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HIP-HOP ARTIST COMMON AND OTHER AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORYMAKERS GET INVOLVED

WITH INNOVATIVE BACK TO SCHOOL PROGRAM 

CHICAGO (September, 2011) – On Friday, September 23, 2011 as students across the country begin the new school year, hip-hop artist, actor and author Common, along with over 100 Chicago-area HistoryMakers will join more than 500 African American HistoryMakers nation-wide for the 2^nd Annual Back to School With The HistoryMakers program.

Among this year’s participants are The 2^ndAnnual Back to School with the HistoryMakers program will include actress Marla Gibbs (Wendell Phillips High School), jazz singer Geraldine de Haas (Mahalia Jackson Elementary School), Chicago historian Timuel Black (Perspectives IIT Math & Science Academy), Chicago Defender newspaper president Robert Sengstacke, and Ambassador Carol Mosely-Braun.

See the attached grid for full listing of participating HistoryMakers and schools in the Chicago-area.

The HistoryMakers, the nation’s largest African American video oral history archive, is launching the 2^nd Annual Back to School With The HistoryMakers program deploying living African American HistoryMakers into schools in thirty-five states across the country to recount their own school experiences and the struggles they encountered and most importantly, to commit to excellence and finishing their education. The theme of the day is COMMIT. 

The 2^nd Annual Back To School With The HistoryMakers national participants include Senior Advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett,   Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, former Ambassador Andrew Young, singer/actress Melba Moore, Broadway choreographer George Faison, poet Nikki Giovanni, actress T’Keyah Crystal Keymah (Living Color, The Cosby Show) and poet/author Sonia Sanchez.

The HistoryMakers’ Founder and Executive Director, Julieanna Richardson, says she launched the Back-to-School With The HistoryMakers initiative to respond to President Obama’s call for public service in a real and meaningful way by helping youth recognize that there are alternatives to violence and the challenges they confront.

“By bringing these living legends into the schools,” said Ms. Richardson, “we raise awareness about the achievements of the accomplished African Americans in local communities and bring these leaders into schools to see things firsthand.”

Richardson is encouraging educators across the country to use multimedia resources such as The HistoryMakers’ digital archive to enrich their students’ exposure to the contributions of African Americans in every community.

The HistoryMakers is a 501 (3) © non-profit dedicated to recording and preserving the personal histories of well-known and unsung African Americans.  To date, the organization has interviewed over 2,000 HistoryMakers, with the goal of creating an archive of 5,000 interviews (30,000 hours) for the establishment of a one-of-a-kind digital archive, and priceless educational resource.  For more information, visit The HistoryMakers website at www.thehistorymakers.com and The HistoryMakers digital archive at http://www.idvl.org/thehistorymakers/. For a brief introduction to The HistoryMakers, view YouTube clip here.

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Jerry Thomas
President
Jerry Thomas Public Relations
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