001Good afternoon everybody. >> Happy Friday. >> How is everybody today? >> Great. Thank you so much for joining us today. And before we get started, I know you were all impressed coming into this room. So, just look around and let's hear it for the Crimson Cafe and the students of Everett High. And remember, our students are as good as the people who educate them. So, let's hear it for them as well. Before we get started, I'd like to just make sure everybody is settled. Hope you're sampling all this wonderful food. That wasn't for me. And now I would like to turn our program over so we can begin with our superintendent of schools, Mr. Bill Hart. >> Thank you very much. Uh let's uh have a round of applause for Rosemary Hughes who works here
002um doing great things for the Everett school district every day. Well, I want to also officially welcome you here to Everett High School Crimson Cafe. Uh we are celebrating really two things today. The conclusion of Black History Month and CTE Month. And for those of you who have been here before, you know the excellence in which our students uh thrive in classrooms and in in workspaces. Really, this is their workspace, not just their classroom. And today you're going to sample some of the finest foods coming out of the city of Everett right here from our Crimson Cafe under the great direction of our our staff that I think Miss Hughes mentioned. Um Carolyn Palmentor and her crew of chefs continue to provide our students with really top-notch education giving them skills that they actually transfer
003into the workplace. Our students leave here in this program in particular and they earn um decent job decent paying jobs. their self-sustaining wages. They choose to go on to higher education, they can. Everett High School does this multiple ways. This is just one way. So, today we're going to celebrate their work, celebrate the great history of Everett and the folks who have come before us and done great things to make this city the great city that we all know and love. I want to remind us that today um our lunchon we'll have some explanation by our students of the types of food that we're going to eat and understand the significance of those items. We're going to hear a little bit about their journey. We're going to hear from other folks um with the city
004of Everett that have come to join us and be uh co-sponsors of today's program. And I'd like to acknowledge them as well. We have had a new mayor, great new beginnings, and together we're going to build an even better system and a better mayor is going to do that for us. So, thank you, Mayor Vancampen, for being with us today. We're joined today by a lot of elected officials, and I'd like to acknowledge them as well before we get to eat this great food. Uh, the chair of our school committee, Samantha Hurley. to Samantha's right. Joanna Garren from Ward Two from the School Committee on Ward One, Miss Margaret Canelio. And from my ward, Ward 4, Robin Babcock. I'd also like to acknowledge the president of the Ever Teachers Association, uh, where is right here,
005Miss Kim Auger. And what would today be uh without if I didn't have a dear friend in this audience along with so many people including his wife and members of his his community um here at the Zion Baptist Church is my good friend Bishop Brown and his lovely wife, Bishop Shar. Thank you. I wish we had you singing today. You have a beautiful voice. We'll have to get her up here, don't we? Right. We'll do that. Great. So, thank you for join uh joining us today in this celebration. And so, before we um continue, I'd like to ask um Mayor Vancampen if you'd like to come up and say a few words and then we'll continue on with our program. Please welcome Mayor Vancampen, if you want me to. Superintendent Hot's a little taller than
006me. So, I do want to tell you a funny story. I have uh some prepared remarks, but I did want to um everyone know is clear what Superintendent Hart's injuries are. Uh some of you in the room know that in the last two weeks, I suffered a completely detached retina in my left eye and that required surgery and it required a recovery that involved me being face down 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So, anyone in this room who would like to try sleeping face down on your stomach without moving, I highly do not recommend it. But um nonetheless, the city continued to operate last year notwithstanding our injuries. Um good afternoon everyone. Thank you so much for inviting me uh to be here with you today. Um, first I want to recognize
007uh and thank our students uh teachers, families uh and school and city staff who put this uh event together, who collaborated uh and created uh this wonderful gathering. Um and I'm appreciative of that. Um, as we close out the month of February, recognizing Black History Month and Career and Technical Education Month, I can't think of a more uh fitting way to celebrate than by coming together here at the Crimson Cafe, which is kind of becoming my favorite restaurant, by the way, uh to share a meal prepared by our incredible culinary students. So, a round of applause for these guys. Um, thank you guys. And I think there's something really powerful about gathering around a table. You know, as we talk and swap stories with one another this afternoon. Um, it reminds me and I hope
008it reminds you that food has a unique way of bringing people together. It invites conversation, some of it spirited. It creates connection, human connection. Uh, it tells stories and it just binds people together in a way that only sitting around a table sharing a meal can. Um, every spice, every ingredient, every recipe carries a history. And Simone, I'm reminded of our trivia yesterday. I'm thinking about this history. It reflects traditions passed down through generations. and it honors the resilience and creativity of those who came before us. Quite frankly, I always think of my grandmother on Christmas Eve because those meals I'm eating are her meals. Um, thanks to all the contributors, this community cookbook represents a unique blend of the diversity, the cultures, and family traditions. Sorry to make you stand so long, Superintendent Hart.
