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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Tony Payton |
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Payton speaks to Frankford students in honor of Black History Month
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 21 – State Rep. Tony Payton, D-Phila., spoke to honor roll students at Frankford High School Wednesday about Black History Month.
Payton was invited by the school to speak about his own personal achievements and challenges. During his remarks, he encouraged students to create their own path in life for success.
“Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when he was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers; Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up to a white passenger on a bus and created a revolution; the Greensboro Four sat-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter and eventually were served,” Payton said. “Black History Month is a remembrance of the important people and events in African-American history. As we honor these men and women, their perseverance should inspire us to achieve everything we can in life and not let a setback prevent us from reaching our own goals.
“We should continue to strive for diversity, equality and civility," he said. "Black History Month is an important opportunity for us to learn about our own heritage and to educate others on the proud accomplishments our ancestors have made before us.”
The celebration of Black History Month and the growth in the formal study of black history in America are credited to Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Born to parents who were former slaves, Woodson spent his childhood working in Kentucky coal mines and enrolled in high school at age 20. He graduated within two years and later went on to earn a doctorate from Harvard.
Woodson was disturbed to find in his studies that history books largely ignored African-Americans, their accomplishments, and their role in American history. When African-Americans were addressed, it was generally in ways that reflected the inferior social position that had been assigned.
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