Julius E. Sprauve School students, faculty, parents and friends celebrated Black History Month with dance, song and story at an assembly Wednesday.
“Mary Eugenia Charles was the first woman to come to power in the Caribbean and the only woman to lead a Caribbean nation,” one student said as he provided details of the former Dominica prime minister’s life.
The fifth-graders also included the St. Croix-born San Antonio Spurs basketball player Tim Duncan, St. Lucian writer Derek Walcott, First Lady Michelle Obama, Michael Jackson and Bob Marley, Nelson Mandela and others from the sports and entertainment field in their presentations.
The morning assembly was a chance for the Sprauve elementary students to shine. The secondary school students took their turn in the afternoon.
Third-graders entertained and educated with their segment on Caribbean flags.
“We are all one people and we live in the Virgin Islands,” they recited before dancing to an African folk song.
Dancers from several groups drew the loudest applause.
About 10-strong, the JESS Dancers entertained with a lively African dance to the music “Waka Waka.”
Music teacher Danielle Greenaway said she made up the dance’s choreography.
A group of three girls and one boy from the English as a Second Language class brought down the house with their rendition of the Puerto Rican dance plena.
Nearly three dozen first-graders entertained with verses from “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.”
“I looked over Jordan and what did I see,” they sang.
Proud parents helped pack the cafeteria.
Lyn Prince said she was on hand to support her daughter, India Prince, 10.
“I wanted to see the culture and the ways they’re portraying black history,” she said.
Retired educator Alecia M. Wells was pleased to see so many parents come for the assembly. “And in the middle of the morning,” she added.
Wells said she was happy that the assembly showcased many of the cultures that make up the Virgin Islands.
School Principal Dionne Wells said it was important for the students to know their history. She said it was a time for them to appreciate what their ancestors accomplished.
“And it’s an opportunity to be creative,” she said.
