Students get a lesson on black pioneers
As a child growing up in Elgin, Loretta Small didn't visit neighboring Sleepy Hollow much.
In fact, her father once told her that as a black man he couldn't even drive through the village. But now as an accomplished educator and current Sleepy Hollow resident herself, Small brought the students at Sleepy Hollow Elementary a Black History Month presentation to educate them on the many black pioneers who have shaped their way of life in this country.
"It's come full circle," said Small, who became connected to the school through her granddaughter, Chloe Young, a first-grader there.
As the executive director of the Youth Leadership Academy at Elgin Community College, Small has a great deal of experience in shaping young minds. Her presentation Wednesday highlighted the accomplishments of black entrepreneurs, civil rights leaders and politicians. As she began speaking about historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., the students cheered and clapped as they recognized the names from their class work.
Small said she was excited to give her presentation to a school that had only 11 black students among 500.
That sentiment was echoed by Sleepy Hollow Elementary Principal Anastasia Epstein.
"(The students) don't have an awareness that there were differences between races," she said. "That's why what she's doing is so important."