Music, artwork and food will highlight Lawrence High School’s annual Black History Month celebration and also honor seven “trailblazers” at the event on Feb.29.
The event, which is free, runs from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Lawrence High School, which is located at 2525 Princeton Pike.
It begins in the hallway outside the Lawrence High School auditorium. Visitors can view and buy an assortment of items from more than a dozen black business vendors.
At 3 p.m., visitors will be treated to a taste of cultural dishes,and also take a pictorial and musical journey through black history.
At 5 p.m., the celebration moves into the auditorium. The keynote speaker is Elder Lois Key-Alexander, the co-pastor of the Life Abundant Church of God at 167 Mercer Street in Trenton.
The program moves on to feature dance, musical and choral performances by the Lawrence Intermediate School’s Pitch Black ensemble, the Lawrence High School Madrigal, the Lawrence High School ensemble and gospel choirs, and the Lawrence High School Jazz Band.
The featured special guests are Tiffany & Company Academy of Dance and the Renaissance Jazz Band.
But perhaps the highlight of the evening is the presentation of the Trailblazer awards, given to honorees in recognition of their contributions to the Mercer County area.
This year’s honorees include Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, who grew up in Trenton and who served on the Trenton City Council. She was appointed to represent the 15th Legislative District (Hunterdon-Mercer) in 2018 to fill out an unexpired term.
Retired Lawrence Township police officer Ernest Chester also will be recognized, as will Stacey D. Heading, the S.E.E.D. (Servants Endeavoring to Empower and Develop) male mentoring program coordinator.
Tiffany Hargrett, the founder of Tiffany & Company Dance Academy, also will pick up a Trailblazer award. She has studied many styles of hip hop dance, and is an established choreographer in the hip hop and competition dance circles.
The DIVAS, who are humanitarian service advocates, will be honored with a Trailblazer award, also.
The 2020 Rising Star award recipient is Rays of Hope, which is a youth community service organization.
Black History Month grew out of Negro History Week, which began in 1915. Historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, which researched the achievements of black Americans.
The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History sponsored a national Negro History Week in 1926. The second week in February was chosen because it coincided with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who was an escaped slave and who became an abolitionist leader.
Over time, Negro History Week evolved into Black History Month. President Gerald Ford officially designated February as Black History Month in 1976 to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of blacks to the United States.
