Ep 2, Black History Month

you're listening to Putnam City Now. Putnam City Now is a production of the journalism departments of Putnam City North, Putnam City Original, and Putnam City West High School. It's Black History Month and in a district as diverse as Putnam City, we want to celebrate the accomplishments and understand the struggle of the Black community. First up today, we'll hear from PC Original's Polly Thomas, who will give us an overview of the need to celebrate this month and to celebrate the diversity in all of our community. Take it away, Polly. It is that time again in the year where we celebrate all the Black women and men that have helped form the Black Society. School textbooks briefly go over slavery as well as the antebellum cell, but do not include some of the most influential people in the Black community, such as Mary Bethlyn and Langston Hedges, as well as countless others. Black history should not only be acknowledged when the official day starts. February is the official month to highlight Black history for some very important reasons. For instance, Carter G. Woodson thought Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were two influential people to the Black population. On February 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment was passed and Black people finally had the right to vote. I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't. I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger. That was a quote from Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and humanitarian. Born into slavery, she escaped and made 13 missions and recovered approximately 70 enslaved families and friends. This is a quote from senior Kale Pinkston. I am really glad they are putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. I think this is a good way for us to further the introduction of diversity into our great nation to be. I would love to see other ethnicities on coins, for example, the Sacajawea coin. It's a great way to express the Native American cultures, as well as other cultures as well. To name some of the countless influential Black people who have helped shape the Black community, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Usain Bolt, Rita Dove, Morgan Freeman, Nipsey Hussle, and Dr. Sebe. Among the people are herbalists, poets, activists, philanthropists, leaders, politicians, actors, and people that just were inspirational to the Black community. It would be wonderful when Black history and Native American history and Jewish history and all of U.S. history is taught from one book, just U.S. history. That was a quote from Maya Angelou. This is a quote from Sophomore of Anni Stevenson. "Growing up, I've always known and learned about Black culture as well as history from my family. It is upsetting that Black history has not really talked about in depth in textbooks, but instead only really ever brought up during Black History Month. They only teach or talk about the sad and traumatic parts of Black history, and it's way deeper than that." In the 1960s, White people believed that the Black society were ignorant and they did not know anything about politics. In 2009, America had its first African-American president. We were clueless about politics, yet in 2021, America had its first African-American woman, might I add, Vice President. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black and female candidate to run for president as a Democrat, and she was born in 1924. Martin Luther King Jr. was, and still is, might I add, the logic of the Black leader. He tried to get the Black community in the middle class or the body politic, which ultimately is to get them into the mainstream of American life. Did you know that back in the day, White magazines or stores advertised skin-white nurse for the darker complexion, and straight nurse or perms to keep your hair straight for kinkier hair? Back then, White America could not accept that. It was a multi-race anxiety. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright day break of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. Martin Luther King Jr. Thank you, Polly. If the past year has taught us anything as a community that embraces diversity, it's the need for voices to speak up and to be heard to make change where justice is needed. You'll hear now from PC West sophomore Amaya Harris, an activist with the local Black Lives Matter movement. Amaya has taken this opportunity to learn and to shine that knowledge where it is needed to uplift others. Hopefully, her story will inspire others to find their voices and to lift that voice to advocate for those who need it. Yeah, I've had a lot of great opportunities, and I've met a ton of great people. I've heard a million and one stories about people and their trauma, and it truly taught me something about our community and what really goes on around us. For example, I got to go to the march on Washington, and that was a once in a lifetime experience. I feel like that's never something I'll ever get the chance to do again. And being able to say that I was there, I stood in the steps of Martin Luther King. I heard many amazing stories that day. I met a ton of people who, the emotion was just so high, and I feel like that's the day I will never, ever forget. Amaya found her voice this spring and summer amid all the social unrest. Listen as she tells us how she became involved in the movement. Using my Facebook mainly to post multiple posts, keep people updated on what's going on, and that's kind of when I met four young ladies, and we kind of got into correlations with each other, and we were planning protest. After that, I went on to be in more correlation with Rodney Cox, and ever since then we've kind of been planning protest, sitting in on board meetings, really trying to be more about the community. After our children's march that I hosted with Mr. Rodney Cox, that's kind of when I was like, okay, I think I want to turn my attention more towards children. It is that passion for children and for youth that have led Amaya to become a leader in her school. Just being a freshman, not really talking to many people about politics or anything. I've seen a lot of students, especially at West, gradually text me like, hey, it was as appropriate. This kind of happened to me. I don't really know how to handle the situation, so I feel that a lot of children are now coming to me as somebody who they look up to, who they trust, who is going to give resourceful information about something, and I love that. Personally, my voice is getting stronger, and the people around me, their voice is rising up as well, especially in our hallways, and that is something that I love to see in my school and I love to see in my peers. Sometimes an understanding of inequality brings discomfort, and Harris challenges allies outside the movement to allow those moments of discomfort to make them better and more aware of their privilege and of the struggle of others. I feel like in a situation like this, if you do feel emotions and that you're on the top of your seat and you have shivers and you're just really on edge about everything that's going on around you, I think you could transfer that into putting that somewhere or into someone who needs the help. Thank you, Amaya, and thank you for joining us on the Putnam City Now podcast. We'd like to hear from you. Drop an email at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you with a voice message. Give us a story idea or a shout out to your favorite Putnam City teacher. They could be any grade level from pre-K to 12th grade, but give us your name, grade, and the school you attend. We would love to honor them on the Next Putnam City Now podcast. Thanks again for listening. Our music is by Audionautics.com and the Putnam City Now is a project of the journalism programs of all three Putnam City High Schools.