Celebrating the Elements of Black History

Throughout the Carmel Central School District, our teachers and staff strive to ensure that Black history and a diverse curriculum are a part of our classroom teachings year-round.

As part of the nationwide celebration of Black History in February, our students were presented diverse lessons on the notable contributions, and the pivotal roles, that Black individuals play in the areas of history, literature, art and more.

The halls of George Fischer Middle School displayed a large-scale periodic table of Black history, created by Assistant Principals Christopher Barrie and Laura Weiss.

The table, color-coded by industry, highlighted notable Black leaders who have made extraordinary contributions in science, literature, sports, entertainment and more. This table brought attention to leaders of the past, such as Langston Hughes and George Washington Carver, and current-day leaders, including Simone Biles, Denzel Washington and Barack Obama. It also includes leaders who are not as widely known.

“Students can go up to this display and see these names – some of them are not the usual names that students tend to study this time of year.” said Barrie.

Barrie points out the inclusion of leaders like Madam C. J. Walker, a Black woman who created a successful homemade line of hair care products for Black women and is considered the first Black female self-made millionaire.

“Why shouldn’t she be talked about like Bill Gates?” said Barrie.

Weiss and Barrie are already thinking forward to next year and how they can grow the table and make it interactive. Ideas of QR codes, scavenger hunts and student involvement in creating it are already being talked about.

“This is a starting point. We definitely want to deepen the work that we do with this display," said Weiss. “This is how you build empathy in students. By introducing them to different perspectives.”