One might argue that the School District of University City started celebrating Black History Month in January with a host of student performances and by awarding the 2013 MLK Spirit Award to the late Agnes Clarice Taylor Gladney during its 27th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Communitywide Celebration held Jan. 19. 

The communitywide celebration that also included a Positive Protest March was just the beginning of the District’s efforts to honor the achievements and courage of African-Americans and others who strive for equity, have made and are making our nation great.

The community celebrations include:

• Jackson Park Elementary School, held a celebration Feb. 20. Kindergartners sang and fifth-graders performed a play named after the program’s theme, “Now Let Me Fly: The Struggles Toward Brown v. Board of Education.”
• University City High School — is hosting a celebration at 10:26 a.m. Feb. 26 in the auditorium. The program’s theme is New Orleans: Cultural Exchange on the Mississippi. It will feature the performance of an original poem by Cassandra Conner, science teacher; a Kinesis dance performance to the sounds of Duke Ellington played by the Jazz Band, which will provide multiple selections; and finally, a presentation about New Orleans and its influence on jazz by Stan Coleman, Jazz Band director.
• Barbara C. Jordan Elementary School — is hosting a celebration at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 28 that will feature all grade levels giving presentations in their classrooms. The program’s theme is, “Education Then and Now.” 
• Brittany Woods Middle School —  is hosting a celebration at 1:30 p.m.  Feb. 28. 
• Pershing Elementary School — is hosting "Gospel Music Through the Years,” at 6 p.m. Feb. 28 in the gymnasium.