On Thursday February 15th, the English department’s hallway was closed off for the Black History Month Walkthrough event, one of the many events that Francis Lewis High School threw to celebrate Black History Month. This year’s theme was African Americans and the Arts, and in this walkthrough, each one of the rooms in the hallway had a different activity to teach students about African American history, art, fashion, or dance. There were six total events; From Africa to Afrobeats, History of Hip Hop, The Art of Titus Kaphar, They Say, I Say, Step With Us, and African Fashion: Patterns. The walkthrough expanded students’ knowledge of African American culture, spotlighting the arts.
“Mrs. Burg and Ms. Jack-Vilmar did it last year with the same concept, it was such a success that we wanted to do it again,” said Ms. Huggins, the Assistant Principal of the English Department. “So we just closed off the wing, from my office down to the last classroom, and asked different volunteers to participate. We tried to make it as student-led as possible. For instance, the dance was all students who were leading, we asked them to create it, come up with it, and lead it, so it was students leading students. The “They Say, I Say” was a group of students who were teaching kids how to do They Say I Say poems, students teaching students.
Ms. Jack-Vilmar, 10th grade English teacher, says the walkthrough was an opportunity for students “to take something concrete away with them.” This year’s walkthrough allowed students to experience the different contributions from African American artists. They were able to play trivia games, create their own poems, and learn dances. Since they were allowed to move through the rooms, they got to experience each uniquely different piece of art.
“We wanted to set up an immersive experience for the students to learn about different aspects of African American arts,” explained Ms. Jack-Vilmar, “It’s not just African American arts but different aspects of arts; the visual arts, performing arts, and spoken word. We had Mr. Mason explaining the work of the artists, step team, dancers, and someone doing fashion. The idea was to just give people the opportunity to be immersed into an experience and be able to take something concrete away with them.”
The event was mainly student-led and the students who participated in the walkthrough were passionate and absorbed into the activities offered.
“My personal highlight was just seeing the smiles on the faces of all the kids in each one of the rooms whether they were presenting or completing an activity,” said Ms. Huggins. “I saw these kids get so passionate about writing poems and it warmed my heart. I had girls in here practicing their dance, their African American dance, before they went in to teach kids, and I just saw all these young kids teaching other kids how to dance and the kids were really participating.”
The choice of a walkthrough event instead of a lesson to present students with was no hard decision for the coordinators.
“I feel like the kinesthetic, the idea of moving through an experience, is really important,” stated Ms. Jack-Vilmar. “It’s hands-on, sometimes it’s harder to sit in a lecture and have someone tell you about something but when you experience you’re there and you learn about it while you make something or do a movement. I think you remember those more and it’s more impressionable.”
The walkthrough had emphasized different aspects of Black history that aren’t often popular during the topic of Black history month, that the coordinators really want to touch on this year.
“I just think that it’s important to expose students to something other than just ‘This is Black History Month and let’s talk about Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcom X,” explained Ms. Huggins. “I think it’s so much bigger than just talking about them, and don’t get me wrong these people in history are essential, important, and we should absolutely talk about them, but I think that we should get down to what the experiences are of black students or teachers in our school, and they were the ones predominately running the different rooms, and allowing students to experience something more than what they read in a history book allowing students to talk to their peers and teacher, and just seeing things in a different light.”
Throughout February, and even through the year, it’s important to note the different contributions made by African American people in every part of history. In the BHM Walkthrough Event, both students and teachers came together to create a unique experience for the Francis Lewis students and their peers. Because of their efforts, the Black History Month was a success and is bound to be remembered for years to come.
“I just think this entire month that we put together Black History Month was so much bigger than I’ve ever seen it here,” Ms. Huggins explained. “From a kickoff event to the ending Gym Jam and everything in between, the effort from the teachers and students and staff to make it happen is exactly what I like to see every year.”
