Sometimes educators have to think way outside of the box to create lasting educational memories for students. One such educator that has truly nailed it is Kendall Maloney. The DC teacher had her students recreate iconic Ebony Magazine covers to pay tribute and make Black history real for her students.
Some of the images reflect a mini-sized Sade, a tiny Diana Ross and a young Ava DuVernay, among others. The covers of students at Bunker Hill Elementary School, in Washington, D.C., not only make Black history real, but they also celebrate the excellence that was and is to come!
“I wanted to create something where the students knew that they were excellent, they were Black excellence, and that they could do anything and dream and be anything possible,” Maloney said in a recent interview.
Once Maloney’s project was approved, she and her students began their fundraising efforts, selling snacks and candy grams to raise money for the project and printing. The Bunker Hill Elementary students got to choose which people they wanted to portray.
Ashton Carter, a fifth grader, who portrayed Chadwick Boseman for the project, said in an interview with NBC Washington that the outcome was truly worth the effort.
“I did the calendar project because it was a way to honor the Black leaders before us,” he said. “It was a lot of work, but it paid off in a good way.”
Another student, Hermola Abrha, was excited to be a part of the tribute. “I’m proud of myself, to be proud of my culture,” she said.
My friend is a teacher at Bunker Hill Elementary School in NE DC. She had some of the students recreate classic @EBONYMag covers. Check em out!! 🔥🔥🔥@ava & more! pic.twitter.com/LwqyM6kMPD
— DJ Heat (@DJHeatDC) March 31, 2022
One of the students’ grandmothers, Joyce Gregory, said that unique projects such as this one could unquestionably have a lasting impact on the next generation.
“I’m hoping that they will share it with their children and talk about the different pages within the calendar, and give them more exposure about Black history.”
Calendars were sold to members of the community and the school hopes to do this project again in the future. We definitely think that they should! What iconic Ebony cover do you think that they should recreate? Sound-off and comment below. We want to hear from you!
