Kimberley Park students
live through
Black History
By KIM UNDERWOOD
WINSTON-SALEM/FORSYTH
COUNTY SCHOOLS
First Lady Michelle
Obama came to Kimberley
Park Elementary School.
So did Rosa Parks,
Martin Luther King Jr.,
Venus and Serena
WillfSms, Chris Paul,
George Washington
Carver, Coretta Scott King,
Nelson Mandela, Thurgood
Marshall, Maya Angelou,
Louis Armstrong and
Mohammed Ali.
In celebration of Black
History Month on Feb-. 22,
third-, fourth- and fifth
graders at the school por
trayed notable African
Americans in a "Living
Wax Museum." As younger
students came through the
auditorium with their
teachers, they would stop
in front of one of the people
being portrayed and, speak
ing in first person, the stu
dent portraying him or her
would tell die younger stu
dents about his or her life
and accomplishments.
Although most of the
students stood, fifth-grader
Makayla Moore sat - the
better to portray Rosa
Parks, who made history by
declining to give up her
seat on alius to a white per
son. Makayla chose Parks
because she respects what
Parks did.
"She didn't want to
give up her seat because
she didn't like how blacks
were treated," Makayla
said. "She wanted to
change the world."
Fifth-grader LaDonna
Campbell chose to be
Mahalia Jackson.
"I like her songs,"
LaDonna said.
In her research,
LaDonna ? learned that
Jackson marched with
Martin Luther King, Jr. and
was the first black gospel
singer to perform at
Carnegie Hall.
When LaDonna grows
up, she wants to become a
lawyer so that she can help
people.
Destiny Dunn likes run
ning so she decided to por
tray Wilma Rudolph, the
first American woman to
win three gold medals at a
single Olympics. When
Rudolph was little. Destiny
said, she had to wear a
brace on her left leg. She
overcame that to become a
great runner.
Jamiya Sanders chosd
Coretta Scott - later
Coretta Scott King -
because she likes to read
and Coretta Scott was a
writer.
The girls' teacher in the
all-girls fifth-grade class is
Kimone Campbell. For
Campbell, preparing for the
living wax museum was a
good way for the girls to
get a sense of where they
have come from and where
they need to go. Plus, it
helps them develop an
appreciation for what oth
ers have done for them.
It has other fringe bene
fits as well, said media
coordinator Yvette Evans.
"It helps the kids become
more comfortable speaking
. in public," she said.
In her third grade class,
Anna Powell gave her stu
dents the option of picking
out someone, or, if they
didn't know who they
wanted to portray, she
would give them a name.
James Leggette knew little
about Nelson Mandela
before he started doing
research and learned that
he was a South African
who worked to end
apartheid.
"They should have
equal rights," James said.
After being assigned
Thurgood Marshall,
Christian Arellano learned
that Supreme Court Justice
was born on June 2, 1908,
and that he was a really
good student.
Doing the research and
writing their presentations
was a good project, Powell
said. "I have seen a lot of
growth in their writing and
confidence."
Fifth-grader Justin
Bruson, who portrayed
basketball player Chris
Paul, has yet to see Paul,
who played at Wake Forest,
play in person but he sure
has liked watching him
play on television.
\
"I grew up a Clippers
fan," Justin said.
A number of students
had dressed up and were
looking particularly sharp
for the day, including third
grader Larry Blackburn
who wore a white suit and a
tie to portray boxer Joe
Louis.
Blessed Logan's moth
er, Dorothy, brought him a
suit to wear as George
Washington Carver.
Getting him to wear it was
no problem.
"He would be happy to
dress that way every day,"
she said.
Asked what makes her
son special, she said, "His
heart and his compassion
for people."
Student Destiny
Dunn portrays Wilma
Rudolph as part of
the "Living Wax
Museum."
Student LaDonna
Campbell portrays
Mahalia Jackson as
part of the "Living
Wax Museum."
New moves for WFU transcend
traditional Reynolda campus boundaries
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
From the Brookstown
area to Innovation Quarter,
Wake Forest University is
making a series of moves
that aim to expand the
University's engagement
with the surrounding com
munity in addition to its
geographic footprint. ?
