Each day during morning announcements last month, the members of the Multicultural Club took the microphone in Poughkeepsie High School’s Main Office and asked a Black History Month trivia question in English and Spanish. Then, they would play a two-minute music clip, giving students a chance to call in to Secretary Karen Butta with the answer.

“As soon as the question was announced, we would get people calling,” club Adviser Ashalet Gooden said. “We had categories from sports, music, history, everything you could think of. The kids were excited to answer the questions.”

Across the Poughkeepsie City School District, schools, clubs and the Community Schools department celebrated the history, culture and importance of Black History Month through educational events, lessons, bulletin boards and celebrations.

“It’s important to celebrate Black History Month because a majority of students in this school are African American or Hispanic, and they don’t really know much about their history,” Gooden said.

Warring Elementary on Friday held a celebration in which they incorporated education with entertainment. Sitting inside the gymnasium, the kids watched a presentation on the importance of learning Black history and learned the history of strolling, popularized by Black Greek culture as a way to celebrate their community and unity. Fourth grade students put on the strolling display and third grade students had a step performance titled “A Journey Through Black History. The high school’s cheerleaders also performed.

“Our children did a phenomenal job,” Principal Nicole Penn said. “We are all extremely proud.”

Community Schools for the second consecutive year held its Black History Month and The African Diaspora event at Poughkeepsie Middle School on the evening of Feb. 20, featuring student entertainment, a wide selection of culturally authentic food and guest speakers.

Entertainers included the Mighty Young Tech Drumline and Baton Twirlers, drummers from the Early Learning Center, the Poughkeepsie Middle School cheerleaders, multiple poems recited by middle school students and the Morse Elementary String Orchestra. While attendees perused a broad menu that ranged from jerk chicken and candy yams to Haitian spaghetti and curry chicken, face painting was available for the kids.

At the middle school on Friday, the Culture Shock club, in addition to Sister 2 Sister and Drama club students, held the third annual Black History Poetry Slam. The event included students performing poems inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, original poems on the theme of the Black experience, and other famous poems, like Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.”

Sister 2 Sister students recited an abbreviated version of “The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman’s 2021 Presidential Inauguration Poem and performed a step routine.

Numerous events celebrated Black History Month at the high school, including those planned by the Culture Shock club for its Spirit Week, such as a panel of graduates from historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, discussing with students their experiences on Feb. 19. The Multicultural Club then held its annual Black History Month celebration on Feb. 27. The show featured the AFJROTC color guard not only presenting the colors but also performing a scene from the recent Netflix movie “The Six Triple Eight.” The club itself performed a dance to represent the month, there was a guest speaker and trivia questions based on local history. Finally, Gooden said, club members called out each Black teacher in the school and “gave them their flowers.

“It was a very nice show they put together,” the adviser said. “The kids were really satisfied with the performance and a great way to end the month.”