Kings County Criminal Court transformed into a classroom for Black History Month event

February 14, 2017 By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

From left: Tamika Capers, Hon. Michael Yavinsky, Hon. Sharen D. Hudson, Hon. Deborah Dowling, Leah Richardson and Erica Gilchrist. Eagle photos by Rob Abruzzese

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The lobby of the Kings County Criminal Court was turned into a classroom for a Black History Month event titled “The Crisis in Black Education” that took place at the courthouse on Schermerhorn Street on Friday.

“There are so many things that are going on so we chose The Crisis in Black Education as the theme this year,” Judge Sharen D. Hudson said. “Our program is designed to show you some of the things that have happened in the past and will happen in the future.”

After an invocation from Pastor George Wade and a brief speech from supervising judge Michael Yavinsky, the program was divided up into four major parts. The first presentation was by Erica Gilchrist and Cassandra Allen during which the pair recited a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song commonly referred to as “the black national anthem.” Afterward, Tamika Capers, who played a school teacher, explained the song to the class.

“Why do we sing that song?” Capers asked. “It was first written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson and was performed for the first time by 500 school children in celebration of Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12, 1900. It was then set to music by Johnson’s brother and soon adopted by the NAACP as ‘the black national anthem.’”

The other four parts included an explanation of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Case Brown v. Board of Education, that determined that segregated schools were illegal, a brief lesson about the history of historically black colleges and universities. Finally, the event ended with Michelle Parrish playing Michelle Obama, who talked about some of her efforts in getting kids to eat healthier, and was capped off with a performance from the P.S. 120 Fitness Dance Team.

“This celebration is part of a pretty significant team effort,” said Yavinsky. “Justice Deborah Dowling and her co-chair Leah Richardson are a huge part of the county-wide celebration. Our criminal court co-chairs, Judge Hudson and court officers Erica Gilchrist have put so much effort into this.”