Celebrating a Century of Black History

In honor of Black History Month, the Upper School and Middle School gathered for two presentations that celebrated the 100th anniversary of Carter G. Woodson’s founding of the first Negro History Week. This year’s national theme, A Century of Black History Commemorations, was brought to life by two groups of students who helped the Dana Hall community reflect on resilience not just as a concept, but as a practice. They shared examples of resilience in history as well as personal reflections.

The presentations ended with an opportunity for students to think about and discuss resilience through the following lenses:

• Learning when learning is made difficult
• Building community when systems fail
• Creating beauty when silence is expected
• Learning before you’re told you're ready
• Choosing joy when despair feels easier

“The responses from our students were amazing; they were making real life connections with the material,” said Director of Community, Equity and Inclusion Rachel Nagler. “To have an audience that engaged is a testament to what their peers presented. When you take something historic and make it applicable to present-day issues that people want to engage with right now, that was the value of the work. We didn’t give a history lesson: We showed how or what people did, and not just the circumstances under which they did it.”