FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — February is Black History Month and Fresno Unified’s Black Student Union is hosting its ninth annual Black History Month program Wednesday night.
The Black History Month program “Our History, Our Heritage, Our Strength” will be at Roosevelt High School’s Audra McDonald Theater.
It will be an evening full of cultural entertainment and special performances by a talented group of local teenagers.
In collaboration with Purposed II Praise Dance Studio, the project will also include a reminiscence of African drumming and black poets– into the Harlem Renaissance.
Organizer Lisa Mitchell is the executive director of FUSD’s African American Education Acceleration.
“We’re trying to focus on the history that people don’t know anything about, the things you don’t see in our history books,” Mitchell said.
Students from all over the city participated. Mitchell said everyone needs to know about black history, which is why there are partnerships with other student organizations like Roosevelt Theater Performers Abby Lopez and Nick Sterling, who will be part of the program.
“It’s educated me so I know a lot of things because now I’m reading a script where I don’t know half of what’s in the script going on,” Lopez said.
Sterling will be special and also help out props.
“I think it’s very important just to get everyone involved so everyone has their story and their time to tell that story,” Sterling said.
The program’s host, the city’s Black Student Union organization, is made up of mostly African-American students.
Mitchell started BSU at Gaston Elementary School when the school first opened its doors in 2014, all to unite students and teach them more about their culture.
“It’s really about the leadership club that equips our students to be leaders in our community, to their community, but at the same time learning about their history and being proud of who they are as black people,” Mitchell said.
BSU student Kaleah McArtor said she is grateful for her home. “It’s important for people to know that you have a community out there supporting you, with everything that’s going on in the world it’s really hard and it’s really easy to feel alone, so I think, just having a family, a community behind you. It’s very important,” she said.
Doors open at 5pm, plus there will be a preshow this year starting at 5:30pm. The official program will start at 6 pm.
Tickets for the show are $1, and all proceeds will support the BSU Club.
ABC30 is a proud sponsor of this event.
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