With a large turnout of parents, the second grade students at Anderson Elementary School celebrated Black history.
Teacher Christin Brown organized the Friday event that included singing, dancing and a play, all performed by students.
“We can’t let a year go by without acknowledging all the famous African Americans that made a difference to our world,” Brown said. “We want to make sure our kids learn about them and not forget about them.”
Brown has been organizing Black history events for 23 years.
“I teach second grade, so these are all second-grade students except one,” she said. “The kids are so happy to be a part of this.”
Brown said a lot of the students know about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but need to know more about the contributions of other Black people.
Kaelyn Golden sang the African American national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and the Rising Star Dance Team performed to “I Am the Dream.”
The Rising Star Reader’s Theater Club presented a play entitled “The Rainbow Fish.”
Damon Golden, a teacher at the Anderson Preparatory Academy, was the guest speaker. His remarks focused on the importance of dreams.
“Kids teach us,” Golden said. “We learn from you.”
His theme was "The dreams still work."
He said as people get older and deal with life’s ups and downs, they no longer dream.
“This community is a place of dreams,” Golden said.
Golden said faith is needed to believe that the impossible is in fact possible.
He noted someone had a dream to create electricity, the light bulb and gas-powered vehicles.
Golden said accomplishing a dream takes a plan to guide a person and keep them on track.
“You need a plan to reach your destination, so you know where you’re going,” he said.
A final ingredient is action, he said, because a it’s just a dream unless a person works toward a goal.
Golden ended by telling the students about Henry Box Brown, a slave living in Virginia who in 1849, had himself mailed to Philadelphia to gain his freedom.
“People probably thought he was crazy,” he said. “But he made his dream a reality. Don’t let people discourage you from seeking your dream.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.