With several graduate
programs, undergraduate
science classes and inter
disciplinary centers inhab
iting an increasing number
of rehabilitated spaces out
side the main entrances of
the Reynolda Campus,
Wake Forest is making
community involvement
and continual innovation
easier and more accessible.
"By transforming his
toric real estate into mod
ern educational facilities
ideal for academic pro
grams and community
gathering spaces alike,
Wake Forest is transcend
ing the traditional bound
aries of the Reynolda
Campus in ways that invite
the community in," said
Provost Rogan Kersh.
"Wake Forest is committed
to stronger, more meaning
ful connections among aca
demics, arts, innovation
and community engage
ment in Winston-Salem,
our shared City of Arts and
Innovation."
Last fall, the Graduate
School of Arts and
Sciences established a
striking new . downtown
presence, the Graduate
School @ Brookstown, in
the historic Brookstown
Mill at 200 Brookstown
Ave. The 14,000 square
foot third floor of the build
ing is now home to Masters
of Arts programs in
Documentary Film (DFP),
Interpreting and
Translation Studies, and
Liberal Studies, as well as
Lifelong Learning pro
grams. The facility will
also be home to a new
emphasis in Sports
Storytelling, launching this
fall from the DFP.
Bradley Jones, Dean of
the Graduate School of
V/ k.
I
Arts and Sciences, said the
combination of these fea
tures will translate into a
recruiting advantage for
prospective students, espe
cially those in creative
fields.
"Being within walking
distance of Winston
Salem's vibrant Arts
District is especially
appealing to our documen
tary film students, who are
already collaborating with
the Milton Rhodes Center,
New Winston Museum,
and the RiverRun Film
Festival," said Jones.
Wake Forest
University's Pro
Humanitate Institute and
the Anna Julia Cooper
Center rang in the New
Year in a new location that
makes civic engagement
and collaborating with
community partners easier
for everyone involved.
In January, both entities
found a new home in the
historic 6,000 square-foot
Davis House at 2599
Reynolda Road, at the cor
ner of Polo Road, which
offers a welcoming space
?*
for community partners
benefitting from civic
engagement and social jus
tice initiatives involving
Wake Forest students, fac
ulty and staff.
The Pro Humanitate
Institute combines learn
ing, teaching, research,
service, and action; pro
vides meaningful program
ming that encourages aca
demic scholarship; fosters
civic . engagement; and
addresses community
identified needs. The Anna
Julia Cooper Center
advances justice through
intersectional scholarship.
Melissa Harris-Perry,
founding director of the
Anna Julia Cooper Center
and executive director of
the Pro Humanitate
Institute, says the new loca
tion will serve as a bridge
between the University and
many of the people it
serves.
In addition to its new
location, the Pro
Humanitate Institute will
continue to maintain an
office and staff presence in
Benson University Center
y
for programming and
events that take place on
campus, such as Volunteer
Service Corps, Project
Pumpkin, Hit the Bricks,
and Wake 'N Shake.
In September 2015, the
University confirmed plans
to offer undergraduate aca
demic programs in Wake
Forest Innovation Quarter,
a nationally recognized
burgeoning hub of innova
tion in biomedical science
and information technolo
gy
Wake Forest under
graduate students could
begin taking classes and
conducting research in
Innovation Quarter as early
as January 2017. Space is
being planned to accom
modate up to 350 students
by 2021.
Wake Forest has leased
space in a former RJ.
Reynolds Tobacco
Company building from
Wexford Science and
Technology. Wexford is
currently renovating space
in the 60 series building,
adjacent to the planned
home of the Wake Forest
School of Medicine, to
accommodate classrooms
and laboratories for inno
vative undergraduate sci
ence programs.
"Our interest in Wake
Forest Innovation Quarter
allows us to explore fully
the intersection of arts and
science, scholarship and
entrepreneurship, and tra
dition and innovation,"
said Wake Forest President
Nathan O. Hatch. "An
undergraduate presence in
Wake Forest Innovation
Quarter would add to the
growing synergy among
the city's academic institu
tions, while supporting
intellectual collaboration,
research opportunities and
community engagement."
Hatch
Kerth
"Wake Forest is committed
to stronger, more meaningful
connections among academ
ics, arts, innovation and com
munity engagement in
Winston-Salem, our shared
City of Arts and Innovation."
- Rogan Kersh, Provost
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