Black History Month 2023

Throughout February, Burroughs students and faculty members are celebrating Black History Month with special performances and presentations in morning assembly, including:

• Jah'de Alexander '23 discussed the life and legacy of actor Chadwick Boseman, Jah'de highlighted a number of the late actor's film credits, sharing some of the roles that he feels illuminate symbols of Black excellence and help connect African-American audiences with their heritage, including Black Panther, Get On Up, 42, Marshall, and Da 5 Bloods.
  
  "We're all looking for heroes that we can identify with," Jah'de said.
   
• A majorette dance performance (full video below!)
   
• Kamau Walker '16 (Science Fellow) talked about his respect for writer, social critic, and revolutionary James Baldwin. He spoke about Baldwin's sense of responsibility as a writer to both reflect and shape our culture, and how that resonates with him personally as a writer who also hopes to create a "new language" that will help change our society for the better.
   
• Delali Suggs-Akaffu '27 read an excerpt from Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb."
   
• Andy Chen ((English, Asst. Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity & Engagement) discussed about the long history of Black and Asian activists working together in their shared fight for social justice and equal rights, and how their coalition paved the way for new immigration laws in the 1960s that paved the way for his parents to come to the United States.
   
• Beverly Ratliff '28 and Claire Price '28 spoke about Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 7th graders highlighted Brown Jackson's numerous accomplishments and some "baddie moments" from her SCOTUS confirmation hearings in March 2022.
   
• Head of school Andy Abbott spoke about growing up in a small town in North Carolina, not long after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision to desegregate schools in Brown vs. Board of Education. He said that while the schools were integrated, the curriculum was not, and it wasn't until college that he began reading books written by Black authors. His father gave him a copy of "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker, which he say is now one of his favorite novels. Mr. Abbott ended assembly by reading another work by Walker, her 2011 poem "When you see water."
   
• Maddy Pass '23 spoke about Stormé Delarverie, a black gay civil rights activist, and someone who embodies black resistance, the theme for this year's Black History Month. She described her life as a performer in New York City and her role in the Stonewall Uprising. 
   
• Alex Brooks '26 read a poem from Voices from the March on Washington, a book of poems by George Ella Lyon and J. Patrick Lewis.
   
• Ayomide Ajakaiye '25 spoke about the history of apartheid in South Africa. She said that while Black History Month presentations are often focused on U.S. history, it is important to learn about Black history through the lens of other countries as well.
   
• Simran LaBore '23 and Sid Council '25 spoke about the history of Black poetry, and read two pieces by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks ("The Mother" and "Kitchenette Building").
   
• Monét Witherspoon '24 performed a spoken word piece she wrote.
   
• Nyla Pruitt '23 and Ryder Scully '23 spoke about the decades-long influence of American political activist Dr. Angela Davis.
   
• Qadir Thompson '27 and Ricco Martin '27 spoke about Althea Gibson, a trailblazing athlete who was the first great African American players in women's tennis.