Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School celebrated Black History Month with performances, poems, songs and dances on Feb. 28 in the school’s auditorium. This year’s theme was “Paving the Way One Beat at a Time.”

This year’s masters of ceremonies were Simeon Cooper, Laila Campbell, Anthony Woods and Jordyn Bell. To kick off the event, the Madrigal Choir performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” They were followed by a performance from the Copiague Middle School step team. Rebecca Alara shared a dramatic rendition of the poem “Assimilation,” written by her sister.

The history and beauty of black hair was celebrated with a parade on stage of different hairstyles including looks that featured ancient braids, corn braids, plait braids, Afros, dreadlocks, Bantu knots, straightened hair and natural hair.

The Copiague jazz band performed “Stolen Moments” and was followed by the Hip Hop Club’s presentation. Simeon Cooper offered a dramatic performance of the poem “My People” by Langston Hughes. Students presented facts about different historically black colleges and universities and their role in higher education. Copiague’s own African American Academy Awards presentation featured students dressed as different celebrity lookalikes. The students closed out the show with all performers in a dance mashup on stage.

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Date Added: 3/7/2023