Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Feb. 24, 2025 – Students at Leadership Magnet School brought historical figures to life Monday by holding a wax museum in honor of Black History Month.

Sixth grade reading and writing teacher Olivia Peeler said this year, the students added more to their presentations with memorized speeches, poems and more.

“The overall goal is just to highlight some of the amazing Black people in our history that have really paved the way in music, civil rights, entertainment, and sports, and to highlight it not only for our students to see themselves in history, but also for our whole and our community to really highlight these people,” Peeler said.

This was the second year for the Live Black History Wax Museum, which included students dressing up as significant figures in Black history. Assistant principal Kim Newcomb said the event is meant to mimic a museum where the wax figures come to life.

“Every display had a button where visitors could push it and make the ‘wax figure,’ the student, come to life,” Newcomb said. “They would then explain who they are, what their place in history is, give a fun fact and even play music.”

Science and social studies teacher Latoya Davis said when it came to choosing the figures to be represented, they asked the students to not only come up with someone influential but who also made a difference in their dream career field.

“Some people said like an OB-GYN, so when they researched, they looked for someone who made a difference in that field, so they picked their person, and then we just brought it to life. They created posters, they came up with the attire,” Davis said.

One of the students, Kanrya Ingram said she chose to play Claudette Colvin, who was arrested in 1955 in Montgomery, AL, for refusing to give her seat up to a white woman on a bus, months before Rosa Parks was arrested for the same incident.

“I chose her because nobody really speaks about her as much as she deserves to get spoken about,” Ingram said. “She didn’t get what she deserved in any type of way or any credit for what she did.”

Another student, Bryton Smith, portrayed baseball player Jackie Robinson because of his interest in baseball. Since Robinson was the first African American to play in a modern Major League Baseball game, Smith’s interest in the sport increased.

“I didn’t know he changed the landscape for race relations in the United States, and he also broke the color barrier,” Smith said.

Ingram and Smith said bringing their historical figures to life was difficult, as it involved a lot of memorizing and research, but they said it feels good because of what people can gain.

Both Ingram and Smith also agreed that acting as historical figures impacted their understanding of Black history positively.

“It taught me to actually work with some of the kids that are here by helping each other know more about Black history,” Ingram said. “Everybody can do something, everybody can be something in life, and you just gotta keep your mind to it.”

“It taught me more about who also helped our country and other relations in the schools when it comes to Blacks and whites,” Smith said.

Davis said her takeaway from the event is that people who came by got to learn more about those in Black history who they may have never heard of before.

“I know that when they [the students] did their research, I learned a lot just by like the takeaways of kin to students,” Davis said. “They taught me things that I didn’t even know, so I just hope that they see the work that the kids put in and learn a bit more about what we did.”