Here at Friends School Mullica Hill, students have been learning and sharing some of the amazing contributions of African Americans throughout Black History Month. Here’s a snapshot of some of the learning that has been taking place:
Carter Godwin Woodson is considered the founder of Black History Month. He was an American historian, journalist, and the founder of the “Association for the Study of African American Life and History.” He was born on December 19, 1875 in New Canton, Virginia.
As the son of former slaves, he was without a formal education, however he graduated from Berea College, and later became a teacher and school administrator. He also obtained graduate degrees from University of Chicago and was the second African American, after W. E. B. Du Bois, to obtain a PhD degree from Harvard University. Woodson remains the only person whose parents were enslaved in the United States to obtain a PhD. In February 1926 he launched the celebration of “Negro History Week”, the precursor of Black History Month. Carter Godwin Woodson died on April 3, 1950, and among the many honors and tributes he received, his devotion to Black and African American History remains one of his most powerful contributions.
FSMH has been working hard all month to highlight and celebrate Black History Month. Music classes have focused on legendary artists, such as Louis Armstrong, and more recent musicians associated with Motown, Ragtime, Blues, Opera, Jazz, Big Band, and Pop. Classes conducted research and presented to their classes on notable African Americans like Bessie Coleman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Serena Williams, John Legend, Michael Jordan, Carla Hayden, Mary Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Simone Biles, and many many more!
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