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Two Woodson High students used the school’s Black History celebration to explore identity, belonging and the role young people have in shaping history.

Yemmy Tekabe described an identity influenced by Ethiopian heritage, an early childhood in Beijing and life in the United States. Born in China, Tekabe spoke only Mandarin before moving at age 8 and beginning to learn about both Ethiopian traditions and Black culture in America.

Tekabe said understanding Amharic but being unable to speak it has sometimes created a sense of isolation within the Ethiopian community. Similar pressures about what it means to be Black have also led to feelings of being an outsider among Black American peers.

Theater and chorus have offered another important part of Tekabe’s identity, despite experiencing ridicule over choosing an artistic path.

“My identity isn’t one thing; I am many,” Tekabe told the audience, explaining that Black History Month provides an opportunity to embrace every part of that identity while remembering both painful and positive history.

Tekabe also urged older generations to listen to young Black voices and warned that dismissing them could contribute to the silencing of young people from other minority communities.

“I ask you all to give us a chance,” Tekabe said. “Don’t forget—we are history.”

Hiroko Rose, a junior and student representative on the Carter G. Woodson student renaming committee, focused on the school’s new namesake and the continuing influence of the past.

Rose said she was proud to help rename the school in honor of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, widely known as the father of Black history and the originator of Black History Month.

Woodson believed that knowing history was essential to building a better future. His work encouraged African Americans to value their heritage, study it and share it with others.

Rose acknowledged that students can feel removed from historical events when lessons seem disconnected from their lives. But history, she said, remains present through the influence of people whose courage, leadership and innovation helped shape the country.

The renaming committee sought to make those connections clearer through artwork, stories, presentations and activities. Rose cited Woodson’s warning that controlling how someone thinks can also control how that person acts, arguing that people’s understanding of history affects how they engage with the world.

Learning about earlier struggles and achievements, she said, can help students work toward a more inclusive and just society.

Rose noted that the class of 2025 would become the first graduating class of Carter G. Woodson High School. She called on students to treat Black History Month not only as a time for reflection but also as an invitation to keep learning, teaching and building a future in which every community’s history is understood and celebrated.