MILWAUKEE — The halls of Hawthorne Elementary School turned into an entire wax museum that came alive with students that told the stories of past and present historical African-American figures.
"Hi I'm Madame CJ Walker and I was born December 23, 1867," said one student.
"I am James Meredith, I am a civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and Air Force veteran," said another.
For the past month, second, third, fourth, and fifth graders at Hawthorne learned everything they could about the notable Black figures they chose to represent at the school's interactive wax history museum.
And with a press of a button, they brought those figures to life.
"I'm Vel R. Phillips. I was an attorney, politician, judge, and civil rights activist, who served as an alderperson and a judge of Milwaukee."
"I think it's very important that they go back and look at history because they look at things now and they think things were always easy, it was not easy," said Milwaukee civil rights activist, Edwina Matthews.
Parents who attended the event were given the opportunity to sign a petition to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge after civil rights icon John Lewis.
"Parents are the change. If the children see that they are active, then they want to be an active member of society," said Shantee Williams, the principal of Hawthorne Elementary School.
The museum also displayed a wall with prominent Black inventors and the inventions they created that we rely on to this very day.
"It's important for our kids to know where they come from or who invented what. The majority of things that were invented were by Black Americans," said Williams.
And while Black history month is coming to a close, students plan to celebrate their history all year long.
"It might be a month that it is celebrated, but it's always forever because it's a cultural thing," said Destiny Taylor.
