by Kush Bansal | Feb 16, 2019 | Community, History, News
Every February, we celebrate Black History Month. In this time period, we honor African American representatives, world leaders, and people who changed our society. Famous leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman are all just a few out of the thousands of people we honor. To commemorate this time of celebration, FHS is hosting a Mini Juneteenth event on Monday, February 18th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. This event will be full of different cultures, educational material, and lots of fun. See Mrs. DeClark if you have any questions. But now, I will talk about some of the figures and why they are honored.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a black activist whose work was to end racism and segregation in America. From the 1940s to the 1960s, many places such as schools, restaurants, and buses were segregated. King worked to lead peaceful protests against segregation, gathering worldwide media attention. His most famous work was his “I Have A Dream” speech, where he talked about what he wanted to see in America for the future. Unfortunately, he was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. However, his dream was accomplished today, as now we live in a society with less segregation built all on the ideas from Martin Luther King Jr.
Harriet Tubman was an African American abolitionist who worked through the underground railroad in order to free slaves. During the 1800s, when slavery started to slowly end with the Civil War, African Americans, former slaves, and those in the Union worked hard to free slaves. Harriet Tubman was a former slave who was freed, but she also aspired to free all of the slaves in the south. In the end, she freed over 300 slaves, which was monumental as it presented her as a historical figure who worked for the betterment of others.
The last figure we will mention here is Rosa Parks. She became known for not giving up her bus seat during the time of segregation. Back then, buses were split into 2 parts, one for the whites and one for the blacks. Even though Parks sat on the white side of the bus despite being black, she did not give up her seat to a white person. No matter what, she still said no. Parks’s recognition rose because at that time, she showed the world that even though black people were being oppressed, they still had equal and natural rights. Therefore, it would be only true to honor that by defending yourself.
This month, I want you to do some research on other historical figures to see their commitments to society. I also want you to recognize their importance to our history and to stand by in a future where we can all treat each other respectfully. Thank you for reading and have a great rest of your day.
by Saber Slate | Mar 12, 2018 | Community, History, News, School
On June 19th, 1865, all slaves were officially emancipated in all states. Over time, more and more people of African heritage in the United States celebrate this holiday because of the Civil Rights movement, allowing for equality and diversity. Juneteenth is a state holiday (or special day of observance) in forty-five states. Today, Juneteenth has become a celebration of African American history and culture.
Juneteenth is rooted in United States history, going back to the American Civil War when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Proclamation declared all slaves to be freed in rebel states, who weren’t in Union hands. The document excluded the border states Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, and Missouri, as well as the counties of Virginia that would later come together to form the state of West Virginia.
The news that Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Union forces on April 9 did not reach the state of Texas until May 1865. On June 18, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger declared “General Order No. 3,” which announced the total emancipation of slaves. Freedmen celebrated in the streets after the announcement of their emancipation. The year after, the freedmen organized the first of the annual Juneteenth celebrations to celebrate their freedom. More and more people joining in these celebrations by the mid-1900’s, during the Civil Rights movement.
After the Civil Rights movement of the mid-1900’s, Juneteenth Day has been celebrated by more and more African-American communities.
On February 19th, we hosted a Mini-Juneteenth celebration here at Franklin High School.
At the festival, there was a selection of different events that promoted diversity, friendship, and support and from Daddy’s Soul Food & Grille. I personally didn’t try the food, however, I asked around about the food and the reaction was positive.
There was also book table that displayed a plethora of books about African-American civil rights and emancipation. I interviewed a student about it, who said, “[I think it’s something] that gets overlooked a lot, and there are books that become popular by the media, and a lot of times, that’s the only thing you go to, you’re broadening your horizons, you know?”
Some of the other events included a raffle to support local African-American businesses and a kindness pledge wall, which was facilitated by fellow members of the Saber Slate. Many students and parents of Franklin filled out the pledge wall.
