Black History resources on the Internet -- Web sites that can help students everywhere "stitch together" a portrait of the African-American experience.

Every February, Americans celebrate Black History Month. This tribute dates back to 1926 and is credited to a Harvard scholar named Carter G. Woodson. The son of former slaves, Woodson dedicated his life to ensuring that black history was accurately documented and disseminated.

In an effort to bring national attention to the contributions of black Americans, Woodson organized the first annual Negro History Week in 1926. He chose the second week of February in honor of the birthdays of pivotal black supporters Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

From Jackie Robinson to Tiger Woods, Harriet Tubman to Barack Obama, Black History Month pays tribute to inspirational African Americans from the past, as well as those who will continue to make history well into the future.

Although February is recognized as Black History Month, we hope that you will celebrate and highlight the accomplishments of African Americans throughout the year.

The Multicultural Committee: Carla Adams, Cindy Gonzales, Sherrie Rabon, Cynthia Asmond, Judy Gelinas, Floyd Dinkins and Don Simmons