009Um, that make Everett what it is today, a very diverse, richly diverse community. So when you follow these recipes and recreate these dishes around your own tables in your own kitchens, you know, you're not just cooking a delicious meal. You're celebrating your neighbors who may no longer be with you. You're honoring their history and you're learning about their own lived experiences. Um, that to me is what Black History Month is all about. Not only reflection, but appreciation. not only learning about history but con committing ourselves to building a more inclusive and connected future together. So, um thank you all for being here this morning, this afternoon I should say, for sharing your cultures, uh for sharing your traditions, and for helping make Everett uh a community where everyone feels seen, valued, and welcome. Thank you
010again for having me. Thank you very much, Mayor Vancampen, and we certainly do appreciate uh your very quick and steadfast support of Ever Public Schools and all the things that we do here. I also wanted to acknowledge Simone Holyfield because Simone, you have really been a great champion for the city and in your role at city hall and certainly we love working with you. So, thank you for for your work. So, I welcome you on behalf of the system, but I'd like to call upon our high school principal who came to us this year, first time in Everett, and I know he loves it here, but he'd like to welcome you officially to Everett High School. Uh, would you welcome uh Dr. John Braa. >> Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Ever High School. Um, I
011hope everybody has a great time here. My remarks will be uh brief. Um, it's a great opportunity for us to honor Black History Month as well as uh CTE month. I'd like to thank a few people. I'd like to thank um our CTE director, our CTE teachers, um students as well, elected officials here, Mr. Superintendent, um our mayor, as well as everyone that was able to make it out here today. So, just a round of applause for everybody. We truly appreciate it. Everett High School is an amazing place. I hope you get an opportunity today or another day just to drop by, come take a walk with me, one oneonone, five onone, whatever, whatever works. Let's come and see the building. Um, our students do amazing things. There's a lot of amazing things going on
012here at Ever High School. And so, welcome. I hope you have a great time. And thank you so much. Hi everyone. Good afternoon. >> My name is Siobhan Aria and I have the privilege of being the CTE director here at Ever High School. We're especially honored to be joined today by Mayor Vancampen, Bishop Brown, Bishop Shearer, the superintendent, members of our school committee, our leadership, both city and school, and community partners. Thank you for being here and for your continued support of our students and our CTE programs. Today, we celebrate both Black History Month and Career and Technical Education Month. And to me, that combination makes perfect sense. Both are rooted in legacy, opportunity, skill, and community. For those who are not as familiar with CTE as some of us might be, CTE prepares students
013for both college and career through hands-on industry aligned learning. Across the country, more than 8 million students are enrolled in a CTE program. CTE programs and students concentrate on CTE curriculars like manufacturing, um, education, health assisting, medical assisting. Uh 90% of students in CTE programs go on to graduate high school. So that's a great statistic. Um students are more likely to come to school if they're enrolled in a CTE program. These students earn industry recognized credentials, participate in work-based learning, and gain skills that can lead directly into high demand fields or into a college career. Massachusetts is also widely recognized as the gold standard for career and technical education. So we're very lucky to be where we are here at Ever High School. RCT programs include advanced manufacturing, carpentry, culinary arts, health assisting, hospitality management,
014marketing, medical assisting, and programming and web development. So, we have eight full-time Chapter 74 CTE programs here. Our students leave high school not just with diplomas, but with rail skills, certifications, and a clear pathway forward. 100% of our CTE students earn the occupational safety and health administration or OSHA certification and 100% of our health care students both in medical assisting and health assisting earn a health aligned certification. Our medical assisting students graduate with the certified clinical medical assistant certification and our health assisting students graduate with the patient care technician certification. Those two certifications align directly with workforce needs and allows them to go right to work after high school or continue their education at the college level. I can say with true confidence that our students consistently impress industry partners, college representatives and community members.