I had the opportunity to interview Janet Evans, the president of the school board, and ask her about the event. “I think [Mini Juneteenth] is a great way to bring the community together,” she said, “and I also think it’s a great way to celebrate Black History Month, and educate the community.”
Around the same time I was standing around the wall, the music was cranked up. A group of three girls started dancing to One Two Step by Ciara. I saw many more students join the impromptu dance party and have a great time together, enjoying the moment. That alone just shows, even if it seems like we’re struggling to stay together, Franklin is still a community. Although it isn’t a national holiday, many organizations are working toward having the day recognized as a national day of observance.
Mini-Juneteenth was an important celebration, even if you didn’t attend, it shows that Franklin as a whole is ready to support racial diversity, and that is very important to many students of Franklin no matter how they look.
Photo’s taken by Isabelle Wilson
Sources
Holness, J. J. (2017, June 19). National Observance of Juneteenth is Still a Struggle. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from https://urbanfaith.com/2016/06/national-observance-juneteenth-still-struggle.html/
Cruz, G. (2008, June 18). Juneteenth. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1815936,00.html
by Saber Slate | Jan 18, 2018 | Academics
Originally Published June 6th, 2016
Starting this year, The Saber Slate will publishing the Valedictorian and Salutatorian speeches from Graduation for posterity. (There may be some slight differences from what was actually said)
Valedictorian Daniel (Euvin) Park
Good afternoon, friends, family, teachers, mentors, admirers, and graduates of Franklin High School’s class of 2016. It is an honor to speak to you all on this important day, and I hope I provide you with sufficient entertainment until the next speaker takes the podium.
I was selected for this honor because I have a ridiculously high GPA. You know what that means? It means my ratio of time spent having a life to time spent studying in a locked room is the lowest out of everyone here. Yet, as valedictorian, I’m supposed to be someone who represents the best aspects of my fellow students. This seems a little odd to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not completely talentless: my long hours of studying and practice have made me a more than competent scholar and musician. However, I am not an athlete. I am not an artist. I am not a writer. I am not a craftsman. I am not the kindest person here, the most imaginative, nor in all honesty the smartest. I do not represent the best of many aspects of the class of 2016; I don’t believe any single person here could possibly represent the best of all the facets of my peers. So, I’ll simply do the best I can to share with you all that the 348 of us have to offer.
We’ve won the SEC All-Sports Conference Championship 4 years in a row, numerous athletes have signed letters of intent to play in college, FBLA has qualified for nationals, we’ve sent thirteen sports to conference championships multiple times over the past four years, we have thousands of hours invested in volunteer work, we’ve put on great shows both on and off the Saber Center for our fall plays and spring musicals, we won Japan Bowl, our music department has sent dozens of events to WSMA state competitions, and our marching band has, for the first time ever, broken free of its last-place ranking at state.
Yes, we have been very successful, but we’d have accomplished none of that success without a great deal of guidance: so, let us now thank those guides. Thank you, parents, for walking with us every step of the way; stumbling with us, catching us when we fell, and sometimes even taking the fall for us. Thank you, teachers and counselors, for dealing with our sometimes less than savory attitudes, guiding us through troubles that we were too embarrassed to go to our families about, and giving us the tools to prepare ourselves for life beyond high school. Thank you, coaches, for constantly pushing us toward success when our own legs began to fail us. Thank you, administration, for your patience in organizing our school events, including this graduation ceremony. Also, a personal thank you to God, my father, Christ, my savior, and the Holy Spirit, my mentor, for keeping me in good health and in good hands; may you continue to do so. Finally, thank you, alumni of FHS, who we looked up to as your friends and underclassmen.
I remember how from before day one as a freshman at FHS, I spent a lot of time with my upperclassmen in marching band. They pushed me to my limits so that I could reach their level in as little time as possible, and they did so with smiles on their faces. I was included in all the pointless but amusing conversations we had in our free time, as well as all the social gatherings we had outside of rehearsal. They challenged me, but they were kind about it; they whipped me into shape when I deserved it, and gave me help whenever I asked for it. I’m sure most of us have had similar experiences. Our upperclassmen gave us good advice, pushed (and sometimes shoved) us in the right direction, and carried themselves as figures for us to follow; even to admire. I just hope we’ve been able to do the same for our underclassmen.
