Jenkins Elementary hosts Civil Rights Pioneer

     Jenkins Elementary School recently honored Civil Rights pioneer Dr. Leona Tate during the school’s Legacy & Leadership Breakfast. The event celebrated 65 Jenkins Elementary students who have demonstrated leadership, perseverance, and academic excellence.

     Jenkins Elementary Principal Tameika Turner-Haynes and school staff and volunteers welcomed Dr. Tate to the event, also attended by Central Gwinnett Cluster staff and Gwinnett County Board of Education Chair and District V Representative, Dr. Tarece Johnson-Morgan. The celebration was held in partnership with the Psi Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.®, the Beta Lambda Lambda Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and local community and business partners.

     The students enjoyed breakfast while listening to a presentation from Dr. Tate, a living legend of the Civil Rights movement, and connected with history through their own leadership journeys. Dr. Tate is a member of the historic “McDonogh Three” and the “New Orleans Four.” In 1960, at six years old, she courageously helped integrate McDonogh 19 Elementary School in New Orleans during the desegregation of public schools following Brown v. Board of Education. Now the Founder and Executive Director of The Leona Tate Foundation for Change and the TEP Center, Dr. Tate continues to educate young people about civil rights history, equity, and restorative justice.

     “I’m here to celebrate you, all of the leaders in this room,” Dr. Tate told students before speaking about her experiences as a child and how they shaped her future. She recounted her first day of school at McDonogh 19 Elementary and how she didn’t fully understand what it meant at the time.

     “At this time, I did not realize as I was escorted by Federal Marshals that I had become a keeper of a movement, a movement that would give our people the ability to exercise their rights,” Dr. Tate said. “Still, I walked forward, why– because I carried something unique within me– a light. I couldn’t name it then, but I can now. It was the light of purpose, the light of resistance, a light of love.”

     Students also read inspiring poems to attendees, including 4th graders Bella, who read “Black Child, Do You Know Who You Are?” by Mikhail Walker, and Aleah, who presented “Audacity” by Dr. Johnson-Morgan.

     Before breakfast ended, students asked Dr. Tate questions about her life and took group photos. She spoke to them about learning from history while moving forward with courage and purpose, reminding them, “Don’t live in the past, but if we don’t be careful, we’ll relive the past. So, go forward with your heart open, your mind sharp, and your light blazing.”

(Pictured top left to right:

Lawrenceville Elementary Principal Candace Haynes, Ms. Nikki Toombs, Theater teacher at Jenkins Elementary, and Dr. Andrew Headd, Assistant Principal at Jenkins Elementary.

Pictured bottom left to right:

Jenkins Elementary Principal Tameika Turner-Haynes , Dr. Leona Tate, and Gwinnett Board of Education Chair and District V Representative Dr. Tarece Johnson-Morgan.)