Black History 2009
A Change is Gonna Come
On February 18, 2009 the High School Black History Committee presented a portion of its program during the elementary and middle school chapels. On February 24, 2009 the Committee presented its program during an expanded high school chapel.
This year's theme was based on a song by Sam Cooke called "A Change is Gonna Come." The song was first released in 1963. The lyrics are a strong reminder of how different race relations in this country were back in the 1960's. Regardless of your political affiliation, the election of the first African American president, 45 years later, represents a change in how we view race in this county. However, the recent election also highlighted that we still struggle with race. Too much emphasis is placed on our differences rather than on our similarities, in particular, our faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
This year, the program was centered on the life of our 44th president, Barack Obama, who was born not too long before the Sam Cooke song was released. The program highlighted certain memorable events in President Obama's life, complete with snapshots. The program also included some comedy skits meant to highlight how old beliefs linger and can shape current thinking if we aren't too careful.
Cast members included students from the middle school and high school in addition to an appearance by the High School Chamber Choir and several talented high school students who danced during part of the song performed by the choir.