History of CCHS African American Club
The mission of Central Catholic High School’s African American Club is to help all races celebrate, embrace, and expand their knowledge of African American history and culture. The club is open to all CCHS students who are interested in learning more about the history, traditions, and customs of African Americans.
The African American Club was officially formed as the Afro-American Club in 1974, which means that the club will be 50 years old in 2024! The first moderator was Sister Patricia Schnapp, who was the Director of Public Relations at Central Catholic. She was also an English teacher and moderator of the Laureate, a student literary magazine.
Several events led up to the formation of the African American Club. In 1969, Central Catholic and Libbey High school “exchanged” students for a day. Student representatives from each school attended classes at the other school for one day as a way of building community and being good neighbors. They learned about student life at the other school and realized they had a lot in common.
In 1972, students planned a school assembly in honor of Black History Month. The event included speeches, poetry readings, and discussions about contributions that famous African Americans made to the United States. The assembly became an annual event at CCHS. Mr. Nelson Grace, director of the Board of Community Relations, talked to CCHS classes about racial prejudices in 1973.
In 1974, the group planning the Black History Month assembly decided to become an official Central Catholic club, and the Afro-American Club was formed. The assemblies featured only CCHS students at first, but later the club brought in guests and speakers from the community. They also held a dance, got involved in city-wide activities with other schools, and did community service projects.
The club presented an ethnic assembly in April 1975 to continue acquainting Central Catholic students with culture. The assembly featured groups from around the city, including Irish and Polish dancers, Mexican dancing and knife juggling, and the Scott High School Gospel Choir.
After the assembly, students held an ethnic bake sale with a variety of traditional ethnic treats. This sale was a precursor to the Food Fair that Central Catholic holds every year on the Tuesday before Lent. Sports teams, student council, clubs, and other organizations bring in food from ethnic restaurants or homemade items to sell at the Food Fair. Students are introduced to food from different cultures, and the money raised supports the student groups and their expenses throughout the school year.
Today, the African American Club at Central Catholic continues to celebrate African American culture and introduce it to everyone at the school. During this Black History Month, the club plans to bring in speakers, decorate the school with African American artwork and poetry, perform gospel songs, and introduce cultural activities through our weekly mentor groups.
