This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Ridgeview Middle School Hosts Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist

The Heritage Cafe, an annual event celebrating black history month, welcomed Pulitzer Prize winner Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Ridgeview Middle School hosted a full gym of parents and students on Friday evening at a Black History event called the Heritage Cafe. Highlights of the evening included an energetic RMS Step Team performance and the message of guest speaker, Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Pitts, a novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary, called out to the young people in the audience and told them that he was not going to list off all of the prominent African-Americans who did extraordinary things. He said he knew they've been told about them, but he feared that kids in their generation may not understand how hard it was for them to do those great deeds.

“What makes them extraordinary was not only what they did,” he told the audience. “What makes them extraordinary is what was going on in the world at the time that they did it.”

Find out what's happening in North Potomac-Darnestownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Pitts presented a vivid and moving history of African-Americans by describing a probable family history, beginning with a captured African tribesman brought to America as a slave through the years to a family, living in Gaithersburg with children attending Middle School. With each generation saying at the end of their lives, “maybe things will be a little better for my child.”

He made a point to tell the students that the hardships in black history are shared by people of all races and ethnicities. He encourage the students there to ask themselves what they might owe to their father, their grandmother and other ancestors.

“All of us have a history,” he said.

Find out what's happening in North Potomac-Darnestownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

RMS NAACP Parents' Council Representative and PTA member Cheryl Angeletti Harris organized the Cafe this year. It began with an a capella vocal performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing by seventh grader Olivia Harris.

Student co-MCs, Olivia Harris and Eryn Downey introduced members of the student body who performed music and poems.

Then, 29 members of the RMS Step Team took the stage along with the Ridgeview Mascot Bobcat and wowed the audience. 

“I am extremely happy with the turn out we have tonight,” said PTSA President Julie Tittle. “The step team has been practicing and I'm really proud of all our students.”

Ridgeview Middle School hosts the Heritage Cafe annually in honor of Black History Month.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from North Potomac-Darnestown