Even as the children walked in with freshly printed tees saying, “Steppin’ Into Black History,” staff was still putting chairs out into an already crowded dining room. Those who preferred to stand, were careful not to lean into posters telling the story of Muhammad Ali, Rosa Parks, Barak Obama and many others pasted all around the room.
The Jack August After School Program put together a show honoring Black History for everyone in the Isaacs Center. Students and older adult volunteers showed up to a crowded dining hall decorated with factoids about important figures in Black History, from Harriet Tubman to Barrack Obama. The event was put on by the Jack August program with help from members of the older adult center as part of the Intergenerational Committee.
Everyone was treated to poetry from local tenant leader Saundra Coleman as well as speeches on the importance of Black History, a spiritual, and dances full of joy. The event had two solo acts from two young boys in the group; one little historian who told everyone about Fedrick Douglass, and young singer who performed “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, to which everyone in the audience joined in for the chorus.
“It was really good to see the young people and the seasoned adults come together,” said Coleman afterward. “‘And a child shall lead’–they are the future.”
Fred Rubinstein, who funds the Jack August After School Program, visited to watch the show and then joined the children afterward as they enjoyed soul food in the Isaacs Center library. He congratulated the students on their performance and added a few words of advice, gesturing at the shelves: “Read these books! Read all these books.”
The After School program is named after pioneering elementary school principal Jack August. As principal of PS 108 in Spanish Harlem, August persuaded the Board of Education to launch the city’s first free school breakfast program after becoming concerned that students were coming to class hungry. Since the school served a largely immigrant population, he began offering evening English language classes for the children’s parents and guardians.
August also helped pilot an after school program for the city. P.S. 108 was one of a handful of schools named as an All-Day Neighborhood School in the 1950s by the Board of Education. These schools provided extra help in reading, language arts, social studies and other subjects from 3-5 pm.
The spirit of community-building and mutual support continues today at our Jack August After School. Eric Wyche, director of the Jack August program, told the crowd it was important to come together to celebrate Black History. “We gather for things like this,” he said. “We should gather like this every day, not just holidays.”
