001[Music] hi I'm Mariah Joy Jones I'm a sophomore at bman man high school today I'm here with Miss Jasmine presy she's the member of the nor Board of Education why is it important to acknowledge reflect on and celebrate black history and what does black history mean to you I believe it is not only important but it is imperative that us as a culture continue to celebrate Black History um black history is so important because it is American history so much of our ancestors and previous leaders shaped the way that the culture is today and what does black history mean to me I am proud to be a black woman and black history means that it's a celebration and an acknowledgement of who who I am and where I come from and I believe that all
002Americans and especially African-Americans should make sure that we are continuing to continue the work and also by doing that continuing the work today but by doing that making sure that we celebrate and continue on of our previous ancestors and leaders and black inventors how have you seen the contributions of black American shape the industry or field you you're involved in today well I'm in the field of social work so social work and Civil Rights Movement went hand inand and there were so many black um influential leaders who impacted social service and impacted the Civil Rights Movement one leader who I is near and dear to me is Mary Church Terell and she was one of the first black women to receive a bachelor's degree a master's degree and also was the first woman to be
003appointed to a board of education so me having all of those things a bachelor's degree a master's degree and being a part of the board of AD she really shaped you know she really opened the door for me to be where I am today can you share with us your personal story and experience as a black professional in your field yes I am a licensed social worker and I have been in the field for about maybe over 10 years now working in different populations different capacities um today I am a director of a mentor program and I'm also on the board of education and I also am a licensed therapist but what I would share is that I believe and then one of the biggest reasons why I became um a social worker and also
004wanting to be um a director of a program is that representation matters um I can remember you know going through school and um not really seeing many social workers that look like me and then the ones that I did come across were very powerful women um they did many things in the community and also was a big advocate so I always wanted to be that you know for the community and be that for the younger generation um I would say that it's not always easy you know having these type of positions as and being a black woman um but I think it's important to show the Next Generation and to show the world that um we black women and young black women can also be leaders that we can be a part of change we
005can be a part of systemic change and we can also be decision makers what can I do as a young person to build upon what you and generations before you have achieved what can you do there's so much that you can do and I want to make sure that my generation meaning myself that we encourage the Next Generation to continue the work um so keep making sure that your education is a priority be a part of your community don't just live here and hang out take you know be a part of the your community and change give back to people who are in need um see where you can fill in the gaps and help out um when you become 18 make sure that you're voting voting is so important voting in every way um
006I know there are things that you can vote for in high school so even starting at that to making sure that you know High School your school that you attend is your community as well so that you are a part of that and that you are making an impact wherever you are surround yourself with like-minded people and ones that who want to be a part of the change because there's so much to be done so much has accomplished by people you know our ancestors and people before us and even so much today but there's still so much so much work to be done there's enough room for everyone and whatever you feel strong about whether you know it be children whether it be women's rights whether it be a fair education system whether it be
007you know no homelessness whatever it is that you become a part of the change thank you and I will it was a pleasure to have you here today you're so welcome thank you for having me of course good luck with everything thank you