*This is an adaptation of President Lange’s Keynote given at the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) Inaugural Black History Month Kickoff Celebration *
This month’s theme of African Americans in the Arts dovetails beautifully with our organizational Theme of “For Culture, For Community.” The interaction of the richness of arts, culture and Black history, is the Baseline Fabric in which we’ve existed in this country for hundreds of years.
In the “handcrafts” the following artists were commissioned as historical firsts: Edmonia Lewis, Richard Hunt, Faith Ringgold , Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, Elizabethe Catlett, Jacob Larence, Kehinde Wiley, Amy Sherald, Horace Pippen, Romare Bearden, Henry Tanner and Augusta Savage’s work was similarly uplifting. In a large commission for the 1939 New York World’s Fair, Lift Every Voice and Sing, which is often described as the Black National Anthem, was inspired by Augusta Savage’s sculpture also known as“The Harp” as it depicted black singers as the strings of the instrument.
The list continues on and I hope you spend this month researching and learning about all those who broke ground in such monumental ways, and I am fascinated by those who leaned in on the talents and expertise of their ancestors to guide them through the work. I’d like to specifically call into the creative art of communication that black folks had to dial into since their arrival; taps, claps, stomps, and my all time favorite — eye contact – until there was shared language. As the descendant of Blacksmiths and agriculturalists used all of these methods to not only steer their work in the field and sheds but also directed essential safety and social cues when in public together.
When I think about our students and all that they are continuing to navigate as they understand their needs in order to be successful in our schools throughout Sonoma county, I draw upon the richness of our culture and how that helps our people thrive. And when you look at the makeup of those in our classrooms and administrative positions and those in the respective district offices, those demographics do not necessarily embody a reflection of who is being served.
Most importantly, our branch is committed to, and will continue to highlight the ways in which our Black students need safety in representation, understanding, and celebration in the unique culture in which they embody. We seek to enhance the cultural competency in the art of their verbal and nonverbal communication that often is misunderstood. I look forward to the continued partnership with SCOE and the districts at large in their investment in all of the necessary programs and tools to allow for teachers across Sonoma County to be far more successful in their educational and cultural endeavors through arts; needed not just help our Black babies thrive, but to ensure that they are held, seen, and valued along the way.
May today’s celebration and kickoff to this month, be an inspiration for all of us in this room, to think about the ways in which we are going to work together in order to address and create space for the ongoing conversation and safety of our youth.
Let it not be lost that it is deeply and truly because of the contributions of African-American people that this country and community has given us so much to stand on, so much to learn from, and so many futures to protect.
Thank you.
