Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
When they returned to school after winter break, Nicole Mitchell’s fifth grade students immerse themselves in research for the annual Black History Living History Museum project.
The students are assigned an individual from history, and they do research, create a display and memorize a speech about the historical significance of that figure.
They then come up with a costume and fully become the figure they have researched for months.
The “museum” usually opens for one day during Black History Month in February, but due to snow days, it was open to students and the public March 6.
The school gymnasium was transformed into a museum with displays set up around the space. The fifth-grade students sat or stood stock still until visitors tapped the number on their board. They then came to life and gave a brief history about “themselves.”
Mitchell said she always looks forward to the project and enjoys watching the students develop their speeches and learn about their assigned individual.
As they prepared for the living museum, she said the students gave honest feedback on learning about their person.
“When I asked them how it was going, one student said, ‘I have to be honest, it feels weird to talk about when I died,’” she said, laughing. “Another girl said, ‘I keep forgetting my wife’s name.’”
The students have fun with the project and learn valuable lessons about pivotal moments in history – from the founding of Black History Month, the Civil Rights movement, as well as innovations in science and literature and record-breaking ath- letes in all fields.
This year’s museum featured innovator Carter G. Woodson, portrayed by Annabel Swan; Civil Rights activists “The Greensboro Four” David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell A. Blair, Jr. and Joseph McNeil, portrayed by Sullivan Seldomridge, Bianca Arnold, Alida McNeel and Fenna Marks; athlete Simone Biles, portrayed by Sadie Mason; scientist Norbert Rillieux, portrayed by Kysor Calhoun; musician Nina Simone, portrayed by Karter Dowling; Tuskegee Airman Coleman Young, portrayed by Dominic Lewis; author Octavia Butler, portrayed by Daisy Hefner; and judiciary T.C. Walker, portrayed by Tyrell Davis.
