Straughn Middle School held its annual Black History program on Tues., Feb. 28, 2017 at 2 p.m. This year’s theme was Dr. King’s Dream Revisited. This year’s program was not just a one day observance, but a culmination of the month’s activities at the school. During the month of February, students at SMS learned of African-American personalities that coincided with the 7 Decisions that are being implemented in the school. Students had the opportunity to participate in an oratorical contest, trivia contests and some classes did research and presented the findings on poster projects , while others worked with Librarian Alison Thomasson, to draw their depiction of Dr. King, Jr. and the Lincoln Memorial.

The program began with a welcome by Student Council President, Will Driver and with Student Council Vice President Savannah Lawson, leading the pledge. The program included singing by the SMS Choir under the direction of Mrs. Deidra Burleson; a multimedia presentation by 7^th grader Vanessa Shiver; a reading by 6^th grader Avery Riley; The 1^st runner up in the oratorical contest, 8^th grader Elizabeth Billips, introduced the program’s speaker, Mr. Sammy Glover of Andalusia. Mr. Glover spoke to the student body about the passion Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had for education and how they should embrace that same passion. He challenged them to do their best in their studies so that their outcome could make an impact on others, as Dr. King, Jr. has on the world.   Baylee Robertson visited the school and performed an interpretive dance to Mahalia Jackson’s song “Trouble of the World”. The SMS oratorical winner, 6^th grader, Jessica Albright, did an excerpt of Dr. King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The program closed with the presentation of certificates and gifts to the winners of the month’s contest, who were 8^th grade Black History trivia winner, Mason Turner and 6^th grade Black History winner, Layne Vidich. The 2017 Black History committee members were Nicole Weeks, Karen Ziglar and Paula Simpson.