Written by Karen Falcon, 6th grade teacher

The sixth grade class began the year by adding a few paragraphs to a book they wrote last year on the Black Press. They have been creating beautiful collages to illustrate their book. Along with researching and writing individual pieces for Volume II of “Journey to the Core of the Twentieth Century” they wrote a collaborative piece on Romare Bearden, who helped to inspire them with their collage work. They are now working on a book about people in history who fought for voting rights, and will be interviewing the granddaughter of someone who won two cases in the Supreme Court, one in 1924 and the other in 1927 to protect voting rights for people of color who were not allowed to vote in Texas primaries. Their interview will also be broadcast on a local radio station.The following is the introductory paragraph for the student’s book “The Black Press”:

“The Black Press gave a voice to Black people because in the white press they were invisible unless they committed a crime. This press exposed how the white press was covering up the truth about what was really happening. The Black Press also impacted many people around the world by uncovering the truth about what America really wanted from other countries: their resources.”