Celebrating Black Lives Matter at School at Thomas ES

Students at Thomas ES (DCPS) were joined by teachers and families for an assembly on March 7, 2025 celebrating Black Lives Matter at School. Students from each grade presented performances about Black activists and staff were honored with awards celebrating Black women.

Early childhood students presented on Mary McLeod Bethune and danced to “Glory” by Common and John Legend. First graders presented on Amazon Labor Union activist Chris Smalls, and danced to Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” and “They Not Like Us.”

Second graders presented on Blue Skye Construction owner Bryan "Scottie" Irving and performed an original song over a go-go beat. Upper elementary students wrote and performed sketches about Dorothy Height, Bayard Rustin, and Charity Adams.

To lift up and celebrate the Black Lives Matter at School guiding principle centering Black Women, between each student performance staff members introduced information about a different Black woman activist, then presented teachers with awards (voted on by staff) named after that woman. Awards were given in the name of:

• Jazzmyne Townsend, educator and author

• Jasmine Crockett, attorney and politician

• Nannie Helen Burroughs, educator, civil rights activist, and women's rights advocate.

• Major Charity Adams Earley, U.S. Army World War II veteran

• Taraji P. Henson, actress, producer, and advocate

• Dorothy Height, civil rights and women's rights activist

• Amy Sherald, painter

• Mary McCloud Bethune, educator, civil rights leader, and government advisor