As part of Black History Month celebrations, City Academy annually hosts an African-American Heritage Celebration for our students and families. This years’ celebration, “A Kaleidoscope of Excellence: Stories and Portraits that Celebrate African-American Heritage,” was held on February 27, 2020, and offered families a chance to explore different activities and presentations celebrating African-American culture.

Thanks to Lion Forge Comics, every City Academy scholar received a book or comic featuring diverse characters, and faculty and staff led families and students in telling some of their own stories through StoryCorps and completing art projects. The animated short films Hair Love, which documents the story of a father styling his daughter’s hair for the first time, and Dear Basketball, which was written and narrated by Kobe Bryant based on the letter announcing his retirement, were screened, and staff led discussions on both films.

First grade students wrote and illustrated biographies about black leaders, which they shared with other students and families at the event, and Upper School students created a presentation on Afro-Latin culture. The evening ended with a performance of traditional African dances by a Vitendo-4-Africa dance troupe in Steward Hall.

 

 

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