This past February, Woodbridge High School celebrated Black History Month with a Poetry and Art competition revolving around the topic of the cultural success of the African American minority group in the United States.

The annual contest is hosted by the International Culture Club, a group of students who share the common goal of spreading peace and understanding throughout cultures in a diverse community. Freshmen, Katie Nguyen was the winner of the Woodbridge High School Black History Month Art and Poetry Contest. Nguyen responded to her winning artwork with the following statement:

“Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1955, she had refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger. Her defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On December 1, the same day, she refused to give up her seat, she had been arrested. 7035 was her arrest number, which is where that comes to significance in the drawing. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a boycott where black people would refuse to take the bus and instead, walk or ride bikes. Black men and women made up 75% of the bus riders so a widespread boycott would force the city to pay attention to their demands of stopping segregation in buses. The boycott lasted for over a ear and buses were finally desegregated. By sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Rosa Parks has played a big role in the history of civil rights. Some of her quotes are referenced in the drawing.”

Nguyen was selected as the victor on March 8th, 2019 and although she is not in an art class currently, she was informed about this contest by her history teacher, Mrs. Gulics.

“I’ve seen a lot of occurrences and watched a lot of videos about black history and it’s something that’s concerning, so I wanted to do something that could maybe inspire people or help people learn about black history because it’s something that’s important and significant in history.” said Nguyen.

Black history month is definitely something that should be recognized worldwide due to the significance of the black community in our history and the impact that they made on our future. The International Culture Club hopes to see more participation and dedication from Woodbridge students like Katie Nguyen in the coming years.