The Paducah Tilghman High School African American Leadership Club hosted its third Black History Presentation Friday night at the school auditorium as a celebration of Black history and culture.
The program was first held in 2020 after the AALC was established at the high school. The program was not held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The theme for this year’s Black History presentation was ‘Unity in the Community,’ ” said Shonda Hollowell Burrus, the chief equity officer for the Paducah school district.
“The AALC students were intentional with reaching out to the schools and the community to put on a program that celebrated African-American heritage, culture and traditions. The night was a coming together celebration of the unity of people to celebrate and honor Black history, past and present,” she said.
“Black history is American history, and the program’s participants were reflective of the diverse Paducah public school system’s employees, students, staff and families and the Paducah community.”
The presentation consisted of musical entertainment, recitations, dance and other performances. Interspersed between performances were the popular “Who Am I” vignettes, where students came out in costume and told the history of the person they were portraying, asking the audience to guess who they were.
Step teams from Clark Elementary School, McNabb Elementary School, Morgan Elementary School, Paducah Middle School and Paducah Tilghman High School took the stage to show their moves.
The Storm Watch Steppers, as the entire group is called, performed in tandem, synchronizing their moves across the stage.
The history of historically Black fraternities and sororities was told, and representatives of those organizations cheered when the group’s names were called.
Members of the PTHS African American Leadership Club who took part in the program were CoryOn Brooks, Justice Campbell, Paige Dennis, Airyn Frazier, Hailey Freeman, Jaidan Glispie, Raymond Green, Sydnee Harris, LaNaysha Hunt Hall, Maukella Jackson, Taveona Jackson, Taveus Jackson, Hannah Long, Aaliyah Mackey, Kendall McDonald, Asonte Newsom, Kayleigh Powell, Kejuan Purdiman, Terrance Robinson, LaNiya Rouse, Kenya Wade and Alexa White.