February is Black History Month. The month pays tribute to the countless sacrifices made by African Americans. Linganore High School (LHS) held its second annual Black History Month event celebrating a people’s freedom on February 10. 

Black History Month means something different to each person, but it is an important opportunity to teach and inform others. The LHS Black History Month event allows students and community members to participate, celebrate, and share an understanding of history. 

Senior and SGA president Josslyn Quansah discussed the purpose of the event.

“Having this event consistently will kind of get the kids used to being like ‘Oh, February, I know it’s Black History Month,,’” Quansah said. “[The students will] know that we’re celebrating African Americans here at our school and learning more about our culture.”

The LHS event took place during the school day and had an evening component. During the school day, Assistant Principal Marcus Allen organized classes to rotate through three stations with different content.

As part of the event, Linganore’s Black Student Union hosted author Darnell Parr, who shared her experiences in the Black community with a book dedicated to her daughter, titled “Just in case…: I Forgot to Tell You.”

“I think it’s important for people to show up and participate [in Black History Month], especially now, because your voice will be lost,” Parr said. “If you don’t stand up and speak … someone else is going to write your history. Someone else is going to tell the story about you or not tell the story about you,” Parr said. “If you don’t speak up, you can’t blame anyone but yourself for whatever the outcome is.”

In the Learning Commons, students from LHS performed a sketch of the Buffalo Soldiers, a presentation summarizing the hardships experienced by the exclusively African American Army regiments, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Kenneth Butler and Aaron Tetteh, two soldiers in the presentation, emphasized the work and effort put into the performance. 

“[We] practiced every day.” Butler said. “We did it on our own. [We] took charge and led the way.”

Butler and Tetteh also highlighted the importance of displaying their culture in ways others are able to digest. 

“I feel like people don’t know. It’s good to know about everyone’s culture.” Tetteh said.

In addition to hosting Parr and hearing of the Buffalo Soldiers’ experience, Linganore also invited the Melodies of Worship band, who played renditions of singer-songwriter Luther Vandross’s work. 

The event also offered cultural cuisine, such as beef empanadas, meatballs and macaroni salad as one of the class rotations.

In the evening, the event hosted performances and presentations from the LHS Concert Choir, Mr. Daryl Boffman, the LHS Dance Company, the AACC Buffalo Soldiers, the LHS African dance and drum ensemble, Marlowe Barnes from the East Coast Chapter, Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated, the LHS Jazz Ensemble, The inspirational choir, the Frederick County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and the Melodies of Worship band. These performances and presentations express the experiences of the Black community. 

“It [the performances and presentations] kind of represents the freedom of Black people and how in the past, maybe their efforts went as unnoticed, but we can recognize that today and make it more visible to the school’s eyes,” Quansah said. 

Black History month helps to highlight the contributions of many amazing people that affect so much of one’s day-to-day life. At LHS, bringing recognition to these achievements is one of the purposes of its Black History Event celebration. 

“I just want them [attendees] to understand that the whole purpose of yesterday [the event] was kind of celebrating a people’s freedom, with new experience,[s] new taste, new sound,” Quansah said. “So, that’s how all the different components fit in, and it’s just kind of celebrating how we’ve been released as a people.” 

Support for the event was abundant. Many of those who attended were really interested in learning about Black culture and history. LHS sophomore Bhumika Vaidya, who attended the event during the school day, shared that understanding the struggles endured was a crucial part of getting to know all the history behind all the singers and performers.

African-American history and contributions to society do not end after February; it is a recurring narrative that deserves uninterrupted support and celebration throughout the year.