On Wednesday, Edmund J. O’Neal Middle School recognized the contributions of African-Americans throughout history and celebrated their own “Hidden Figures” during a Black History Month Celebration.
Students sang, played African drums, made presentations about the Freedom Riders (civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the southern United States in the 1960s to protest unconstitutional racial segregation on public buses) and Hidden Figures (three African-American women mathematicians who made great contributions to the NASA space program in the 1960s), had a living museum with students representing figures from throughout history (including Edmund J. O’Neal, for whom their school is named), and acted in a skit about Henry “Box” Brown, a Virginia slave who escaped to freedom in 1849 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate to abolitionists in Philadelphia.
The school-wide assembly closed with door prizes for the classes with the best-decorated, Black history-themed doors, and a presentation of trophies to people who make a difference at the school but do not always receive recognition. O’Neal’s Hidden Figures are:
Students
Elijah Cole
Tamaya Cross
George De Souza
Alexander Fournier
Deja Giddings
Heena Jabari
Stephen Jackson
Kywan Oliver
Queen Rollin
Marfin Tobiyah
Kashawn Walcott
Staff
Asuer Bowen
Tonya Holland
Kellen Johnson
Paul McKinney
Alnida Morris
Community helpers and parents
Tara Cobbins
Violeta Lynch
Deborah Nazon
Mahyana Sanon
S.N.U.G.
Visit our Facebook page to see more photos from the event. (You don’t need a Facebook account to view the photos. A window may display the text "To see more from Albany City Schools on Facebook, log in or create an account," but you can dismiss it by clicking "not now.")
