It’s not often a person gets to meet a living legend. So, when former
NYC Mayor David Dinkins walked into a Bronx high school library Wednesday
morning the students marveled at the fact that in their presence was a
black man who had made history when he was elected the Mayor of the City
of New York.
Many of the students were unaware that at one time the people of New York City had elected a mayor of African-American heritage.
“These children were not born around the time Mr. Dinkins was mayor and brought about a lot of positive changes during his administration. It is a blessing and an honor to have Mayor Dinkins, a living legend, come out and share his story with us, said Council Member Andy King who co-hosted the second annual “Celebrating Our History” event with the Bronx Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) at Evander Childs High School.
The event brought together more than 300 students from nearby elementary schools and the high school itself, and also members of R.A.I.N Seniors Centers, in a spirit of celebration, awareness and appreciation of the black community’s diversity.
Council Member King and YEP presented Mayor Dinkins with a City Council Proclamation and a specially designed print of African-American heroes in history, with Mayor Dinkins' portrait featured in the print. The print was designed by Cee Lewis, Council Member's Deputy Chief of Staff.
When Mayor Dinkins walked to the podium he decided not to give his prepared speech and, instead, talked to the youngsters about his life growing up, lessons he learned as a child and he encouraged them to stay in school, work hard and “don’t bully others. It’s not cool to be a bully. I was bullied in school when I was a kid because I was small. It wasn’t fun.”
The event included Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference who also addressed the audience. There were performances by the Williamsbridge NAACP Early Childhood Education Center students, Bronx YEP, International Hip-Hop Opera Singer Marie Claire and Spoken Word Poet NeNe Ali. In addition, there were tables containing information regarding black history and historic black colleges.
Black History Month is a celebration of the contributions of African Americans to American history and culture. The celebration came about when the former son of slaves and University of Chicago and Harvard-trained historian and author, Carter G. Woodson, sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. President Gerald R. Ford expanded the celebration in 1976 to include the entire month of February. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history.
“Ultimately, celebrating the black community needs to be a part of all of our daily routines and not reserved just for the month of February,” Council Member King said. He noted that plans are under way to host three more “Celebrating Our History” programs later this year.
To see more pictures, visit Council Member King's Facebook fan page or Bronx YEP Facebook Fan page.
Many of the students were unaware that at one time the people of New York City had elected a mayor of African-American heritage.
“These children were not born around the time Mr. Dinkins was mayor and brought about a lot of positive changes during his administration. It is a blessing and an honor to have Mayor Dinkins, a living legend, come out and share his story with us, said Council Member Andy King who co-hosted the second annual “Celebrating Our History” event with the Bronx Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) at Evander Childs High School.
The event brought together more than 300 students from nearby elementary schools and the high school itself, and also members of R.A.I.N Seniors Centers, in a spirit of celebration, awareness and appreciation of the black community’s diversity.
Council Member King and YEP presented Mayor Dinkins with a City Council Proclamation and a specially designed print of African-American heroes in history, with Mayor Dinkins' portrait featured in the print. The print was designed by Cee Lewis, Council Member's Deputy Chief of Staff.
When Mayor Dinkins walked to the podium he decided not to give his prepared speech and, instead, talked to the youngsters about his life growing up, lessons he learned as a child and he encouraged them to stay in school, work hard and “don’t bully others. It’s not cool to be a bully. I was bullied in school when I was a kid because I was small. It wasn’t fun.”
The event included Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, President of the NAACP New York State Conference who also addressed the audience. There were performances by the Williamsbridge NAACP Early Childhood Education Center students, Bronx YEP, International Hip-Hop Opera Singer Marie Claire and Spoken Word Poet NeNe Ali. In addition, there were tables containing information regarding black history and historic black colleges.
Black History Month is a celebration of the contributions of African Americans to American history and culture. The celebration came about when the former son of slaves and University of Chicago and Harvard-trained historian and author, Carter G. Woodson, sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. President Gerald R. Ford expanded the celebration in 1976 to include the entire month of February. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history.
“Ultimately, celebrating the black community needs to be a part of all of our daily routines and not reserved just for the month of February,” Council Member King said. He noted that plans are under way to host three more “Celebrating Our History” programs later this year.
To see more pictures, visit Council Member King's Facebook fan page or Bronx YEP Facebook Fan page.
Council Member Andy King, his wife Neva Shillingford-King, and members
of Bronx YEP, present former Mayor David Dinkins with a special print of
African-American legends, which features Mayor Dinkins portrait, during
a “Celebrating Our History” program held at Evander Childs High School
Library.
PHOTO CREDIT: Office of Council Member Andy King
PHOTO CREDIT: Office of Council Member Andy King
