Black History Month Celebrated with Joyful Fridays
Warren Township Schools
Every week throughout Black History Month, Mt. Horeb students in Mr. PJ Jones’s class participated in Joyful Fridays through an interactive program from the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC).
“The Joyful Fridays program is intended to introduce students to the concepts related to Black History and the African American experience through interactive dialogue and art projects,” said Mr. Jones.
On one Friday, students tuned into a webinar led by NMAAHC educators celebrating the life of Dr. Maya Angelou and kindness. Students listened to and learned about Angelou’s poetry. The lesson ended with a rainbow craft inspired by a famous Angelou quote: “Try to be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud.”
Other Joyful Fridays included an introduction to Granville T. Woods, the inventor of the roller coaster, and an exploration of African-American artists Alma Thomas and McArthur Binion and their unique, creative styles.
Jones enjoys each Joyful Friday experience with his students and appreciates the educational program. “I discovered Joyful Fridays last year while our school was closed and students had to learn from home. It began as a way to engage students remotely, but we had so much fun creating self-portraits in the style of Amy Sherald, that I knew I had to revisit the program this year. Black History Month to me is an opportunity to start conversations about race in our country, something that can be uncomfortable, but is an absolute necessity.”
