59.4 F
Milpitas
Saturday, November 2, 2024
spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
ChildrenPearl Zanker Elementary Hosts First-Ever Black History Month Ceremony

Pearl Zanker Elementary Hosts First-Ever Black History Month Ceremony

Ad paid for by Milpitas Families for Anthony Phan 2024 - Mayor; FPPC#1472342 not the special interestsspot_img
spot_img
spot_img

Zanker Elementary School in Milpitas kicked off the first day of Black History Month by hosting an opening ceremony/assembly. Reverend Jethroe Moore, who’s President of the San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP, talked to students about Black History, and the ceremony featured an African gumboot dancing performance by Kele Nitoto and Marcus Marshall from Oakland Hand Drums.

Gumboot dancing originated in South Africa during the Apartheid, when men were forced to work in dark mines for 6 months at a time, away from their families, in unsafe conditions. Since they weren’t allowed to speak to one another, they had to develop their own way of communicating. They thus started to slap and stomp their boots. In time, the practice evolved into a dance, which has since been brought to the United States. Some say gumboot dancing played a tremendous role in cultivating what’s known as “stepping”, a more contemporary form of dance involving similar stomping movements.

Nitoto’s father learned the art of gumboot dancing from his own father, who himself learned it from a gentleman who brought it from South Africa in the seventies. When Nitoto was younger, he and his father would perform the dance and teach audiences about what occurred during the Apartheid.

“It’s such an honor to be this school’s first Black History Month performance,” said Nitoto, who’s been playing drums and gumboot dancing all his life.

His friend Marshall, meanwhile, has been dancing for 4 years, and was taught by Nitoto. “It was probably the funnest experience I’ve ever had, learning the dance…” said Nitoto.

Zanker students watched with delight as the pair performed a spirited and lively dance, speckled with bell sounds and built around chanting and stomping with their large boots.

 

 

Afterward, when Moore got up to speak, he opened the children’s minds by talking about how the ice cream scooper, along with new ways to use peanuts (in things like shampoos and glue), were discovered by African-Americans, and speaking to larger themes of unity and human connectedness…

“Respect your neighbors. Love your neighbors,” said Reverend Moore. “Because they all want to go to school and be safe with one another…”

He also spoke of Ruby Bridges, who in 1960, at the age of 6, became the first African-American to desegregate an all-white elementary school: “She made it able for us to come together in school today for everyone in school to learn.”

Zanker’s Black History ceremony was organized by a group of dedicated parents from Zanker’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA).

At one point, Nitoto sounded a resonant note about the human spirit of perseverance: “Let me tell you something: It is your job whenever you’re in bad times, to try and find the joy and happiness.” Bringing it back to gumboot dancing, he said, “This dance came to be because people were finding joy in bad times.”

Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran, who had also been scheduled to speak at the assembly, could not attend, due to scheduled morning meetings that had gone on longer than anticipated.

Editing note: The section about ice cream/peanuts was rewritten for accuracy. 

 

Paid for by Robert Jung for Milpitas School Board FPPC# 1448154spot_img
Paid for by Dipak Awasthi for Milpitas City Council FPPC# 1469123spot_img
spot_img
Paid for by Bill Chuan for Milpitas City Council 2023 FPPC#: 1467708spot_img
spot_img
Paid for by Evelyn Chua for Milpitas City Council FPPC#1470209spot_img
Paid for by Hon for Milpitas Mayor 2024 FPPC# 1464067spot_img
-Adverstisement-spot_img
-Adverstisement-spot_img
-Adverstisement-spot_img
Rhoda Shapiro
Rhoda Shapiro
Rhoda Shapiro is the winner of a 2022 Golden Quill Award for her Education journalism. She works as a journalist and media consultant in the Bay Area. She has written for both the Tri-City Voice and the Mercury News, and is the founder of Chi Media Company, which works mostly with nonprofit organizations and educational entities to elevate their marketing and communication platforms. Rhoda is also the author of “Fierce Woman: Wake up your Badass Self” and “Magic Within: Womb-Centered Wisdom to Realize the Power of Your Sacred Feminine Self.” Her YouTube channel features practices in yoga, meditation, and women’s empowerment. Rhoda is The Milpitas Beat’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

-Adverstisement-spot_img