015They're professional. They have great technical ability and they have wonderful confidence in themselves. They represent Everett and Everett public schools with pride and you're going to see that today when they come up here and speak to you. CTE at Ever High School is amazing. We have a wonderful program, a wonderful department. It's about innovation, collaboration, technical skill, creativity, and heart. I am deeply grateful to lead a team of educators who all have industry experience, so they've worked in their industry before coming to teach here. They show up every day for their students, and we get to work alongside students who want to be in these programs, and they continue to exceed expectations. I also want to express my sincere appreciation to our superintendent and our central administration as well as our Ever High School administration.
016Your unwavering support allows us to do these things, allows us to grow our programs, evolve and create opportunities for students they might not otherwise have. That support for us means more than you know. And now it's my honor to introduce the student who brought this vision to life. So the reason we're here today, Hayana Richmond. Hayana, you can please stand. Hayana Richmond is a senior in our medical assisting program. She's also the chairperson of the National Technical Honor Society Service Committee. It was Hayana's idea to celebrate both Black History Month and Cte month through food. We had a wonderful meeting with Simone um with Rosemary and Hayana and she said, "I want to make a cookbook. I think food is really the heart of um Black History Month and CTE. So, we got together, we
017were like, "Let's make a cookbook." And then she said, "Wouldn't it be great if we could have a lunchon?" So, Hayana is really the reason we're here today. And I do want to give her that credit. Um we're so proud of her leadership. We're so proud of her for coming forward with some amazing ideas. Um so, please join me in welcoming Hayana. >> Hello everybody. I'm Hayana Richmond. I'm currently in the medical assisting program. Um, and I have a poem here today that I feel like and captures the spirit of why we're here today. It's called Human Family by Maya Angelo. I note the obvious differences in human family. Some of us are serious. Some thrive on comedy. Some declare that their lives are lived as true profanity, while others claim they really live the
018real reality. That bority of our skin tones can confuse, be muse, delight. Brown and pink and beige and purple, tan and blue and white. I've stared upon these seven seas. I stopped at every land. I've seen the wonders of the world. Not yet one common man. I know 10,000 women named called Jane and Mary Jane, but I have not seen any two who will really wear the same. Mirror twins are different. Although their features jive and lovers think quiet different thoughts while laying side by side. We love and lose in China. We weep on England's moors. We laugh and moan in Guinea. We thrive on Spanish shores. We seek success in Finland. Are born and die in Maine. In minor ways we are different major. We're the same. I note the obvious differences between each
019sort and type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. Thank you. I would like to formally thank you guy, all of you guys for being here today. This event means more to me than anything. Coming as um a Haitian-American student, coming from immigrant parents. Black History Month is more than just looking at history. It's remembering the resilience and the strength my parents took and many others to get here today. I have the lucky liness of knowing where I come from, but a lot of African-Americans, they don't know where they come from. And we stand on the shoulders of those trailblazers who made the path in the way for us today. Growing
020up, I didn't see many people who looked like me in the healthcare field. There was a difference and it was quite it was daunting, you know. That's why I'm so thankful for the CTE program here at EHS. Everett is a community that thrives with immigrant families and first generation students. Having the CTE program here, it's opening doors. We are no longer dreaming, but we're training for our realities. So, as we celebrate the food today and talk about black history, I want to thank every the city council um everybody here today for making this possible for us. Thank you, >> Haya. Thank you so much. That was beautiful. Thank you so much. Um, and now today, when we were planning this event, we were thinking, who is going to lead us today? And there's not one
