Women’s History Month

BY DAVID DLUHY

“My mother told me to be a lady, and to her, that meant be your own person”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Although women have not always been treated fairly, women have played an important part in history.

Americans celebrate Women’s History Month during March. It highlights the role women have played in history. The first Women’s Day began March 1909. According to Women’s History Month museum, President Jimmy Carter recognized how critical women are to our nation, and signed a Presidential Proclamation in 1980 to honor women during a week. The first week was March 2-8.

Women have not always been treated as equals. For example, women did not have the right to vote until August 18, 1920. Susan B. Anthony thought that was not fair and made sure women had the right to vote and the United States finally let women vote. zing work songs, field hollers, hymns, ragtime, and anchored in the blues. We present the DDC Educational Performance show, ‘The History of Jazz,’ in the month of February as a tribute to the Black American men and women who gave America its greatest art form.”

Women were not allowed to do a lot of things 100 years ago. For example, they could not own property if they were married, wear pants, or shop without a man. We have come a long way from the 19th century and thanks to recognizing the invaluable ways women contribute to our lives, like with Women’s History Month, life has become a lot more equal.

Today women are more empowered to achieve their personal and professional goals. My mom, Debra Kass Dluhy celebrates Women’s History Month every year by leading a Women’s Employee Resource Group (WERG) in a day of celebration. The celebrations include hearing from other women about how they have grown their careers, how they can empower others to achieve goals, and what boundaries still need to be broken.

Women’s History Month helps create gender equality and empowers future generations to achieve their dreams.

Art is exactly what the classes that had the privilege to witness Dinkins’s show experienced. We clapped and swayed to the rhythmic beats. “History of Jazz is a music education show that allows the listener audience to brief chronological history lesson about jazz. We utilize history, art, culture, music (instrumental & vocal) along with narration to tell this story.”

What a unique way to celebrate Black History, while also being a part of the musical storytelling!

During the performance, Dinkins comes down from his set of drums and becomes a teacher. He modeled a specific rhythm that he wanted us students to follow – a different beat for each of the groups of classes in the café. The challenge to focus on your group’s assigned clapping combination was difficult, but it sounded great when we put it all together. Mr. Dinkins said he loves this part of the show, “One of the many fun things about this show is when the students use their hands percussively to improvise with (me) and the band.”

As a musician, I really appreciated the music history lesson as a way to also celebrate the contributions of African Americans.

Houston has great musical history, and many groundbreaking African American musicians were from here. Lightnin’ Hopkins was one of the fathers of country blues music, Arnett Cobb was a great influence on jazz music, and of course, who could forget our very own Beyonce, the Queen of dance music, who even the former superintendent has a crush on. (Don’t tell his wife though!) Mr. Dinkins continues this tradition in Houston, and we were lucky enough that he could come and share his gifts with us.

HEALTHY SUMMER TREAT: TROPICAL FRUIT SMOOTHIE

BY HAROON PAREKH

It is summertime, which means for us Houstonians, we have to do everything we can to keep cool in the unforgiving heat. So, in this summertime issue, I shared a Tropical Fruit Smoothie with all of my Roberts Elementary classmates. Enjoy it, mix it up this summer, and stay cool!

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup ice cubes

• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks

• 1 cup frozen mango chunks

• 1 cup frozen strawberries

• ½ cup banana slices

• ½ cup plain yogurt

• ½ cup pineapple juice

• ½ cup orange juice

• ½ cup coconut milk

Blend all ingredients. Freeze for 2-3 hours. Share it with friends and family.