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February 29, 2024
SPS observes Black History Month 2024 with events, performances and more.
BY JACQUELINE PRIMO LEMMON
The Millville February that saw snow and cold give way to sunny days which teased the coming spring also started with a southern-inspired breakfast at Coit and included panels, celebrations and performances in chapel, the library, Schoolhouse, Friedman and more — all part of the School’s observation of Black History Month. The lineup of events aimed to promote a greater knowledge of, and respect for, the diverse heritage, cultures and contributions of people of African descent to the development of societies.
“My vision was to collaborate with a working group of adults and students to co-design a multilayered, integrated and joyful learning experience that focused specifically on Black excellence in education and the arts — an effort to make the often invisible more visible,” says Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Initiatives Bethany Dickerson Wynder. She says this vision was informed by the U.N. International Decade for People of African Descent (2015–24) and its sub-themes of recognition, justice, reconciliation and development. Now in its final year, the decade has been the inspiration for Black History Month programming at St. Paul’s School for the past three years, Dickerson Wynder adds.
The month’s events included themed meals in Coit every Thursday — in addition to the southern-inspired breakfast on Feb. 1, there were dinners that drew on elements of West African, Afro-Cuban and West Indian cuisine — an Ohrstrom Library exhibit and faculty/staff book discussion on The 1619 Project, and a Crumpacker Gallery show, “as our bodies lift up slowly,” by Vanessa Leroy, a New York-based artist and activist who uses her work to explore her identity as a queer Black queer woman. Students were encouraged to take and create their own self-portraits in the gallery as part of the exhibit, and Leroy visited art classes virtually and spoke to students from The Pelican student newspaper. The community also was treated to a Chapel performance by the Black violin duo Sons of Mystro, who followed their rousing, high-energy set with lunchtime jam sessions in Raffini.
At Crumpacker Gallery, students work on a photographic portrait in the style of virtual visiting artist Vanessa Leroy.
Tiffany Gill ‘92 speaks in Memorial Hall during the School’s fourth annual Onyx Black History Celebration.
A much-anticipated event was Feb. 11’s fourth annual Onyx Black History Celebration presented by LinC Teacher Litzrudy Justinvil and Jorane Manuel-Justinvil alongside student leaders of the SPS affinity group for students who identify as Black, African American or of African heritage. Guided by the theme “the story that forms us,” the day included brunch, performances in Memorial Hall by student musicians, dancers, poets and more, as well as presentations and learning stations in the Athletic and Fitness Center.
“Recent alumni who attended this year were delighted to see how much the event has made a difference in the lives of students of color and [noted] how much this event meant to them while they were on campus,” Manuel-Justinvil says. As they were last year, peer schools were invited to participate in the celebration; total of 63 students, faculty, staff, coaches and DEI directors from 10 peer schools joined their peers from SPS on School grounds. “Progress is hard. Progress is necessary,” Justinvil adds. “We can celebrate, we can find joy, and we can appreciate our ancestors for all the hardships they had to undertake and know there is still work to be done.”
In addition to assisting with that celebration, Onyx co-heads Hudson Stovall ’24 and Lauren Edouard ’25 co-hosted the second annual SPS Black Success and Leadership Panel over BIPOC Alumni Weekend with Rector Kathy Giles. Panelists included SPS BIPOC Alumni Advisory Council co-head and Alumni Association Vice President Ray Joseph ’90, Jaelen Buxton-Punch ’13 and Christine Antoine ’16.
The Black violin duo Sons of Mystro in Raffini Commons, playing for SPS community members at lunchtime.
Alumni and their guests take in a School update led by Rector Kathy Giles with trustees Amachie Ackah ‘90 and Ray Joseph ‘90 during BIPOC Alumni Weekend.
Stovall, who was integral to the formation and organization of the inaugural panel last year, shared his thoughts about its significance prior to turning the conversation over to this year’s panelists. “We as SPS students, and we as a Black youth collective in general, really need to see more examples of Black leadership,” he said. “What better way than to connect with the strong, successful leaders of the Black SPS alumni network?” Stovall adds the support and contributions from allies on the grounds and students in other affinity groups underscore the power of “cultural acknowledgment” during Black History Month, and that celebrating and honoring each other’s cultures serves as a catalyst to bring everyone together.
“The fact that we were able to cocreate and execute a comprehensive program replete with relevant community learning events and activities has been meaningful,” says Dickerson Wynder. “My hope is that students recognize that Black history is American history and should be celebrated throughout the year, beyond Black History Month.”
