AUBURN - For Connor Finizio, Black History Month is a recognition of the awesome impact numerous blacks have had on this country and a reminder of the liberties all Americans share.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Jack Hardy speaks about the importance of firsts during East Middle School's Black History Month celebration held the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 11. Hardy praised African-Americans who have been pioneers, including Barack Obama, Jackie Robinson and Hardy's father, Charles, Auburn's first black firefighter.
Jack Hardy speaks about the importance of firsts during East Middle School's Black History Month celebration held the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 11. Hardy praised African-Americans who have been pioneers, including Barack Obama, Jackie Robinson and Hardy's father, Charles, Auburn's first black firefighter.
“It means a lot,” the 12-year-old from Auburn said of the month-long celebration. “It's pretty important because you find out that a lot of African-Americans have made a difference, and it doesn't matter what color you are. Everyone should have rights and freedom.”
Last Wednesday, East Middle School students paid homage to black leaders, those whose names are forever imprinted in the history books as well as the friends and neighbors in communities small and large, with a Black History Month celebration.
Black History Month was established in 1976 and is celebrated every February.
Event organizer Kent Brandstetter said it's important to bring the month-long festivity and the significance it holds into the classroom.
“I want people to realize and learn and have an understanding about what other people go through, about difference races and what we all have to put up with,” he said. “I want to dispel some of the ignorance, and the only way to do that is through education.”
First organized a decade ago, the annual event that takes place in the Auburn Enlarged City School District middle school's auditorium attempts to do just that by bringing in various community leaders to speak about black culture.
This year's speaker was Jack Hardy, a native Auburnian who told stories about some of the pioneers in the civil rights movement. Hardy's own father, Charles, was Auburn's first black firefighter.
He spoke about the importance of “being first,” being in first place when it comes to video games, in school, in sports, even being first in line for the movies.
He identified numerous people who were first: President Barack Obama, the first black president; Rosa Parks, called by Congress the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement;” and Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player.
As he introduced each person, students whooped and clapped, cheering reverberating around the Auburn Enlarged City School District middle school's auditorium.
While these people are very important and left a lasting imprint on society, he had a much stronger message about what every person can do. All people, even people from small towns, can make a difference.
He spoke about abolitionist, woman rights leader and conductor of the Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman. He pointed to Dr. Jerome Holland, a native Auburnian who was appointed the United States Ambassador to Sweden by President Richard Nixon and to whom Holland Stadium is dedicated. And he showcased his own parents, Charles and Eleanor.
“Even from Auburn, N.Y., even from a small town, you can be first at something,” he said. “You don't have to be from Washington D.C. or New York City to be first. You can work in social work You can be a firefighter, or an educator. You can be someone that represents to the whole country freedom, like Harriet Tubman does. It's perseverance. Just by standing up for what you believe is right, you can be first.”
Brandstetter, who will retire from organizing the event and pass the torch to friend and community activist Joe Leogrande, found this message to be very positive and hopes it sticks with the students.
“I hope that they learn and have a better understanding of the people we live on the same planet with,” he said, “and I hope they can be encouraged by the successes other people have made. We have some really great people in our community that have been successful over the years.”
This idea certainly resonated with the students that attentively listened to the presentation.
What Finizio learned, he said, is to “follow your dreams and don't give up with what you are trying to do.”
Added Mike Gagliardi, 11, of Auburn, “That you can do anything that you want to.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net
Last Wednesday, East Middle School students paid homage to black leaders, those whose names are forever imprinted in the history books as well as the friends and neighbors in communities small and large, with a Black History Month celebration.
Black History Month was established in 1976 and is celebrated every February.
Event organizer Kent Brandstetter said it's important to bring the month-long festivity and the significance it holds into the classroom.
“I want people to realize and learn and have an understanding about what other people go through, about difference races and what we all have to put up with,” he said. “I want to dispel some of the ignorance, and the only way to do that is through education.”
First organized a decade ago, the annual event that takes place in the Auburn Enlarged City School District middle school's auditorium attempts to do just that by bringing in various community leaders to speak about black culture.
This year's speaker was Jack Hardy, a native Auburnian who told stories about some of the pioneers in the civil rights movement. Hardy's own father, Charles, was Auburn's first black firefighter.
He spoke about the importance of “being first,” being in first place when it comes to video games, in school, in sports, even being first in line for the movies.
He identified numerous people who were first: President Barack Obama, the first black president; Rosa Parks, called by Congress the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement;” and Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player.
As he introduced each person, students whooped and clapped, cheering reverberating around the Auburn Enlarged City School District middle school's auditorium.
While these people are very important and left a lasting imprint on society, he had a much stronger message about what every person can do. All people, even people from small towns, can make a difference.
He spoke about abolitionist, woman rights leader and conductor of the Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman. He pointed to Dr. Jerome Holland, a native Auburnian who was appointed the United States Ambassador to Sweden by President Richard Nixon and to whom Holland Stadium is dedicated. And he showcased his own parents, Charles and Eleanor.
“Even from Auburn, N.Y., even from a small town, you can be first at something,” he said. “You don't have to be from Washington D.C. or New York City to be first. You can work in social work You can be a firefighter, or an educator. You can be someone that represents to the whole country freedom, like Harriet Tubman does. It's perseverance. Just by standing up for what you believe is right, you can be first.”
Brandstetter, who will retire from organizing the event and pass the torch to friend and community activist Joe Leogrande, found this message to be very positive and hopes it sticks with the students.
“I hope that they learn and have a better understanding of the people we live on the same planet with,” he said, “and I hope they can be encouraged by the successes other people have made. We have some really great people in our community that have been successful over the years.”
This idea certainly resonated with the students that attentively listened to the presentation.
What Finizio learned, he said, is to “follow your dreams and don't give up with what you are trying to do.”
Added Mike Gagliardi, 11, of Auburn, “That you can do anything that you want to.”
Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net
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