The Special Education Advisory Council (S.E.A.C.) Meeting will be held Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 4:15 PM at the St. Landry Pupil Appraisal Center. To view the agenda, go to https://5il.co/1pskf.
Oprah Winfrey is a media superstar. She became the first woman of color to own and produce her own TV show! Since then she has produced movies and plays, launched her own TV network, and her own magazine. She has won countless awards. She is the first African American woman billionaire. Oprah is constantly using her influence to help others. In 2013 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
Congratulations to Port Barre High School student Kolby C., who created a code for Black History Month. The company that creates the class's curriculum and online textbook featured him on their home page.
Wow, great job! #slpproud~
CLICK HERE: https://www.brbytes.org/
Congratulations Sandra!
On Jan. 20, Kamala Harris became the first Black, first South Asian American and first woman Vice President of the United States.
Harris, born in Oakland, California to an Indian mother and Jamaican father, spoke about her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, in her first speech as vice president-elect.
Guion Bluford was an astronaut for NASA. Guion was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1942. He was the first African American to go to space. He was also the first African American to return to space not once but four times! Guion was the first African American to be awarded the United States Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings.
Mae C. Jemison is an American astronaut and physician who, on June 4, 1987, became the first African American woman to be admitted into NASAâs astronaut training program. On September 12, 1992, Jemison finally flew into space with six other astronauts aboard the Endeavour on mission STS47, becoming the first African American woman in space.
Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Oscar. She was able to carve out a place for herself in Hollywood despite rampant racism and a consignment to bit parts. She paved the way for many African American women, but not without her fair share of obstacles. Her performance as âMammyâ in Gone With the Wind (1939) won her Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars that year. However, the national movie premiere was in Atlanta. Because of Georgiaâs Jim Crow Laws, she was prohibited from attending the event. Hattie went on to star in over 300 films, was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 2006, and was the first Oscar winner to appear on a postage stamp.
Josephine Baker, one of showbizâs most iconic performers, left the United States due to the overt racism she encountered in 1937. After marrying a Frenchman, Jean Lion, she moved to Paris and renounced her U.S. citizenship. In 1940, when the Nazis began their occupation of Paris, Baker showed just how deep her loyalty to her adopted nation was, becoming a spy for the Allies. During her travels across Europe to perform, Baker would conceal messages within her costumes or her sheet music for other Allied spies. She also used her status as a desired society presence to eavesdrop at various embassy events and balls.
Born in 1867 to former slaves on a Louisiana cotton plantation, Madam Walker rose in power to become America's first female self-made millionaire. She did so through the creation of the Madam C.J. Walker Company. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, her company was a cosmetics manufacturer that specialized in beauty and haircare products for African American women.
Walker's business prowess was matched only by her philanthropy and activism. She helped establish a YMCA in the Black community of Indianapolis and contributed funds to the Tuskegee Institute.
The St. Landry Parish Math Instructional Specialists and Math and Science Supervisor were pictured in the Region IV STEM Newsletter for attending the Zearn Leadership Training!
There will be no school on Monday, February 20th, Tuesday, February 21st, and Wednesday, February 22nd in observance of the Mardi Gras holiday. Have a safe and happy Mardi Gras holiday!
Today is National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day! We thank our SROs for their dedication to our students & schools! We're extremely fortunate to have them on our campuses, building trusting relationships & maintaining order in our schools! You Rock! #slpproud
âUnbought and unbossed.â Those words ring loudly as a mere speck of Shirley Chisholmâs legacy. Chisholm, born and raised in Brooklyn, became the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1968. After four years as the New York representative for the 12th congressional district (primarily the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood), Chisholm announced her run for the presidency. In that moment, she became the first Black candidate for president from a major party, and the first female candidate to run for the Democratic Partyâs nomination. Chisholm's life was endangered as she vied for our nation's highest office. The representative won a total of 28 delegates during her run. After stepping down from Congress, Chisholm taught at Mount Holyoke and Spelman College, both all-women colleges (Spelman is also a historically Black institution). In 2015, she was awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
Allensworth, California was an all black township and the first of its kind. The township was founded in 1908 by Colonel Allen Allensworth and a group of other African-American men. Allensworth was meant to be a refuge away from the oppression that Black people faced amidst society and aimed to be wholly self-reliant. The town of Allensworth ran largely off of agricultural pursuits, but contained its own small businesses and school district by 1912. At the height of Allensworthâs success in the 1920s, there were around 300 residents. Severe drought and the discovery of arsenic in the water supply led to the loss of residents in the 1960s and 70s. In 1976, now empty, the town became a state historic park.
Happy Valentines Day! â€ïžâ€ïžâ€ïž
Lincoln University was the first historically black public university to grant degrees in the United States. Still in operation today, this small public university recently made headlines after MacKenzie Scott donated $20 million to the school. Lincoln (then called Ashmun Institute) welcomed its first students in 1854. Many prominent thinkers and creators have walked its halls, including Langston Hughes, class of 1929; Thurgood Marshall, class of 1930; jazz poet and activist Gil Scott-Heron; and Medal of Honor recipient and editor Christian Fleetwood, class of 1860
Ralph Bunche, a diplomat and political scientist, began working with the United Nations as early as 1944, as the form of the coalition began to become clear in the waning days of World War II. He, along with Eleanor Roosevelt, was responsible for the creation of 1948âs Universal Declaration of Human Rights. His Nobel Prize was given in recognition of this work amongst the Arab-Israeli conflict in the late 1940s. Bunche was the UNâs chief mediator for the conflict and negotiated the 1949 Armistice Agreements. The following year, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first Black woman to serve as a justice in the 232-year history of the Court.
In an historic ceremony at the Supreme Court shortly after the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer took effect at noon on June 30, 2022, Chief Justice John Roberts administered the Constitutional Oath to Justice Jackson (pictured). Justice Breyer, for whom Justice Jackson served as a law clerk during the Courtâs 1999-2000 term, then administered the Judicial Oath.
We're super excited to announce our 1st Annual Student Arts Expo will happen on Saturday, March 4, 2023 from 10 AM to 3 PM on the Opelousas Courthouse Square. We are so very thankful of the Acadiana Center for the Arts for making this happen. There will be school bands, student artists, our robotics teams, and so much more. This event is free and open to everyone! Please come out and support our students and bring friends!
