'Change the world:' Black history lessons in NEPA motivate, inspire students

Feb. 21—Elaine Tirado-Fernandez focused on Nina Simone's eyes. A little highlighting made the singer and activist pop off the paper.

"She's really interesting," said Elaine, a sophomore at Scranton High School, who researched the subject of her portrait. "I've heard her songs."

Using black charcoal paper and white pastels this month, Kerri Ruddy-Archer's art class worked on portraits of significant figures of Black history, including Ruby Bridges, George Washington Carver, Michelle Obama and Jackie Robinson.

In classes from English and history, to art and health, teachers across Northeast Pennsylvania have found unique ways to incorporate Black history in lessons this month. Teachers say they want to incorporate more diverse, inclusive lessons year-round, instead of solely in February for Black History Month.

At the Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Charter School in Scranton, EJ Murphy teaches students about the region's Black history.

"When we think about NEPA history, you usually think of coal mines or the railroad," he said. "But there are other histories that are not as known. ... It can really change people's perspective of our area, when you have an understanding of a more inclusive history."

'Change the world'

In Hanover Twp. on Tuesday, students at Memorial Elementary School had "someone very special" to talk about in Jenera Quinones-Carlo's science class.

The teacher pulled out the book "Counting on Katherine," the story of Katherine Johnson, the Black mathematician who worked for NASA during the space race and was depicted in the film "Hidden Figures."

"It's so important we give credit where credit is due, regardless of what someone looks like," Quinones-Carlo said.

The book elicited applause from the children.

"Fight for what's right. Always do the right thing," the teacher told her students. "Everyone is capable of amazing things."

A floor above, Nancy Chafin showed a video and led a discussion about Ruby Bridges, who made history in 1960, when she became the first Black student to integrate an elementary school in the South.

"Imagine being 6 and having adults say things that were cruel and mean," Chafin said. "Who can make a change?"

"Us," her fifth graders responded.

"You can change the world," she said.

More lessons

At Dunmore, high school students learned about Harlem Renaissance poets this month. Kindergarten students learned about Black leaders and made puppets.

At Wyoming Valley West, the Black Youth in Action club organized an assembly to honor Black History Month. At Wilkes-Barre Area, teachers planned a cultural night to celebrate students' diverse backgrounds.

In Murphy's classes at the Gardner school, students examined how local newspapers and citizens reacted to the Civil Rights Movement and other major events in Black history. During a lesson on Frederick Douglass, students learned that the abolitionist spoke in Scranton in 1867, at Washington Hall, once located at Lackawanna and Penn avenues in downtown Scranton.

Murphy, the Destination Freedom program manager at the Waverly Community House, also takes his students to Waverly to explore the region's role in the Underground Railroad.

"It gives them a direct connection they may not otherwise have," Murphy said. "When you can connect these important things to the area, it makes a better connection for students."

Researching history

At Scranton High School, where about 60% of students are a race other than white, Mike Fazzi's health classes made posters of significant people in Black history.

"I just want them to be proud of who they are," Fazzi said.

Anijha Turner, 14, researched Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black boy abducted, tortured and killed in Mississippi in 1955.

A'nyha Joyner, 15, learned more about Malcolm X, the Muslim minister and human rights activist.

"He helped shape America into what it is today," she said. "To me, he's an important person in history."

Students learned more about Black history throughout Scranton High. Those in Rosemary Robertson's art class worked on quilt stories, inspired by Black painter Faith Ringgold.

In Ruddy-Archer's class, senior Aubrey Bayley finished a portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a famous artist of the 1980s.

The portraits now line the main hallway of the high school. Each portrait has a QR code, which enables someone to learn more about the subject by scanning the code with a device.

Aubrey, who plans to attend art school, researched the artist she depicted.

"It's interesting to learn more about someone," Aubrey said.

Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133; @hofiushallTT on Twitter.