Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
The MEMS Rhythm Band kept the beat under director Victor Jones.
The Macedonia Praise Dancers took to the floor for a performance to Wade in the Water, a song used to give direction to enslaved people during their escape.
The Retired Teacher’s Ensemble performed two selections for MEMS students and staff.
Student group Harriet’s Tribe performed a moving tribute of Stand Up from the 2019 Harriet Tubman biography.
Fifth graders put together a Say My Name presentation honoring and remembering the lives lost to police brutality and hate crimes in recent years.
Pre-K students showcased their voices by singing I Came to Tell You by Trinity Inspirational Choir.
K-2 students performed a song with a bit of dancing included.
MEMS teacher Trudy Lott smiles with one of her students.
Macedonia Elementary-Middle School (MEMS) students and staff honored a month of learning at the February 27 Black History Program.
Students Tyriuq Odom and Mylia Brown presided over the event, acting fittingly as Barack and Michelle Obama. The pair introduced each presenter and performer, welcoming both student and alumni acts.
To kick off the ceremony was a song by fourth and fifth graders. Student Abigail Smith welcomed teachers hailing from Jamaica, Kenya, and Nigeria to give greetings in their native tongue.
The MEMS Rhythm Band performed with Victor Jones of the Phoenix Project based in Blackville. Jones is involved in numerous music and arts initiatives in the county, and has been working with MEMS students in traditional drum and percussion.
A tribute to HBCUs was given by Christalen Norman. Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) are academic institutions established before 1964 whose mission is the education of Black Americans.
Regional HBCUs include Denmark Technical College and Voorhees College in Denmark, Claflin University and S.C. State University in Orangeburg, and Benedict College and Allen University in Columbia.
Jewel Parker read an impactful poem encouraging those in attendance to stand tall amidst adversity, and pre-K through third grade each performed a song.
Sixth grade students did a tribute to Dawn Staley, American basketball Hall of Fame player, Olympian, and current head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The student group the Macedonia Praise Dancers danced to Wade in the Water, a spiritual song used to share messages between enslaved people when escaping slave owners in the mid-1800s.
The Retired Educators Ensemble sang two selections; each showcasing the range of each member’s voice. The ensemble includes retired MEMS teachers Sandra Beach, Lucille Kearse, Lydia Grayson, Lily Hughes, Mamie Matthews, and Sybrenda Holiday.
Harriet’s Tribe, comprised of three MEMS students, sang Stand Up a tribute to Harriet Tubman from the soundtrack of the biographical film, “Harriet.”
Fifth graders put together a Say My Name presentation honoring and remembering the lives lost to police brutality and hate crimes in recent years. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Ahmaud Arbery were the names read aloud by students and staff.
Video recording and social media played a part in capturing each of these victim’s murders, allowing the masses to see these crimes as they were committed.
Seventh and eighth graders put on a hair show in honor of Madam CJ Walker, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist recorded as one of the first female self-made millionaires in America.
Madam Walker built her fortune on cosmetics and hair care products made for Black women in the late 1800s– a group that was not well represented in the beauty industry at the time.
Students modeled various hairstyles emphasizing the importance of feeling confident with your natural attributes.
Each grade at MEMS was an integral part of bringing this event together, and all were thanked by principal Chelsea Calhoun in her closing remarks.
