Black History Month Assembly

Atrio of community faith leaders visited Tallulah Falls School on Feb. 18 to deliver a message of racial awareness and hope for the future to commemorate Black History Month.

Bishop Ernest Burns, his wife Dr. Vanessa Burns and daughter Portia Burns serve the community through their long-established ministry at Shady Grove Baptist Church in Cornelia.

After an uplifting gospel song led by Portia Burns, Bishop Burns shared his life’s perspective with the upper school student body.

Relating the story of Ruby Bridges, Bishop said they were the same age; when Bridges was six years old, she was the first African-American student to integrate an elementary school in the south. Burns said the young girl faced explicit racism during tumultuous times in the nation’s history.

“I grew up during segregation during the 1960s. I don’t want you to think that Black History and Civil Rights…is something way in the past…It’s a struggle we still continue with,” he said. “...I can see myself there.”

He said in preparing for leadership, young people need to be aware of what is going on in the world.

“You can’t prepare a leader for this age if they don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “You can’t be prepared if you don’t know the truth about something. What I do know about racism in America – it’s still real. Y’all hear me. The real stuff is what is going to get you prepared. If you can’t have real conversations, you’re never going to get there.”

He said there was still work to be done in racial reconciliation, and the young people would make the difference.

America is at a tipping point, he said.

“The opportunities of what we see to work together can be a great thing; it’s not a divisive thing. If we only take the time and value each other, it could be what Dr. King talked about; the vision of a great country that America could be what it could be…If we don’t go forward together, we are going to all fall together. If we don’t all go up together, we are not going anywhere without each other. America is at a point, and you are the ones who are going to do it! I am looking at your faces because it’s always the young people.”

He charged the students to stand for truth, to use their voices to speak out when facing untruths.

“You’ve got the opportunity to stand up for the truth,” Burns said. “If somebody says things that aren’t right, then you gotta speak against it. You got to take a stand today because if you don’t, we are all going to fall at the same time. That is just the truth of it…the mark of a man is where they stand in moments of controversy.”

In his comments after the presentation, President and Head of School Larry A. Peevy thanked Bishop Burns for his long-term commitment to positive community relations, including the Peace Walk, which TFS students and Peevy had been a part of in prior years.

He connected the school’s mission to elevate character and intellect to a quote by Martin Luther King Jr.

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education,” Peevy stated. “This is what we are about here at TFS.”

Students had a chance to ask questions and speak to Bishop Burns and his family after the event.

Seniors Lucy Alexander and Wally Angingu served as ambassadors for the event.

“After the events of the summer of 2020, it became clear Tallulah Falls School could benefit from a conversation about racism and the racism which continues to plague our world,” Alexander said. COVID prevented the school from hosting larger gatherings in 2020, but Alexander said students continued meeting with the administration over the past two academic years. It was important to have a broader community conversation, she said.

“Wally and I are very grateful that Coach Van [Hooser] supported our idea and saw the need for this conversation to take place,” she said. “Bishop Burns commemorated Black History Month by reminding us of the significance of standing up for what is right; he encouraged us to be unwavering in our pursuit of justice and unrelenting in our fight for the truth. Bishop Burns opened new perspectives to those who may not have acknowledged racism around them and reminded us that we can create change—all we need to do is use our voices. We are so grateful to Bishop Ernest Burns for the activist work he continues to do in this community, and we are thrilled we were able to facilitate this crucial conversation.”

black history month