AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORYMAKERS GO BACK TO SCHOOL IN FORT LAUDERDALE
CHICAGO, IL – Florida native and interior designer Cecil Hayes is going back to her alma mater, Dillard High School, to share her story of success and talk about the value of education.
When Hayes graduated from college, she saw a job offer for a teaching position in Alma, Ga., an “undesirable situation.” Hayes packed two suitcases full of clothes and moved to teach art at the all-white school, integrating the entire school system in Alma.
Despite being confronted with racism from her white students, Hayes was able to start art and theater programs the all-white school had never seen before and came to be appreciated by the school and the community.
This is the kind of story that students across the country will hear on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015, when Hayes will join Florida Courier Publisher Charles W. Cherry II (Blanche Ely High School) in Pompano Beach and entrepreneur Andrew Ingraham (Dillard High School) in Fort Lauderdale, along with hundreds of HistoryMakers nationwide, for the Sixth Annual Back to School With The HistoryMakers program. The theme of the day is “COMMIT.” HistoryMakers will return to class-rooms to give their testimony of pursuing an education, overcoming challenges on their path to success, and making a difference in their communities.
Most importantly, they will encourage students to COMMIT to finishing their education.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is chairing the nation-wide effort with the goal of having more than 400 Black leaders go “back to school” in 67 cities and 32 states. The program puts HistoryMakers in direct contact with over 25,000 students in 200 schools across the nation, to inspire them with their life’s stories and to encourage youth to strive for excellence.
Last year, Hayes attended programs at both Blanche Ely High School and Dillard High School and said, “Everything for the Back to School with the HistoryMakers program was perfect.
“Both schools are first class organizations.” Hayes is one of the Regional Coordinators for Florida on The HistoryMakers National Advisory Board. The HistoryMakers Founder and Executive Director, Julieanna Richardson, says “By bringing these living leaders into today’s educational system, we are raising awareness about the achievements of the accompli-shed African Americans in local communities and bringing these leaders into schools to see things firsthand, while providing important role models for today’s youth.”
Richardson is encouraging educators everywhere to use The HistoryMakers’ Digital Archive (http://www.thehistorymakers.com/digital-archive) to enrich their students’ exposure to the contributions of African Americans across the globe. This year, schools participating in the event will receive a free one-year membership for the digital archive, which includes easy-to-access interviews with over 1,000 HistoryMakers.
For more information, visit The HistoryMakers website at www.thehistorymakers.com, and
The HistoryMakers Education page at http://www.thehistorymakers.com/education.
