Schools celebrate Black History Month

By CLOEY CALLAHAN
Posted 2/24/21

Newburgh residents Donald Fryar and Sadie Tallie helped relaunch Newburgh Enlarged City School District’s earliest Black History Month programming in 2005, which originally dated back to the …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Schools celebrate Black History Month

Posted

Newburgh residents Donald Fryar and Sadie Tallie helped relaunch Newburgh Enlarged City School District’s earliest Black History Month programming in 2005, which originally dated back to the 1970s as the Black Student Coalition. Today, the program is run by school counselor Tara Jones. The Newburgh Enlarged City School District offered a number of unique Black History Month programming this year, aside from what was kicked off in 2005, with the theme titled: The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.

The relaunching of Black History Month programming back in 2005 began with Fryar approaching the assistant principal of the Newburgh Free Academy at the time.

“I spoke to her about getting a presentation together for Black History Month for the students at Newburgh Free Academy,” said Fryar. “She found it interesting and passed my information to the principal at the time.”

Tallie and Fryar then pitched their Black History Month programming idea to the principal, who also thought it was a good idea. That same year, students kicked off their very own presentations to the rest of the student body.

Fryar said it was made possible with collaboration between them and Ms. Silver Williams, English teacher at Newburgh Free Academy main campus and co-advisor for The Black History Club and Torrance Harvey, educator and the city’s mayor.

“It started off as one day out of the month that our youth would receive a presentation,” said Fryar, who included the first presentation done by three students.

What turned into only a day of celebration ended up being a week and eventually an entire month at the Newburgh Enlarged City School District.

“It’s part of Newburgh’s history and it’s part of Black history,” said Fryar. “We hope this will continue for years to come because it’s important for not only African American students to learn about Black history, but all students to learn about Black history and about what we, as Black people, have contributed to society – not only society in the United States but globally.”

“We want to put positivity out there and let people know that students are involved in positive things,” said Fryar, whose dad, Mac Thompson, always told him that Black people should aspire to be lawyers, judges, doctors, congresspeople and more.

Fryar not only helped spark Black History Month programming at the school district, but has overcome his own challenges. He is a prostate cancer survivor and is legally blind. Despite that, he has recently written his own book titled “From Loss to Gain” and is creating a not-for-profit organization named “True Insight” to build programming for the youth. “From Loss to Gain,” which inspires people who have challenges to persevere and overcome them, can be found on xlibris.com.

Newburgh Enlarged City School District said students will be spending this month “learning, reflecting and celebrating Black history.”

However, Jones said that due to the pandemic, the Newburgh Free Academy Black History club is on a hiatus until next year. They plan to resume next year and hold its annual Youth Community Resource Fair in collaboration with the Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, the Holiday Toy Drive in collaboration with Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, the Martin Kemp Memorial Old School vs. New School Basketball community fundraiser, and the club’s in-school cultural awareness days.

“We look forward to working with our community partners again next school year,” said Jones.

Aside from Newburgh Free Academy’s Black History Club, the school offered a nightly community share each night of Black History Month with Horizons on the Hudson. Each night, they presented a book that celebrates Black culture on their Facebook page. Similarly, the Newburgh Free Academy Library put together a sample of books for scholars to read throughout the month.

Additionally, at the high school level, there was a Black History Month and Cultural Round Table Forum with a history presentation and an opportunity to order face masks with the names of Black people “who have made significant contributions to freedom and equality in our nation.”

Virtually, Fostertown School held a talent show on February 23 to recognize Black inventors and 1970’s soul music. Fostertown School also planned a number of Black History Month library activities, including a “Journey to Cultural Awareness” Google classroom.

Mayor Harvey, who is also a history teacher, presented “A Century of Black Life, History and Culture” for young students at New Windsor School, which discussed the lives of people like Carter G. Woodson to Barack Hussein Obama II. During the city’s February 18 work session, he also gave a presentation to the community about Black History Month.

The culminating event for Black History Month at the Newburgh Enlarged City School District is Newburgh Free Academy West’s fourth annual poetry slam and art show virtually, happening on Friday, March 5. Students will be focusing on Black history and social justice topics in their own classes, inspiring them to write their own poems and creating artwork that demonstrates it. To learn more about this event, visit newburghschools.org.