CMS and PWHS BCA Clubs share history and culture for Black History Month

Members of the CMS and PWHS Black Cultural Awareness Clubs on the stage after finishing their performance at Conshohocken Elementary School.

Colonial Middle School’s Black Cultural Awareness (BCA) Club along with a couple of guests from the BCA Club at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School kicked off Black History Month with a visit to Conshohocken Elementary.

Using movement, song, dance and spoken word, the club highlighted famous African Americans and shared the importance of being proud of who you are. One of the pieces the group performed was a traditional step team routine about BCA that showed that, in addition to Black Cultural Awareness, BCA also stands for “Believe, Challenge and Achieve.”

“We learned about how [step] was created and how it impacted black culture,” said Eighth Grader Kayla Robinson. “We use it to unify us as a group. It’s fun. It’s a workout.”

This is the first year for the BCA Club at the middle school, and the girls who performed at Conshohocken Elementary are excited to be part of it.

“It feels great,” said Eighth Grader Kendall Mitchell. “It’s like a sisterhood. We can talk about our issues and say what we think about the world with people who we can relate to, since we’re the same race and same culture.”

Through their performance, the BCA Club members didn’t just share their history and culture; they also served as role models for the elementary students.

“In the world, black is interpreted as some evil dark color,” said Eighth Grader Najah Gilbert. “I wanted the kids to know that black can be beautiful, black can be poetic, black can be amazing, black can be exquisite. Just like any other color.”

The BCA Club members will be visiting Conshohocken Elementary School on Fridays in February to continue to share their history and culture through teaching each grade a step routine.