How Providence students are celebrating Black History Month

There is no standardized curriculum for celebrating Black History Month in the Providence Public School District, but many Providence schools and students have offered programming this February to celebrate Black culture and history. 

Students at schools in Providence have participated in both district and student-led events, including bake sales, film screenings and workshops, to commemorate Black history.

“We encourage all schools to engage students in thoughtful, authentic and educationally meaningful ways,” PPSD spokesperson Alex Torres-Perez wrote in an email to The Herald.

“Black History Month provides an important opportunity for schools to celebrate, honor and reflect on the enduring contributions, achievements and leadership of African Americans throughout our nation’s history,” PPSD Chief of Opportunity and Access Nkolika Onye wrote in a statement sent to The Herald.

“Too often, these histories, perspectives and voices have been underrepresented in traditional curricula,” she added.

The Providence Career and Technical Academy is celebrating Black History Month through a collaboration with the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, an organization dedicated to preserving the history and accomplishments of people of African descent in Rhode Island. The school and organization have worked together to create presentations for students about Black history across different eras, Torres-Perez wrote. 

PCTA also has daily intercom announcements that acknowledge the achievements of Black individuals throughout history. 

Kingsley Dye, a sophomore at PCTA, wrote in an email to The Herald that while the intercom briefings feature successes of the Black community, she thinks it is important to highlight the “historical and current disparagement of the Black community” as well.

“Acknowledging the full context of modern Black culture is important because this empowers students to exercise their civic capacity,” Dye wrote.

“Moving forward, we are committed to ensuring our schools work more closely with students … in the planning and execution of Black History Month and other heritage celebrations to ensure they are engaging, thoughtful and student-centered,” Torres-Perez wrote to The Herald.

“Our goal is not only to recognize Black history, but to do so in ways that feel authentic, meaningful and reflective of the voices of our students,” she added.

Classical High School also plays songs or recites pieces of literature that are important to Black history over the daily announcements, Alisson Aviles, a junior at Classical, wrote in an email to The Herald. She added that Classical hosts bake sales and commemorations to celebrate Black History Month.

But Classical does “not celebrate Black history outside of the month,” said Classical High School junior Alisson Aviles.

“We respect and acknowledge the sentiments shared by our students,” Torres-Perez wrote in an email to The Herald. “While our intention is for Black history to be meaningfully integrated throughout the school year, we recognize that we are not where we want to be yet in how that is experienced by every student.”

This month, the PPSD’s Lunch and Learn series — a monthly professional development meeting through the Office of Opportunity and Access — will focus on Black history. The event will “provide space for staff to deepen their understanding of equity, culture and the diverse communities we serve,” Torres-Perez wrote.

Torres-Perez added that Black history is not only honored through specific initiatives in February but also woven throughout yearlong curricula. For example, the E-Cubed Academy was one of around 700 schools to pilot the Advanced Placement African American Studies courses during the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Rosgaly Perez, a junior at Providence Country Day, wrote to The Herald that “PCD does a great job of celebrating Black culture and history throughout the entire school year.” The school regularly hosts workshops and activities that center Black history.

“I would just say there is always room for more!” she added. 

Last month, PCD hosted a workshop about Martin Luther King Jr. where students were “encouraged to step out of their boundaries when sticking up for what is right,” Perez wrote. Students have also discussed leaders in Black history such as Jesse E. Moorland, Fannie Lou Hamer and Ella Baker, as well as participated in poetry readings. 

The Students of Color Union at the upper school of PCD is also hosting a screening of “The Hate U Give” to “encourage students to think about what it means to move from performative support to true upstander support,” Perez wrote. 

“Especially in the Students of Color Union, we focus on being there for each other because changes around the world can affect each individual in different ways,” Perez wrote. “We have supported, listened and educated each other in so many special ways.”