12th Annual Black History Month Celebration at NRHS

By Nola Brooks

On Saturday, February 10th, New Rochelle High School hosted its 12th annual Black History Month Celebration from 3:00pm to 7:00pm. This date commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in the U.S. public school system was unconstitutional. The celebration involves the participation of schools across the district and organizations and people from across the community, and it is the largest event that the school hosts every year.

This year, an exhibit of panels showcasing the history of Black Americans and Black people in New Rochelle was hung on the walls of the rotunda. Vendors of books, art, jewelry, and more, representing many Black authors and Black-owned businesses, had tables across the rotunda, and art and poetry involving the theme of Black History from the district’s elementary schools were displayed alongside them. In addition, visitors could watch a spoken word performance, see a planetarium show, get their faces painted, and attend an auditorium program that included an array of performing arts shows.

The planetarium show explained a fascinating connection between the night sky and the Underground Railroad. During the antebellum era, escaped slaves used this network of secret routes to get to the northern US and Canada, and the stars helped them reach their destinations. The North Star lies directly above the North Pole, so finding one’s position in relation to the North Star is a navigational tool for finding one’s way north. When trying to escape enslavement, people were highly vulnerable, so the stars offered support that would guide them to the Underground Railroad and eventually, safety and freedom.

Many students of New Rochelle High School served as ambassadors for this event, including Bryce Geohagen, a current 11th grader who said the event is significant to him because it “represents excellence and proudness within the [Black] community” as well as “gratitude for who we are and what we’ve come from.” He admires the progress that the event has made, saying that the one four years ago was less interactive, that there are “a lot more events and a lot more volunteers this year”, and that it has expanded to focus on much more than just the main show. Bryce notes that the event is powerful because it is part of the answer to a question that he believes Black History Month raises: “Now that we have the month, how can we use that month to elevate ourselves even more?” 

The event plays a role in uplifting Black-owned businesses by giving them the opportunity to sell their wide variety of arts, crafts, and products to a large audience of attendees. One vendor, Charmae Ellerbe, represented WYNNEN, which is a Westchester-based, family-owned company that sells jewelry, candles, oils, and more. She said that “As an African American myself, and as a Westchester native, it’s very important for me to be at events like this, showcasing my creativity, and I feel that I’m honoring my ancestors through my work.” Many of her materials are connected to Black history and culture. For example, she explained that she was featuring her “Imani bracelet, which features the colors of the pan-African flag.” The word Imani, which has Swahili and Arabic origins, means belief or faith. All of Ellerbe’s jewelry is made with genuine gemstones, and the Imani bracelet is made with onyx, red bamboo coral, and malachite, representing strength, recovery, and love, concepts that encompass the American community and Black History Month. Ellerbe is grateful for how “New Rochelle is very supportive of makers, small businesses, and minorities” and happy to have participated in the event for a second year.

This event was both celebratory and highly educational, and Alprentice McCutchen, a teacher at New Rochelle High School who teaches African American Studies and other Social Studies courses, appreciated both aspects. He said that he “loved supporting the vendors, whether it be incense and oils, home goods, the paintings, the art, or the books,” and watching the student performers. He also felt that the history exhibit in the rotunda was visually appealing and gave “a nice snapshot of different segments of Black History and African American experiences.” Part of the exhibit was about New Rochelle’s own story of racial segregation in education. This city was once referred to as the “Little Rock” of New York. Black students in New Rochelle were systematically kept in Lincoln School, which was segregated, equipped with fewer resources and opportunities, and left this way until it was demolished in 1963. Mr. McCutchen stated that the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board led him to imagine “how this school was in 1953” and “who was left out.” He highlighted the fact that people from diverse backgrounds are now allowed educational and societal opportunities, saying that the end to lawful segregation is “huge,” but also said, “Are there things we have to work on? Absolutely. There are schools in different areas that are still segregated. There are certain neighborhoods that are predominantly one background, and the schools reflect that. Now we have to open up a conversation about how not only schools can be desegregated, but also how communities can be both desegregated and integrated.” This is part of the purpose of Black History Month: to create dialogue about historical achievements, challenges and progress by the Black community in order to continue to move towards a better and more inclusive society.