021person better that we all collectively agreed um to lead us through today's lunchon, more so than Trayvon Carrington. Um, Trayvon is a proud culinary arts CTE graduate and he was also named last year's outstanding vocational technical student for Ever High School. Before I hand over the microphone to Trayvon and welcome him up, I do want to share a short story about him. Um, it's small but meaningful. It's very quick. During his freshman year at Ever High School, he was not my student. I taught senior level marketing courses. I had no reason to know Trayvon, but I knew him because he was the kind of student that said good morning to everyone he passed in the hallway. He was the kind of student who was curious. He wanted to learn. He was eager to learn. He
022was the kind of student that is just genuinely interested in people. That personality that is the heart of something that we truly value in CTE and that's community. Trayvon, we are so proud to have you as a CTE alum and representing us as a career and technical education student. The floor is yours. >> Good afternoon everyone. >> Good afternoon. I'm happy to be here today. Can we uh give a round of applause to the culinary arts department for uh their works today? Um, the house has been addressed, but I'm so grateful for Miss uh Sullivan. I'm sorry I don't call her Miss Aria because I knew when she was Miss Sullivan, as she said, uh, freshman year before she got married. Um, but I'm so grateful to be here today to so many of you
023that are here today. Um, I thank you for being here. Thank you for uh taking just a little bit of time just to celebrate with us uh within uh we have one more day of Black History Month, but for all of those know that Black History stands forever and 365 days a year. So I thank you for being here today. So that was a touching story, Miss Sullivan. I I I liked that one. Wow. I never had a story even Bishop Sharer hasn't written a story about me like that one. No, but I'm so grateful as she said, you know, I was um awarded the MAVA award, which is the Massachusetts Award, vocational for uh vocational acts award. Um and out of 50, I'm used to that one, so I'm okay. But out of 55,000
024students, 55 were selected and I was one of the 55 to be selected last year for their um for their award ceremony. And it was just a great time. Uh Lisa's here with me. She, you know, she knows, understands. Um, but it was just a great time that we had there. It was all two hours and away, you know, in traffic hours, but it was a great time to be there, and I'm so grateful that I could have been nominated uh for that award ceremony. So, I'm going to read here um a Sunday dinner uh speech that I was given, but I kind of changed it up. I was up and I was up at 3:00 in the morning last night just thinking about what I can say and what I can mean what I
025say. Because oftentimes there's certain people that say what they say but they don't mean what they say. And so I was thinking about something that that can resonate and going forth not just for today, not just for tomorrow, not just for February, but that can resonate in our spirits all week, all day, all month, all year long. Sunday dinner and American descendants of slavery isn't just about food, at least to me. It's about legacy being left behind traditionally on a plate. As a bl man who understands what it means to be a descendant, Sunday dinner isn't just a casual hangaround or something small. I see it as a way that we all connected to the West and Central African societies through slavery, Jim Crow, racism, and separations to the generations that is here with us
026today. These males were and still are deeply communal. Before we were called African-American, before we were forced onto ships, our ancestors gathered around. They shared bowls of food. Elders were honored because food marked sacred moments. Cooking wasn't just a survival instinct, but it was a cultural respect and at last a spiritual connections. When Africans were stolen and brought to the Americas, they could not bring their land, their homes, or their freedoms. But they carried these faiths of community, hospitality, and most of all faith built in their minds and in their hearts. During slavery in the United States, work days were long, punishing, and tightly controlled for many enslaved people. Sunday was the only day offering a small break from field labor. It was through prayer, supplication, and the act of love of how they got
027over. Even then, it was never guaranteed to negro that in often came with rules and restrictions. Still, Sunday became one of the few times people could gather with family and friends from nearby plantations, worship, sometimes in secret, and call on God and the ancestors and cook a more special meal when they could save or stretch ingredients. They took bare scraps of cornmeal, greens, peas, beans, and a bit of pork or leftover meat and turned it into something, turning scarcity into abundance. This is where the roots of what we now call soul food were formed. They were not just recipes, but they were resilient. And that's why I carry my roots and my heritage very high whenever I'm cooking. After emancipation, through reconstruction and the long Jim Crow era, Sundays remained a sacred time. Many black
