Collegedale Academy’s very own Culture Club took the initiative to celebrate Black History Month through various poems and interactive chapel activities, and a lunch to wrap up the celebration. The Culture Club planned to recite poems by influential Black writers at the start of every Wednesday chapel. This small act served to “remind people throughout the week that it was Black History Month,” according to Anaya Ward, president of the Culture Club. However, that’s the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the amount of things accomplished.

Gianna Eastman and Anaya Ward hosted a Black History Month Jeopardy on February 10th which consisted of questions regarding important African American figures and events, and two students from each grade volunteered to participate. Students and teachers in the crowd cheered for the comical comments and gestures made by those on stage while the questions were being answered. For questions that weren’t answered, either Gianna or Anaya took the opportunity to create a learning experience and explain who some of the figures were. Black History Month jeopardy was a favorite amongst many CA students.

Following jeopardy, the Culture Club sang “Revelation 19:1” on Friday the 14th. Then, on February 24th, the history teachers did a presentation on African American inventors as a means to raise awareness about other unsung historical figures.

As the Culture Club continued celebrating BHM, they hosted a “guess the song” game on the 27th where participants heard a snippet of a song from a Black artist and then had to name the title of the song and the artist. On this challenge, the sophomores took the win. As the Culture Club started wrapping up the events for Black History Month, they planned a spontaneous musical performance on Friday, February 28th. Culture Club members sang the iconic song “Oh Happy Day” by the St. Francis Choir.

For the completion of the celebration of Black History Month, Anaya Ward says “I think we did almost everything that we wanted to do this month.” On the final day of February, the Culture Club members gathered after school and enjoyed a hard-earned meal that everyone contributed to. Anaya Ward continues saying, “We just thought of things that we’ve always wanted to see done at CA and made up a few things as we went along. I think that me and the rest of the club are very satisfied.” The club was satisfied at the the fruition of the efforts to provide an educational and exciting Black History Month at Collegedale Academy.
“We chose to do poems from influential Black people because we wanted to do something small to keep reminding people throughout the week that it was Black History Month,” Anaya shared.

Senior Gianna Eastman says: “The culture club was inspired by the lunches that past seniors would host. Everyone who came would bring a dish and we would eat in the life skills room. As a freshman that moved from an area where seeing people like me was more common, being invited to a lunch that included mostly minorities felt like I had a sense of belonging. It felt like I wasn’t alone and [was with] other people [that had also experieinced] ignorance and isolation in the school. So junior year, Bindershka with the help of Anaya and I took the petition to start the club. We came full and ready for this year and made actions to celebrate our history, Black History Month. The goal is for everyone in CA to feel like they have a community…And I feel that can improve our mental health and self esteem.”