A vibrant array of colors, paper, and other materials is making its way onto the doors of Buena, setting the stage for the annual Black History Month Door Competition, hosted by the Black Student Union. Now in its fourth year on campus and its third year district-wide, the event has become a cherished tradition.
The first place door to shut down the other displays was English teacher and Pawprint Literary Magazine Advisor: Karin Childress. As a winner for three years in a row, Childress had taken the opportunity with her first period class to participate in the competition. Childress, along with her students, wanted to take up the challenge in honoring an aspiring and upcoming L.A. artist, Aaron Childs, eliminating the focus on other well-known figures.
“We figured we’d pick somebody local,” Childress said. “[He] seemed like an interesting person to highlight…it’s great to aspire to be like Beyonce…but smaller steps [can be made.]”
Through the works of paper, ideas blended together when Childress and her class thought of fitting the colors of Black History Month: red, green and yellow. Scrolling on Childs’ Instagram, they decided to match up a photo of himself in front of a car, and traced it to display their inspiration as their main piece. Taking their creativity to the next level, the class printed out Spotify scan codes featuring his music that others could play to, sponsoring his music and giving a “throwback to older soul music” he displays.
“Most people wouldn’t know who Aaron Childs is…we just tried to put it together to represent what we could see,” Childress said.
In second place was Kevin Downey, Buena’s choir director. Downey’s door design came under the hands of junior Tegan Farnsworth and sophomore Nolan Walton. Farnsworth and Walton decided on the musical artist, H.E.R., to be on display since they both enjoy her music. While their theme was an “up and coming” black artist, they wanted to change it up a bit since H.E.R. was hiding herself from the public despite her fame.
The door was constructed using different colored construction paper, along with drawings of vinyls and H.E.R. ‘s Grammy wins. The most notable element is the large fan, giving it a 3D look, symbolizing her choice to keep her private life away from the public eye.
“[It] represents the anonymity she had towards the beginning of her career,” Farnsworth said, “She chose to hide her face when she started making music at 14 so that people would focus on her music and not her looks.”
Despite their challenges with time and the constant process of cutting and taping everything onto the door, both students found it enjoyable and fun. They are glad that the door peaked some interest in winning second place.
“[Farnsworth] did so much to be able to get it completed and I definitely wouldn’t have been able to bring it to such a product without her,” Walton said.
Third place was won by education specialist Ellen Harrison. In her first year competing, Harrison took a tally among her senior classes to portray a young and upcoming influencer. Their final decision came in portraying 20 year old Marley Dias, an activist for children’s literature who had launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks to represent more black, female key figures in books.
To honor the work and literature use of Marley Dias, Harrison involved her class in doing a book cover on different people of color and would glue them onto her door. Her class had to pick a book on them, read it, summarize it and create a cover art. A picture of Dias was also added at the top to showcase her influence on children, locally and nationally.
“It gives [my students] a much closer connection [to someone] that…is a student,” Harrison said, “Representation matters…you don’t have to be a certain age to make a difference.”
The Black History Month door competition is a tradition now valued for a good representation and way to educate students on prominent figures . While these participants won this year, it will continue for others to serve in the fun and engaging challenge while educating their peers, fostering creativity and a stronger sense of community.