028people worked six days a week doing domestic labor, factory work, or farm work. Sundays became the sacred day to dress in their best clothes, go to church, come home to to a bigger meal than usual, pray and worship God, invite neighbors, relatives, and play cousins and laugh, sing, and share news in the best of their abilities. This tradition is still alive. Of course, certain family members have gone on, but we still gather in an opportunity to be and reunite with family. To be honest with you, Sundays is the only day that I might cook a meal. And it might literally it might be the only day that I cook a meal. But Sundays already carries the weight for me. I serve, I worship, I lead. And when I think about dinner, sometimes it's more than
029a plate. I think about ancestors who survived so I can stand in leadership and serve with brothers and sisters of all different backgrounds. I think about my grandmother who stretched mills and dimes so that her children could dream bigger. My grandmother picked cotton down in South Carolina. She slopped hog and did these things to make sure that her legacy still stayed alive. You know, I'm a little compelled right now. And I don't know what everyone else's preference is, but we have people out there trying to take DEI away. This country does not come together unless we all make an effort and stand up for what is right. I think about how that spirit shows through CTE. As a culinary student graduating here, serving on many boards, serving with many people, I don't walk into kitchens
030not knowing anything. I walk in knowing that my ancestors crafted agriculture, seasoning, preservation, and large-scale cooking so that culinary conditions can shape American cuisine and it can be taught. They were CTE before CTE had a name. Descendants paved the way for vocational excellence and reminds us of the hands-on skills for our future. Whereas people whose craftsmanship, integrity built foundations in which we have the privilege to study. Black chefs, farmers, caterers, domestic workers, and bakers were technicians, innovators, and entrepreneurs who turned limited resources into world changing flavors. even when they weren't allowed formal titles. So when I stand in a professional kitchen or just even on solid ground speaking and working and talking with different individuals, I understand that I'm continuing something that began long before me and CTE is for everybody. Just like black history
031is equity and inclusion of everyone because black men and women sacrificed their lives not to not to be selfish but to help somebody else. This is strategy. This is survival. This is love. It's leadership. And it's teaching the next generation how to set a table, how to set standards, how to welcome people, how to talk to people, how to look at people, how to address people, how to look and and look and agree and touch and agree with them. So when we stand here today, remember one thing. Every plate holds memory. Every recipe holds love. Every gathering holds a legacy. And every legacy holds power. Thank you. And at this and at this time, I'm going to introduce Aliyia and Danica to come up and read um short experts. Thank you. Um, hello everyone. My
032name is Aaliyah and I'm part of the health assisting CTE. Um, today I have the honor to talk about cornbread and the culture it come from. Cornbread connects African G grains tradition with Native American maze. In the West African people ground millet, sorghum and rice into bread and porridge. When enslaved African encount encounter corn in the Americas, they used their knowledge of grain preparation to create whole cakes and skillet breads. Cornmeal became one of the few reliable ingredients available during slavery and afterwards cornbread was simply filling and could stretch to feed many people. It substains family through a long days of forced labor and later through segregation. Over time, African native and Europeans tradition blended into that. What we know now soul food with cornbread, it's a center. Today, whether sweet or savory, cornbread represent
033adaptation, endurance, and culture pride. Um, for me, Black History Month is to reflect about the resilience and the power that they fought for their freedom throughout their whole entire um life. Even though I myself is not um black American, but I am Haitian and my people, we fought for freedom and we know what it means to fight um to understand the the struggle in life of being different in how we look. Even though there's different type of shade of being black, you're still one person and you all can come together to create a new world for everyone. Thank you. Um, so next up we have Danica Fam. I do want to also shout out Danica. Danica is Ever High School's um outstanding vocational technical student this year. Um, so we do want to congratulate Danica.
