
Unity
Reed
High
School
students
provided
a
unique
Black
History
Month
lesson
to
Gainesville
Middle
School
students
via
Zoom.
This
crossover
lesson
connected
the
high
school
students
to
their
younger
middle
school
audience
in
a
different
way.
Gainesville
Middle
students
waited
patiently
for
a
presentation
given
by
the
Student
Activities
Leadership
Council
(SALC)
students,
senior
Colin
Ropella,
senior
India
Martin,
and
sophomore
Jacob
Johnson-Walton.
Unity
Reed
High
students
remarked
on
how
impressed
they
were
to
see
all
of
the
Gainesville
Middle
students'
cameras
on
and
ready
to
participate.
They
began
with
a
PowerPoint
presentation
and
stated
the
purpose
of
the
lesson
was
to
talk
about
and
celebrate
Black
History
Month
and
showcase
amazing
young
Black
people
who
have
achieved
great
accomplishments.
Ropella
showed
a
photo
of
Martin
Luther
King
Jr.,
and
asked
Gainesville
students
to
identify
the
person
in
the
image
and
a
famous
speech
he
wrote.
Students
were
quick
to
recognize
him,
and
other
famous
Black
figures,
such
as
Rosa
Parks,
Jackie
Robinson,
Barack
Obama,
and
Oprah
Winfrey.
The
SALC
students
then
delved
into
lesser-known
younger
key
figures.
They
highlighted
Mary
Copeny,
a
13-year-old-activist
from
Flint,
Michigan
who
raised
critical
awareness
about
the
water
crisis
in
her
community.
Copeny
wrote
a
letter
to
President
Obama
about
the
water
crisis
that
led
to
him
visiting
Flint,
and
approving
relief
money.
A
key
point
Johnson-Walton
highlighted
to
Gainesville
students
was,
"It
doesn't
matter
how
old
or
young
you
are,
you
can
do
anything
you
put
your
mind
to."
Martin
emphatically
agreed
stating,
"Don't
feel
like
you
can't
make
a
difference
because
you're
young."
Unity
Reed
students
continued,
describing
Yara
Shahidi,
an
actress
on
the
show
"Black-ish,"
who
has
used
her
public
platform
to
advocate
for
increased
diversity
in
Hollywood,
and
the
education
of
girls
across
the
country.
They
spoke
about
Amanda
Gorman,
the
National
Youth
Poet
Laureate
of
the
United
States,
and
her
widely
acclaimed
poem,
"The
Hill
We
Climb:
An
Inaugural
Poem
for
the
Country,"
read
at
President
Joe
Biden's
inauguration.
Finally,
the
SALC
students
encouraged
their
audience
to
find
ways
to
stay
involved
even
when
Black
History
Month
has
passed
by
continuing
their
self-education
about
racial
injustices,
making
an
effort
to
support
Black-owned
businesses,
and
writing
letters
to
government
officials
about
important
issues.
Gainesville
students
were
then
invited
to
play
a
trivia
game
to
test
their
newfound
knowledge.
Eighth
grade
student
Lauren
McCall
won
the
game
by
getting
11
out
of
11
questions
right.
Gainesville
Principal
Catherine
Porter-Lucas
ended
the
Zoom
call
by
thanking
Unity
Reed
students
for
the
unique
Black
History
Month
lesson,
and
several
Gainesville
students
chimed
in
with
their
thanks
as
well
before
logging
off.