By Amanda Moses
On March 31st, Spring Creek Towers’ After School Program coordinated an exhibit that spanned three classrooms, honoring Black History and Women’s History through the arts.
The event, entitled “Black History: A Journey through HerStory” offered an introspective look at female Black and Hispanic artists through painting, Hip-Hop music, and musicals. Parents, family, and friends were invited to attend the event as if it were a traditional museum exhibit; however, the children were the tour guides and entertainers.
Ms. Jackie, the coordinator of “Stars by Women,” an arts exhibit in the cafeteria showcasing work created by students who were inspired by Frida Kahlo, Kara Walker, and Alma Thomas. In addition to the artists and the children’s paintings, Ms. Jackie emphasized women who’ve made insurmountable contributions, but have often been overlooked, such as Marie Van Brittan Brown, who invented security cameras and Ida B. Wells, a Civil Rights activists. Also, Ms. Jackie put a spotlight on instructors and studnets in the Spring Creek After School Program because their efforts and work should be acknowledged as a part of HerStory.
“I really wanted to focus on past, present and future. For this exhibit I focused on past black women,” Ms. Jackie said. “I really wanted to give them a spotlight and show that representation is so important, especially for young girls growing up because, again, we never had that. I never had that.”
After parents toured the painting gallery, they were taken to the second floor where the first-grade students discussed who they called “Rap Geniuses,” such as Queen Latifah—whose work in both acting, raping, and signing helped catapult Hip-Hop music into mainstream culture.
Donning traditional African hats and jewelry they made out of paper, the children danced along to Queen Latifah’s music for attendees to enjoy.
The final exhibition was a short dance performance from the 1980s musical The Wiz, where children wiggled their hips, hula hooped, and jumped up and down to Thelma Carpenter’s “He’s the Wizard.”
Photos by Amanda Moses