034She will be honored at a dinner next month or April in April. Um, so we're very proud she's following in Trayvon's footsteps. So, Danica, please come up. >> Hi everyone. Thank you so much for being here. As most of you guys know, my name is Danica and I'm a marketing CTE student and I'm the senior class president for EHS. So here I'm going to speak about the black eyed peas which I hope everyone got a little taste of in the beginning which originated in West Africa and were brought to the Americans during the transatlantic slave trade. They grew well in poor soil and harsh conditions making them staple on plantations. For enslaved people, black eyed peas were a vital source of protein and strength for when food options were limited. After the Civil War, they
035continue to sustain newly freed families who had little land, money, or security. Today, many African-American families eat blackeyed peas in dishes like hopping John as a symbol of prosperity and hope. Serving them honors a serving them honors a history of resilience and faith. And now I'm going to speak a little bit about my CTE. Um, again, I'm in marketing and it matters most because it gives students real work skills and experience that directly prepares us for our futures. Through the marketing pathway, my sophomore year, I was able to learn through Mrs. Oria, and now as a senior, I have Mr. Yen, who's back there. Um, through the marketing pathway, I learned how to turn my creative ideas into realistic business plans that maybe I can pursue later in my career. While building skills in public
036speaking, organization, and strategic thinking, the hands-on projects and problem solving showed me how to analyze challenges and create effective solutions. And because of CTE, I feel confident in my ability to pursue business law in college and use the leadership and my creative skills of marketing that helped me develop. And that's it. Thank you guys. Um before Trayvon invites us to lunch, I do just want to recognize some other members that are in attendance here. Um State Representative Joe McGonagle, thank you so much for being here today. Um thank you. and um president and CEO of Ever Bank and a good friend of Ever Public Schools, Richard O'Neal. Thank you so much for being here. >> All right, it's lunchtime. >> It's lunchtime. >> We should be a little excited about lunchtime. So, I'm going to
037ask that the first three tables, uh Bishop Brown's table, uh Mayor Vancampen's table, as well as the superintendent's table will come. And you can start um on this side or the opposite side uh for the buffet service. Thank you. >> Students come up, they'll read about the food that you're eating. Please continue to enjoy your meal. We're going to start with Emanuel. >> Sorry, Joe. >> Hello everybody. My name is Emanuel. I am a medical assisting cce student and today I will be talking about gumbo. Gumbo reflects the the blending of African, Native American, Caribbean, and European cultures. The word gumbo comes from West African words for okra, a key ingredient used to thicken stews. In Louisiana and the Gulf South, African cooking traditions mixed with Native American felt powder and European rural techniques on
038plantations. Enslaved cooks would used whatever was available to create one pot that could feed many. Gumboo represents creativity under pressure and community around a shared table. And what Black History Month means to me is the history of people that came before me, everything that they did that led them to success and what I could do to make success for myself and for my family. And that is all. Thank you. Good afternoon everyone. Uh my name is Emerson Yumano Martinez. I'm an advanced manufacturing CTE student and the meal I'm going to discuss is black and chicken. Black & comes from Louisiana Creole's traditions shaped by African, Caribbean, and Native American and European influences. The bold spices and high heat cast iron cooking reflect southern kitchens where simple ingredients were transformed through seasoning and technique. Today, black
039and chicken represents cultural blending, culinary innovation and the power of food to bring people together. And I'd like to quickly discuss the CTE difference. For me, the CTE difference is the collectiveness. I feel throughout the two three years I've been in my CTE, the memories I've made, and the things I've learned, it's created such a sense of community, and the way every CTE is together, I feel like I've learned a lot, and I've progressed a lot through my years in high school. Thank you. Hello every Hello everyone. Uh my name is Christopher Hernandez Romero. I'm part of the uh carpentry program. Um and today I will talk about everybody's favorite mac and cheese. Macaroni and cheese has European roots, but its place in Africanamean culture is tied to enslaved black chefs who mastered Europeans cooking
040techniques. Over generations, it became a staple of Sunday dinners and celebration. Bake from scratch and serve with pride. Mac and cheese represents culinary excellence, taking something inherited and transforming it into a symbol of celebration and home. And I will uh speak about uh the importance of trades in high school. Uh what I like about my trade carpentry is that I am able to uh meet new people every day. I am able to uh get a lead uh ahead of um my career because I get to meet uh people from like uh carpentry related that will help me out later. Like right after I graduated from high school, um I already have connections with people. Also, you get to learn about um hand uh use objects that like you won't be able to do outside of
041high school or that you need to pay. also OSHA 30 and OSHA 10 that we do here in school and they pay for it. Um we get it for free and that costs a lot of money if you don't um if you don't have it. And yeah, thank you. >> Hi, my name is Marissa and I'm in the medical assisting program. Um the dish I'm going to be talking about is colored greens. Colored greens reflect West African traditions of simmering leafy greens with spices and meats to create rich sustaining dishes. During slavery, enslaved people were often given tougher greens and leftover cut of the meat. The through slow cooking and seasoning, they transformed these into flavorful meals. It's filled with nutrientrich. So like you're getting pro, you're getting a good amount of sustain from the
042leaves and also from the meat too. And even like even they would cook the liquid called pot liquor which was valued and never wasted. Colored green symbolized turning sicity into nutrients and preserving cultural traditions through hardship. I'm going to be talking about what Black History Month means to me um through a poem. Okay. My hair my hair does not fall. It stays up high. The sun touches my skin and sorry. Okay. My hair does not fall, it stands up. Through the warm summer days, my skin glistens. Though my Though my history may be tough, I've learned to grow. My the rain has fallen, but the sun always comes out. My history has taught me strength and has taught me how to grow. It's taught me resilience and taught me growth. My hair does not fall.
