Good Evening OA Families,

Thank you for an incredible evening celebrating Black History Month at Oyster-Adams! We opened the evening with Mr. Earl Williams, first Black alumnus (Class of 1962) at Oyster-Adams following school desegration in Washington DC. His presence and words were profound: "The Civil Rights fight you have to fight this generation is a lot more complicated, a lot more nuanced...but one thing hasn't changed: Education is essential. You NEED an education even more than food!"

Mr. Williams's words come from generational sacrifice for a hard-fought right to education and social mobility. And they resound deeply across racial lines, in the experience of so many immigrant children whose ancestors did the same for us. Thank you Mr. Williams, our eldest Tigre, for making history at OA, and for belonging to our community! We also have so many community members to thank for making the evening possible!

• Monique Worrell for volunteering and organizing Black History events at Oyster-Adams for years!
• Sharon Reid-Worrell, Monique's mom who has been cooking incredible food for the event since 2019!)
• Kary Romero Shapiro who created the flyer
• Cedric Diakabana and his band, who played beautifully tonight!
• Olawale Oriola who donated food for the evening
• Catherine Depret for transporting food to the school
• Nadine Signe for creating a table showcasing African culture
• Emily Grinstead: OCC events coordinator
• Hilary Benson: OCC volunteers coordinator
• Mr. Benson for inviting Mr. Williams and keeping him connected to our school!
• All the staff & parent volunteers helping set up, clean up and serve food: Emma Arons, Carolyn Berndt, Stacia Cardille,  Alex Gerson, Jen Jessup, Eva Salvetti, Natalia Alfaro, Alejandro Barrera, Juan Turcios, Melissa Ventura
• The OCC for funding!

Have an awesome weekend everyone, and I look forward to continuing the celebration this month!

Un abrazo fuerte,

Carolina Brito, Directora