(WSB photos – click any image for a larger view)

With music, art, poems, and stories, West Seattle Elementary in High Point celebrated Black History Month this morning in a district-wide spotlight, with media invited to cover the event. They’ve been learning about legendary leaders – note the kindergartener (above) holding a photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as classmates read a poem about him, and art in the hallways, with Rosa Parks and Maya Angelou among those featured:

The art is by third-graders, who also wrote essays incorporated into displays.

Along with learning about black Americans’ accomplishments, the children also heard firsthand stories of oppression, told by substitute teacher Lois Watkins, who is publishing a book soon with stories of growing up in segregated Little Rock, Arkansas.

Watkins read two of her short stories. One recalled how she and her sister were only allowed to play with a white girl under certain circumstances and in certain places, as they were not allowed in her home. Her other story recounted how she sneaked a drink of water from a drinking fountain designated “whites only” and was disappointed to find out the water was no different from what was provided in the one labeled “colored only” – as she realized the water all came from the same pipe.

The assembly also celebrated music, with first-graders singing Nat King Cole‘s classic “L-O-V-E“:

While onstage, the first-graders carried flags of all nations:

Fourth-graders also sang at the assembly – Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me.”

The annual celebration of African-American history was expanded to a month 40 years ago, in the nation’s bicentennial year, 1976.