043Oh, to be young, black, and beautiful. My bravery stands, my intelligent reigns. My brain produces fruit. And my heart within. I have a heart. I have a mind. My blood runs through. I can breathe. And I'm strong. And I'm black and beautiful, too. Thank you again for that. Can we give another round of applause to all our students for that? All right, Josh Delg Gazel is going to fix us up here. All right, thank you. All right. So, we also want to make mention that the dessert table is ready. There is king cake, there's banana pudding, as well as sweet potato pie. Um, so help yourselves over to the dessert tables. Um, once you get ready, um, we just hope that you continue to enjoy um, the lunchon and I believe that next we have
044a a poem >> speaker. >> Yeah. So, we have a couple other student speakers. So please in the order that follows, can you uh four just come here um and then introduce um introduce yourselves first and then of course introduce exactly what you're going to be speaking about. Thank you. Thank you. >> Hello. I hope you guys are enjoying your plates. Um, the food I'm going to be talking about today is banana pudding. Banana pudding became popular in the n in the late 19th to early 20th centuries as bananas were became more widely available in the United States. For African-American families, especially during the Jim Crow era, desserts like banana pudding were al often reserved for Sundays and special gatherings. It marked a shift from survival to collaboration. Today, banana pudding represents joy, generosity, and
045multigenerational traditions. Thank you. Good. Okay. Hello everyone. I'm Emma Perry. I'm a student in Mr. Bailey's AP African-American Studies course and I also serve as a student representative on the Ever School Committee. Sweet potato pie reflects African culinary traditions adapted to American ingredients. In West Africa, yams and root vegetables were common in season dishes. In the American South, sweet potatoes grew well and became a reliable food source during slavery. Over time, they were transformed into a special a spice pie central to black southern identity. Sweet potato pie symbolizes creativity, continuity, and sweetness drawn from struggle. Taking AP African-American studies has been an eye-opening experience and unlike any other class I've taken at EHS. I particularly enjoy that the class focuses on the specific topic because it allows me and my peers to get a full
046understanding of the harsh but true history of the US and use our education to ensure a better future for our community. I'm extremely grateful to be able to participate in this course and have the opportunity to learn with Mr. Bailey. Thank you. Thank you, Josh. I'm Miguel Vtorianes. I'm a marketing CTE student, the president of marketing club, and the president of the National Technical Honor Society. Kingake is closely associated with Marty Gra in New Orleans. While it is European Christian origins, black communities help shape the culture of carnival season. The colors hold meaning. Purple is for justice. Green is for faith and the gold is for prosperity. Inside, I mean on top of your cakes, there's gonna be a baby. And now this baby is an honor and it symbolizes good good fortune. When we
047serve king cake, we celebrate joy, our history, and community. Now, I also want to mention why CT matters to me. As the president of marketing club and the national technical honor society, I believe it is important because it's taught me how to speak not only to people but like as a leader. I believe that before I joined marketing as a sophomore, I was very shy. I could never come up here and talk to you guys like this as I am right now. But in marketing, we do a lot of presentations. We also do a lot of team building. We know how to communicate and we also work with higher companies as well. For example, we actually went to Gillette Stadium in the TD Garden before and we talked to the marketing teams there and we
048learned a lot from them about how much of a high role it is to be in marketing, what it means to communicate with others and just collaborate. And as National Technical Honor Society, I want to mention how much of a high honor it is. Not only is it at the national level, but it also helps us in the college like we get uh discounts on um Lenovo laptops. We also have just like it's just honor, you know what I mean? Like thank you for your time. >> Oh, hello everyone. My name is Kenisha Herrian and I'm in culinary arts and I just want to say thank you for everyone for coming to here and you know enjoying the event and I want to say special thanks to the culinary arts for providing and you know
