Black History Month 2025 at Burgundy

By Pat Harden, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and School Counselor 

The progressive learning environment at Burgundy is grounded in the lives, interests and cultures of the students, faculty and families in our community. Current events that capture the attention of the community as well as important moments in the history of our democratic society are thoughtfully brought into our learning spaces, often by the student community. The goal is always in pursuit of helping students understand the world they live in, the complexities of our efforts as a country to work towards a more perfect union and the responsibilities and opportunities they have as citizens of a democratic society. We use many different tools as we work towards this goal including putting special emphasis on certain less included members of society at times that have been set aside for this study. 

In 1970 Carter Woodson, an African American historian and journalist and leader of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) designated February as Black History Month (BHM) in the US. Congress officially concurred in 1986.  BHM is also observed during February in Canada while October is Black History Month in The United Kingdom and Ireland. The goal in establishing Black History Month was to ensure that the current life, work and the history of Black Americans is included as we learn about the forming and ongoing development of our country. 

During Black History Month 2025 Burgundy students were busily engaged in various areas of study and exploration about the life and history of Black people in America. 

Amongst many other examples in Early Childhood

The Chicks explored the vibrant world of jazz music, discovering its roots in African American culture and how it continues to influence music today. Through listening exercises and discussions, our youngest learned about some of jazz’s legendary Black artists and the unique rhythms that make jazz so special. They even tried their hands at creating their own musical rhythms, replicating the art of improvisation at the heart of jazz music. 

The Foxes read books written and/or illustrated by Oge Mora, who’s beautiful collage illustrations and relatable stories inspired them to create mini-versions of themselves out of painted paper. This included each child mixing paints to create their own unique skin color. Rich conversations around melanin, the fact that skin tones can be different within families, and the celebration of everyone’s unique skin color grew out of this activity.

Like the Chicks the Foxes also followed their interest in music and focused on learning about and listening to Black musicians including Trombone Shorty (who happened to perform at this year’s Super Bowl delighting the knowledgeable Foxes!) Bo Diddley, Jon Batiste whose quotes from an interview about the importance of “finding your sound” dovetailed with an overall class learning goal, and the renowned Ella Fitzgerald. The children listened to their music, painted what their music made them feel, watched interviews where the musicians explained their connection with music, and were inspired to use their classroom Makerspace to create their own musical instruments out of recycled materials.

In the Lower School The Coopers read the essay A World Without Black People by Phillip Megawali to explore how our everyday lives are shaped by the inventions and influences of many Black/African Americans. They then brainstormed topics they were interested in, faculty and staff at Burgundy collaborated to suggest names of African Americans whose work aligned with those interest topics and each student then researched two of the African Americans on the generated list. Using their research, students will create two different styles of poetry to highlight the impact of their chosen figures combining their study of poetry with their African American History learning. 

In some of the Middle School Spanish classes students explored the influence of African music and dance on Latin American and Caribbean musical traditions. They learned how African, Indigenous and European styles blended to form a uniquely Latin/Caribbean music and dance aesthetic. Afro-Cuban rumba, Afro-peruana music, Salsa, Jamaican reggae, and Colombian cumbia are some of the Latin American and Caribbean musical genres containing African influences that students explored. 

Middle school Spanish classes also explored Picasso’s African period. They analyzed key African artworks (particularly tribal masks), explored the cultural context of African art and created their own illustrations incorporating geometric shapes, fragmented perspectives and bright colors. These African art techniques influenced the Cubism movement, one of the most influential visual art styles of the 20th century. Students’ artwork from this study are currently displayed in the library.

Some eighth grade Spanish students have been learning about African myths and legends in the unit “Mitos y Leyendas del mundo”. They explored African legends and their influence in Latin American cosmogony and literature. Many of these stories incorporate themes of resistance and spiritual beliefs that were adapted and blended, especially in countries where large populations of African descent reside.

Each year ASALH announces a theme to help guide learning and explorations during Black History month. The 2025 theme is Blacks in labor. On February 20th Parents of African American Students (PAAS) brought this theme to life by sponsoring an All School Meeting  focused on the work and careers of select African Americans connected to our Burgundy community. 

A firefighter who is a dad of two burgundy students,  the owner of the pet gym and training facility “Frolick Dogs” and the owner and instructor from “Harold Yoga Studio” all met with lower school students in the gym.  

Other current and alumni Burgundy parents, one who leads country coalitions at the State Department that are working on anti terrorism efforts,  one who is a Cyber Security expert at Oracle, and one who is a Doula and owner of Sunflower Healing, met with middle school students in the Loft theater. 

The engaging  presentations in both venues were met with rapt attention and were followed by lively questions and discussions. Special thanks to the many PAAS members for their work on this year’s PAAS All School Meeting for Black History Month. They and the ASM presenters expertly reminded us of the richness of African American life even as we also study the unique struggles African Americans have faced and the legacies of those struggles that continue today. Afterwards, more than one student noted that some of the presenters are doing work that is similar to some of the African American historical figures they are learning about, a reminder that  what each of us does has importance and that excellence today comes in all different colors.