Annual Black History Month Extravaganza Draws Hundreds

Asbury Park

Annual Black History Month Extravaganza Draws Hundreds

District Celebration Paid Tribute to Former President Barack Obama

By Michelle Gladden

Hundreds packed the Paramount Theatre on the Asbury Park boardwalk Tuesday night for the Asbury Park School District’s Third Annual Black History Month Extravaganza.

Held in tribute to former President Barack Obama, the celebration was emceed by School Resource Officer Tyron McAllister [shown in feature photo], who heads the Gang Resistance Education and Training program, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, and the Police Athletic League sponsored Summer Boot Camp.

“The struggle has been real but we are overcoming and will continue to overcome,” McAllister said to audience applause.

Filled with spotlights showcasing the singing, dance and artistic talents from the district’s five schools, Bradley Elementary School’s launched the entertainment with an African dance tribute.

Superintendent Lamont Repollet wiped away tears following Mikayla Serrano’s performance of Sam Cooke’s Change is Going to Come.

“I’m dedicating this song to Dr. Repollet because I hear it’s his favorite song,” the 14-year-old Martin Luther King Jr Middle School student said. Her stirring rendition elicited the first of many standing ovations.

Thurgood Marshall Elementary students opted for an expressional dance entitled Unity, while Asbury Park High School students performed dance ensembles choreographed by Michelle Burrell.

The Barack Obama Elementary School students paid tribute to their namesake by reciting Still I Rise while a soulful Daniele Delgado, 14, joined Serrano and 13-year-old Isaiah Johnson in leading the 100 Voice Choir.

Keynote speaker Dr. Deborah Tillman, who helped transform the long vacant Dr. McNish building into a Parent Center, spoke of fostering a child’s talents despite conventional norms. Tillman, a Child Development and Parent Educator, Speaker and Author founded and is the CEO of Happy Home Child Learning Centers and is the host of Lifetime Channel’s America’s Supernanny.

Repollet paid tribute to the area’s NAACP groups and local Divine 9 members by inducting them into the Hard Hat Nation.

Local and state dignitaries included Mayor John Moor, Councilwoman Yvonne Clayton and Eileen Chapman, Senator Jennifer Beck and Assemblymembers Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey.