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Black History Month Assembly "On the Shoulders of Giants" 2/27/23

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BVMS PTA in support of Black History Month has organized a special event for our Bulldogs to stand on the shoulders of our successful Horace Mann & Beverly Vista alumni. These four giants were a part of the Beverly High Integration Program that was created by Beverly Hills first African American teacher, Lyle Suter. Our guests will be speaking about their experience going through the integration program, how the black and Jewish community came together during a dark time in history, and friendships and successes that came from those communities working together. They went through the civil rights era, the end of Jim Crow, and lived out the US Supreme Court's most historic ruling “Brown vs. Board of Education” that ended segregation in public schools.

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very special program for you going to get a history Beverly Vista history integration program at Beverly Hills High School program spectacular I want to hear okay and when they can be replicated even today so you going to hear that I'm going to bring my computer up to video 15 Minutes video presentation for you fix music sound and all, but we also are going to crossing the Rachel line how do you say it's not easy to do today green what's in a quarter panels very special one give me a presentation Ford van 1971 the first minority department chairman is credited with the integration problem go to call the Multicultural student transfer program at last 40 years from 1969 to the 2009 African American and Asian students to Beverly Hills High School they came from the bird car Baldwin Hills if you park our family than the volume pills estimated and I'll show you how that happened 90% graduation rate in the minority students were welcomed by the students parents the academic faculty and the community right there is some of the members of that graduated that's my brother the founders of the program where my father as an art teacher Martin print a board member Eleanor Nathan also a board member and Ken Peters schools at that time the founding of the of the program we can trace back in July 2nd 1968 with my father drafted a letter to the Board of Education letters to put it all up highlights of what he said for Beverly High if they wanted more black teachers regarding the integration he said that if they brought Negroes who can compete and Excel academically and artistically students of Beverly High that the student Beverly High would benefit from that time relationship if they would be better leaders up tomorrow if they had more of a multicultural education he said that if people were from socioeconomic background that's an important term remember socio-economic socioeconomic I don't have a lot of things in common he said our opinions and attitudes personal contact and activities and finally he said I have contacts in the black community that you don't have I didn't know any black people the first meeting with a very close friend of my family that my dad was also connected with Missy trailer key aspect of integration program private transportation When You Reach go on the internet look up school integration in the 1964 Chevy that's all by bus Brahma the buses it's expensive school all black kids get out are Mark walk out there here they come they all go home that way we're pulling into the same parking lot as the kids who live there it helps when you tell your kids are going to go to a you got to go really high but we have to buy you a car participate and outside class activities they did not want the children to just go to school and go home and I wouldn't advise any to take this philosophy about school where you're there pictures came to the program and the outside activities cheerleading baseball like a thing it wasn't a thing it was what we did ever but it but it was happening because our families were making it happen in the school district as Michael explain with making it happen so you know I just feel lucky that this was part and if you know it wasn't something different or special in that I've carried that with me all the way hey how are you mbv I don't get any of law on the first day when you leaving for the weekend for Sanford Elementary School for we were and of course PD just so you know is always the best great we grew up in a distance is our Norm I mean thank you to Lyle scooter and all the people who Mike so eloquently described in his presentation Norm so we can know any difference but you know a lot of me feels bad when you're brought up and then my parents they're both Holocaust Survivors so I brought I was brought up a little differently and we encourage integration we encourage. the mixture of different races and cultures so actually it was odd not to have that so it is the norm I really think of my friends as being black why Jewish Staffing so a lot of it starts in the home but again all these guys here their parents were friends of my parents into our lifestyle not just at school outside of school and the interesting thing is when you start that young you never lose that we still have it to this day so so it's something that you have to understand growing up and then you take it into your dope life when's your birthday everything is team so I'm looking at work we can talk about that for a while so I would focus on things I have, I learned a lot from going to school with you as people learn a lot about Sports Illustrated a variety of things self I enjoyed the way the Jewish people have their Bar Mitzvah and a when a boy turns 13 guess that way we don't do that don't give me you want to take from from people you know that you can borrow call American Lindy hyphenated and we need and my opinion doing things by color Play-Doh playsets I've moved to Beverly Hills in the late 70s it's so interesting I'm so thankful for you Trailblazer because the world I encountered