049spending their time to making this good food for you guys and I hope everyone enjoy their day and thank you and happy black history month. All right. Okay. Um before we conclude, I do want to extend my sincere gratitude to everyone who helped bring this event to life. Um I also do want to shout out Miss Lisa Sandler. Um Lisa works very closely with us and she let me um skip some Zoom calls and reschedule them to help plan this event. So Lisa, thank you so much for being so flexible with my time. Um thank you to Mr. Sean Salazar and our hospitality management students for hosting us so professionally um for being around and cleaning up the tables and just doing a great job with that. Thank you to our advanced manufacturing students for
050the beautiful 3D printed rose centerpieces you see on the table. Um you can take those home with you. Uh we also have some 3D printed angels over on the dessert table. Please take them home. Um those were created by our advanced manufacturing students. to Miss Desiree Perry for helping plan and organize behind the scenes and ensuring students felt prepared to present today. To Yes. Um to Mrs. Lena Newu Yen and her marketing students. Where's Lena? She was here. Oh, Lena, thank you. Um her marketing students prepared the slideshow, uh the menu cards, the design elements you see throughout today. They also designed and developed a cookbook. And I do want to shout out Sabelli Fernandez. Sabelli, stand up. Sabelli is a senior in the marketing program and she spent the last two weeks and worked
051over February break to put together a wonderful cookbook. It's available for download. Um, you do have a card on the table with a QR code. You can scan that. You can download the cookbook um, and use the recipes, a lot of which belong to Trayvon. Thank you, Trayvon, for allowing us to use your recipes. Um, and so marketing did a fantastic job with the materials you see today. Um, a special shout out to Chef Carolyn Pomer and Chefs Marino and Sullivan for their incredible work preparing today's meal. Um, I don't I think they're probably still in the kitchen, but I do want to speak to Chef Pomer's character. Um, the day she heard about the event, the next morning she had a full menu planned and in front of me. Um she is just an
052excellent leader in the program and she's someone who really takes her job seriously. So we really appreciate that. Um yeah, thank you to culinary. I also want to thank uh Rosemary Hughes and Simone Holyfield. Um thank you so much. We had a great time planning this event. We worked really collaboratively. Um we had a lot of laughs along the way. So it was really great to work together. um the superintendent's office, the mayor's office, um Simone, your team, thank you so much for your partnership and support. This event truly is what CTE looks like. It's collaboration, skill, leadership, and community working together. Um so really, thank you so much for everyone being here, our student speakers, everyone involved. This is an amazing event and we're happy to be a part of it. Um please be
053sure to take the favors home, the favors that are on the tables. Um, if you need to grab a dessert to go, please grab grab and go a dessert. Um, all of the favors, the desserts, everything was made by our students. And that's I really want to um bring that home with you that the students do everything. Like we're up here, we're instructing them. We we have industry experience, but they're the ones that are producing all the work you see and they're doing a fantastic job with that. And I think that's just Yeah. And I'm going to give a little bit of self-promotion. Um the brochure also was made by our marketing team that kind of tells you a little bit more about CTE. Um what we do, the certification students are getting at Ever
054High School. Um please feel free to visit our website, follow us on Instagram. We we do have a very active Instagram page. Um and you can reach out to me directly or any of our instructors. They'd be happy to answer you. Um thank you so much. And I'm going to let Trayvon end us. So Trayvon, thank you. Can we put our hands together for Miss Aria one more time, please? And all of the students that made this possible as well as the team. Can we just give them another round of applause? They truly deserve it for the work that they put in, for the work that they do. Well, I'm not a part of the team anymore, but I can still say thank you. Thank you for everyone that has come today and has dined
055sufficiently with us and fellowship with us. And you know, we were able to talk a little more about the history of Black History Month as well. We was able to take a little more history as well as the CTE month. So, it really worked out well the CTE being, you know, collaborated with Black History Month. And hopefully that this is not just the ending of one of these events, but this is a beginning of something that, you know, continues. Like I said, this is a legacy and we want this legacy to continue. So, please, thank you so much. Once again, thank you uh for your love. Thank you for your support. Thank you for being here. And at this time, this concludes this se ceremony. Thank you so much.