Students in Maria Demakis’ classroom at the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. School for Exceptional Children are marking Black History Month through hands-on learning and creative projects that explore the lives and legacies of influential Black leaders, innovators and artists.

Throughout February, students study a different historical or contemporary figure each day, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., abolitionist Harriet Tubman, inventor Lonnie Johnson, contemporary artist Hebru Brantley, and civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges.

Each lesson contributes to a personalized keepsake. Students create a new page for a book they compile throughout the month, which they will take home at the end of February as a reminder of what they learned and the individuals who inspired them.

Learning extends beyond reading and discussion through daily art projects designed to reinforce each lesson and instill a sense of respect for people of all colors. Inspired by Brantley, students created bold, graffiti-style artwork that served as backdrops for cutout figures in brown, white and black holding hands.

“We are bringing people together,” Demakis told students. “We are all friends. We are all family. We are all one.”

Attached to each cutout figure, students added strips of paper with messages such as “Together we stand,” “Be kind to all people,” and “All skin is beautiful.”

“We are all people,” said Demakis. “We may look different, but we are all the same species.”