AACC’s Blacktivity Week 2026

An important part about the month of February is Black History Month! What started out as a week-long celebration named “Negro History Week”, created by historian and author Dr. Carter G. Woodson, became the commemorative month we know as Black History Month, officially established by U.S President Gerald Ford in February of 1976. Black History Month honors the achievements, contributions, and history of African Americans, and recognizes the crucial role African Americans play in U.S history.

At Masterman, Black History Month is recognized by our student body with “Blacktivity Week”, a student-led activity week led by Masterman’s African American Cultural Committee (AACC). AACC plans a multitude of events throughout the second week of February, including the kickoff event “The AACC Showcase”, the two-day AACC Basketball Tournament, Black Karaoke, a Family Feud styled trivia game on Black culture and history, and the Annual Cookout. The Masterman community looks forward to seeing and experiencing the hard work and talent of Black students at Masterman. 

However, Blacktivity Week can be an “overwhelming and stressful” process, as mentioned by AACC Co-President Reel Taha (‘26), “but when you have a good team, you’re able to deal with it together.”After taking her leadership position last year as a junior, Taha has experienced the highs and lows of being in charge of Blacktivity Week. She notes that “a lot of hard work goes and organization goes into Blacktivity Week and that kind of recognition from my peers means a lot.” The engagement with Blacktivity Week from the Masterman student body this year has been bigger and better than ever, from students buying from the cookout to playing and spectating at the basketball tournament. When asked about the kind of impact she wanted to see Blacktivity Week had on the Masterman community, Taha says, “[I hope] the impact is having positive representation, especially for underclassmen who may not be as involved in AACC. I think it’s kind of a way to advertise our club and all [of] the amazing things we do to get engagement from them. It’s also nice to share our culture with our peers”

Program Coordinator and youngest member of the AACC leadership team, Kloe Williams (‘28), also hopes that Blacktivity Week serves “...as an opportunity for representation and education, especially as Masterman has a small but growing demographic of Black students. I think it will allow many students to see Black excellence in an authentic form, as well as learn to appreciate and recognize Black culture more.” As Program Coordinator, Williams oversees and helps plan the club’s events and fundraisers. “Planning and preparing for Blacktivity Week is always a unifying experience, especially for new leaders and club members. Being able to individually recognize the senior leadership for their time, effort, and tireless work to make this possible was truly amazing.”

The recognition of the senior leadership was a bittersweet moment during the kickoff for Blacktivity Week at the AACC Showcase. Williams, along with Co-President Nehemie Fanfan (‘27) presented flowers and shared meaningful words to the seniors in leadership positions. “I truly think that was the best moment because I was surrounded by the people I love and appreciate,” notes Program Coordinator, a rising freshman at Cheyney University, Iyana Mintze. Mintze goes on to share one of her favorite moments during Blacktivity Week. “[Before] the cookout,  Malik [Corbin, AACC Vice President] gave us all a toast and I…took that moment in because I truly have so much love for everybody in this club and the fact that it’s my last year really hit during our tiny toast session.” 

“I’m so proud of how smooth sailing this week was. [It was] only possible because of AACC’s amazing leadership team.” Taha notes. “A big shoutout to our Vice President Malik who carried a lot of the load with me. And.. Mr. Gilken and our sponsor Ms Burge’s endless support is what really made Blacktivity Week easier to execute.” Blacktivity Week is another reminder of the diversity that the Masterman community continues to foster.