“Hidden Figures” Revealed at Black History Month Celebration at Byron-Bergen

BY GRETCHEN SPITTLER, BYRON-BERGEN COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

On Friday, February 17th, students in sixth grade as well as several clubs and student organizations celebrated the accomplishments of historic and contemporary Black individuals throughout the day of learning. Highlights included a demonstration from special guests, pianist and composer Timothy Digba Ogunbiyi and dancer/choreographer Solange Rodrigues, followed by a group presentation by Byron-Bergen High School students Dayanara Caballero, Deborah Catalino, Malachi Smith, Roman Smith, Solomon Smith, Joshua Tardy, and Ava Wagoner.

Ogunbiyi and Rodrigues collaborated on an improvised performance that conveyed the emotions of sadness, confusion, excellent presentation for our students,” said Byron-Bergen Jr/Sr High School Principal Ashley John Grillo. “It was an absolute treat to have such highly trained professionals share their music and dance experiences with our students.”

Ogunbiyi is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, where he planned to become an engineer until deciding to dedicate himself to music. He has studied classical and jazz piano and is currently a doctoral candidate in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music. He kicked o the assembly in a combined performance with the Byron-Bergen Jazz Ensemble and discussed improvisation during his break-out session.

Rodrigues is from Greece, New York. She began dancing at the age of three and completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance with a concentration in choreography from SUNY Purchase in 2020. She currently teaches dance and tness classes in the Rochester area, is a member of several performing dance troupes, and is moving to Brooklyn to join the Pocket Fuel Groovers, a dance company founded by her brother.

“I want to thank Mrs. Alyson Tardy for coordinating this high school students’ presentation in her classroom. e students discussed segregation, representation, and introduced the movie Hidden Figures. ey talked about historic and contemporary Black individuals who many of the younger students had not heard of or could not recognize, important gures in history and culture who are, in a way, hidden. e students knew some featured individuals, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, right away. e younger students could not identify other individuals such as Mae Carol Jemison, the rst Black woman to travel in space, civil rights activist Claudette Colvin, and Emmy, Golden Globe, and Tony Awardwinning actor James Earl Jones. Students even struggled to identify basketball legend Michael Jordan. While learning about these and other important Black individuals, students had the opportunity to consider who each is and why they may be less well known than other individuals.

A er a discussion of these hidden gures, the day ended with a screening of the 2016 award-winning feature lm, Hidden Figures, the real-life story of a team of female Black mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program. Despite the women’s important contributions, they remained widely unknown for decades.

As the day ended, students experienced jazz, musical improvisation, dance improvisation, learned about important Black individuals and historic events, and considered the importance of representation in history and contemporary culture.

“It was a great day at B-B celebrating Black History Month,” said Grillo.

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Sue DeBruyne, Au.D. Doctor of Audiology