Black History Month at Jemicy

Every Wednesday students gather at the end of the day for a prepared lesson in their advisory. At the end of January, many students were surprised to see a new activity to be done during the designated time.

Each advisory was to pick a famous Black American and design their class door to their classroom with all sorts of facts and pictures about the person. The plan was to start in late January and finish by early February. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn more about important people defining history in America and express their creativity in coming up with a design for their door. This was an opportunity for Jemicy students to pay tribute to many of the great people who set a foundation under which we could live in a more just and equal society. Many people were featured, including Ruby Bridges, Wendy Sanders Gamble, Alice Walker, Billie Holiday, Mae Jemison, and Arthur Ashe just to name a few. The doors included information regarding famous quotes, pictures, and accomplishments. In addition, advisories were asked to include some fun facts and interesting information about their selected person, which were fascinating to learn about. Each advisory had the option to send a student and a prepared slide to the stage during morning meetings throughout the month of February to teach students about their person. It was a wonderful addition to morning meeting, getting to learn about important people from fellow classmates.

I asked Ms. Malin, the person in charge of Advisory, what it took to put this activity together. She shared, “The door decorating idea actually came from Ms. Whiting and the Diversity club. We worked together to create a list of important Black Americans and had each advisory choose from that list.” She added, “I met with the Diversity club and Ms. Whiting to come up with the requirements for the doors.” Ms. Malin also mentioned, “We ordered supplies and delivered them the following week because we knew it would take longer than [one] advisory period to decorate the doors.” Then she informed me that to her knowledge, this was the first time Jemicy Upper School has decorated doors to celebrate something for the month. Ms. Whiting shared with me that, “The Diversity Club drove the activities celebrating Black History Month. The members helped create a list of important Black Americans who made contributions to American society. We were excited to see all the amazing decorated doors.” Also adding that, “The Diversity Club is also sponsoring a Timeline for Women’s History Month.” Hopefully, we will see more Advisory activities like this in the future, which provide an opportunity for students to be creative while honoring and educating themselves and others about important people.