Kids portray big names for a Black History Month project

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

When his teacher assigned Alonte Miller to research and present information about the rapper Jay-Z for a Black History Month project, it was a good fit for him.

Alonte and his third-grade classmates at Warren’s Willard Pre-K to Grade 8 school presented their historical figure Friday as if they were a wax figure of the person, though it was hard to pull that off since they were also supposed to talk during their presentation.

“He’s all into rap,” said his mother, Samantha Rice. “He loves entertainment. He’s a music buff.”

But Rice enjoyed helping her son learn about Jay-Z, whose given name is Shawn Carter. Jay-Z was born in Brooklyn in 1969.

“I liked it because I got to show him other aspects of Jay-Z,” Rice said from the cafeteria of the school Friday. “He’s not only a rapper. He also a businessman and married to singer and actress Beyonce. He’s a dad, a family man,” Rice said.

Alonte told her Jay-Z is “not like other rappers,” Rice said. “He’s just a regular guy. I thought that was nice he got to see that – that all rappers are not thugs.”

The third-graders spent the morning reciting facts about their Black History Month subject to other students, teachers and family members. Younger children were also invited to hear the presentations.

Kayla Rieser, one of the third-grade teachers, said the project was appealing because it incorporated subjects such as reading, writing, speaking and art.

Each child was asked to create a paper presentation to go along with their spoken presentation.

“I think it’s awesome, a great way to end Black History Month,” Rice said of the project. “It’s bringing the whole third-grade class together, which shows unity, and that’s what Black History Month is all about,” she said.

Among the figures presented were boxer Muhammad Ali, actress and talk-show host Oprah Winfrey and former president Barack Obama. Ta-Shawn Fambro captured Obama’s energy and intelligence perfectly during his memorized presentation.

Brandon Wooding donned a pair of black-rimmed glasses and a neck tie to further enhance his strikingly similar appearance to black Muslim leader Malcolm X.

“My last name was Little, and I changed it to X,” Wooding said in his presentation.

Drevon Adams wore big hair while portraying entertainer Michael Jackson. “Growing up, I was in a band with my family called the Jackson Five,” Adams explained.

“I’ve never seen this before. The kids are enjoying it and learning something for sure,” said Gary Aceto, grandfather of Jaden Qualls, whose subject was King Tut, an Egyptian pharoah.

“I was famous for being the youngest king in Egypt,” Jaden said during his presentation.