Black History Month at Prairie Mountain School
Students at Prairie Mountain are recognizing Black History Month in a creative AND educational way.
A collection of large poster boards located outside of the school showcase a series of historical Black figures who have influenced America in one way or another. The people highlighted, however, are not well-known – and that was intentional on the part of the students.
“We wanted to spread awareness about Black History Month,” said Abby Akins, a seventh-grade student at Prairie Mountain. “Before starting this project, I didn’t even know that some of these people even existed. They’re important people in our history, they’ve contributed to society in a number of ways and we should honor them.”
About 80 students in the Prairie Mountain Leadership group came up with the idea to showcase African-American figures who are not as well-known as those such as Martin Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks.
The large signs are prominently featured outside the school during pickup and drop-off and feature a high resolution photo as well as some brief facts about the person chosen. A QR code is also located on each poster board so that anyone who wants to learn more about the featured historical figure can do so by holding their phone camera up to the code, which automatically takes them to a website with more information.
“Black History Month is important because we need to respect all people” said fifth-grade student Kamaha’o Thompson. “It’s interesting to learn about new people and the way they’ve changed the world.”