Whether we’ve given it much thought or not, we’ve all been upperclassmen to someone at FHS for three of the past four years. Whether it was through our academic achievement, athleticism, passion, musical or artistic talent, kindness and compassion, or simply taking the time to say hello every day, we have people who genuinely look up to us, and we owe it to them to be good role models like the ones we had when we were in their shoes. While to my knowledge, most of us have done an excellent job of doing so these past three years, I’d like us all to keep in mind that this type of relationship doesn’t end after just high school. Wherever we are, be it college, the workforce, or the military, there will always be people who we look up to, and people who look up to us.
So, I’ll leave you with this. I urge you to make good choices: choices that you can be proud of, choices that those who have guided you can be proud of, and choices that those you guide can be proud of. Let us all stand tall and walk forward with the conviction to do what we believe is right and to share that conviction with others, prepared to accept any and all consequences with no regrets.
I wish you all the best as you move forward in your lives. Thank you, everyone, and congratulations to Franklin High School’s class of 2016.
Salutatorian Louise Saraspe
Good afternoon everyone! I just wanted to start off by saying thank you all again for coming and thank you in advance for listening to what I have to say for the next couple of minutes. To be honest, I’m not the best at public speaking, so I’m going to make this short and sweet to make sure I don’t pass out and you guys don’t die of boredom or heat stroke, whichever comes first. So here we go.
I stand here absolutely humbled to be the salutatorian of a class of very intelligent and talented students. For instance, my good friend and the valedictorian for this year, Euvin, will be a future Harvard scholar and brain surgeon if I have my facts straight, and along the way he’ll probably cure cancer, build a time machine, and after that, world domination. You never know with him. Nonetheless, I am honored to even come close in ranks to such a genius who never ceases to impress me with this charisma.
To tell you guys a little about myself, I moved into this country from the Philippines in 2002 and I did not know what to expect. I barely spoke English, wasn’t accustomed to the modern technology of an advanced country, and never saw snow in my life. I think by now I’ve seen a little too much of it to be honest. But what my family and I did have in mind was, to put in a very cliche way, the American Dream. We wanted an education, job opportunities, and an overall improvement in our lifestyle. And as I stand up here, 14 years later, I can say that we have succeeded. And the more I think about it, we didn’t succeed because we were special or because we had a dream. We succeeded because we had a plan to get there. The other day I was on Google, the savior of most high school students, and I searched up the definition of a dream. What came up was “ an idea or vision created in the imagination that is not real”. When you put it that way, it makes it seem like dreams are unattainable, like they’re just fantasies created in the mind. But success is not imaginary and dreams don’t have to only exist when we go to sleep at night. If you have a goal that you aspire to reach, have a game plan, take action, make an attempt to move in the right direction.
All you really need to start is the determination, effort, and your right foot forward. And then your left, then your right, then left, then right, and lo and behold you are walking! You are walking towards your goal, moving towards where you want to be. And before you know it, you could be running or sprinting or skipping or galloping or cartwheeling. Whatever gets you moving. And even if you fall, whether it is because you hit a bump in the road or you are just not very good at skipping because you are uncoordinated like me, it’s completely fine. If you are down on the ground and think you can’t get back up, then crawl. Crawl on all fours, drag yourself across the ground. Just do not give up. Keep moving. You could do the worm all the way to the end for all I care because at least you’re trying, you’re getting there. And it’s pretty cool if you can do that, so style points for you. So whether you are walking or running or breakdancing your way to the finish line, when you get there, whether it’s a month from now or 10 years from now, you’ll look back, see how far you’ve come, and realize “I made it”.
So with that said, go out there and take those chances. Don’t leave any important words left unspoken. Don’t leave any important actions left undone. Take that leap of faith and work until the day where life is so good that no dream could compare to your reality.
