Students honored for winning essays, video
February was celebrated as Black History Month across the country. Just as the establishment of Black History Month has its roots in education — having first been observed at Kent State University in 1970 — so, too, can we look to our Kettering City Schools students, whose talents and creativity help us focus not only on the integral role of African Americans and the African American culture in U.S. history, but also to remind us of both the strides that have been made and the work yet to be done to ensure equality and inclusion for all of the many and diverse cultures that make up the United States of America.
Fairmont’s Black Student Union, under the leadership of its president, Ciana KingMiller, a junior, meets two to three times a month to “share food, joy and learning.” FHS English teacher and Black Student Union advisor, Kelsey Mann, notes that the group was organized at the suggestion of students and that the Black Student Union “embraces a sense of community, belonging and Black culture among our students of color. We have an ‘open-door’ policy and welcome anyone who wants to show up at a meeting and join us,” says Mann.
Congratulations to Van Buren Middle School student, Eva Friedman, the middle school essay winner of the city of Kettering’s 2024 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Contest, to Fairmont High School student Camryn Liming, the high school essay winner of the contest, and to Fairmont student Brody Vander Houde, whose video was selected as the winning entry in the video category of the contest. Read Eva’s and Camryn’s essays and view Brody’s video, using the accompanying QR codes.