as a young student and we had a class of 120 kids I want to take I was so respectful and so warm and I think that's due to the work that you guys did as our predecessors interesting enough when we left that school community and we travel to other we were not treated the same way can you guys maybe take a second to talk about what challenges you faced because of the times that you lived in and what it was like for you I'm going out to lunch time well history is important and I think a lot of time something daddy dog food at 2 I'm from Target figure out where you need to go that's why history is so important I don't need to learn your history about Beverly Vista learning your history about Beverly Hills but learn your history about about this world. vice principal here says a lot of different experience segregated. But he was in other areas is important to understand that what deal with it and it was it was very very difficult to overcome those obstacles one of the things that is very unfortunate about our history and when famous case called Plessy versus Ferguson and old cakes with the United States Supreme Court said it was okay for the government to segregate on the basis of race so this is why people grew up not knowing people from other races because the government segregated it's separated individuals on the basis of race number to death from Skittles to cemetery. Housing employment those things were segregated on the basis of race so when the vice principal said I grew up in it. where I didn't even know people from another baby because we were separated now what's the real obstacle event is because people like us people like our parents weren't able to interact with other people from other races fascinating thing that the Supreme Court set to start this off in the Supreme Court said if he or to get together from different races they must do so because of natural affinities mutual appreciation involuntary is that the Supreme Court allow the government to stop it who had mutual appreciation and voluntary consent from interactive so what did the country have done in 1900 what did the country do what did mr. sooner do in 1970 in creating this program allows people who have usual Aviation voluntary consent who wanted to interpret he allowed them to do that the Supreme Court did not what's a huge obstacle the people if they wanted to really have an experiment what they should have done is required three cards bring forth and won't even have two cars on the track one for white one for everybody else what they should have done is a should have seen three cars one for a white one for everybody else and one for people white and everybody else who have mutual appreciation. and you want to get together that's what happened in 1971 in Beverly Hills so special because we were able to overcome the obstacles that have been placed in front of people from cuz you know these guys are living it every day and I think there was something unspoken I think that they knew that we stood with them and nothing ever again in my experience helping you but you know there's an issue related to this that a white person just doesn't have the right to use that one kidding or in any other context it is not for us Mike and Mike or anybody in the black community wants to use that word it's there right but it's not it wasn't my right I felt so when these it went when these moments happened busy as a gentleman in Los Angeles was already quite an open and relaxing and integrated City even in the seventies we were coming up but these were moments that were challenging you know and I was aware of them and and I made sure to quietly and these guys and make sure that they were they know that they had our support and that there was nothing that was going to get out of town I need a raptor one quick second there is an element on school grounds food feel like it's okay for them to use that word because they're directing it towards a friend or someone who they feel comfortable with there are other student to hear that word and feel real comfortable and so I think it's really important for people to realize it doesn't matter what your comfort level is when you direct that word towards someone else it is how you how it affects the environment and so I would be really careful to never use that word it's just not something that ever appropriate to really do some real serious damage I have had write a few students of color come into my office and complain and express concern and how they are treated by other student so I would challenge you guys sit to stand with people and support them in. now I did not say things that would make people feel uncomfortable and if that's going to push your button so I'm in the library and then we'll be at the PGA tour playing those opportunities you guys what is important to know where you from do you know where your neighbor tears come from and to understand the differences in the full truth and how you're brought up and just because you're brought up differently you look differently or you preach differently doesn't mean you're different it actually is a benefit personally as a wife Jewish student the Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills School System the integration program at Mike's dad started I never understood it in mine I really never meant to benefit the students of color we benefited, because we had an opportunity to learn something that we did we did not know growing up when you tolerance renew respect the weekend I didn't know the black filter I didn't know and understand certain historical opportunities in the past people of color so I think the white students actually been more than the students of color from that integration program in that hat the generational thing I mean again like I mentioned your parents it's up to you guys coming in 6th graders 7th graders Gate Bridge coming in later you guys have to keep that going as you move into young adulthood on your private life that's really who you are and in a lot of people like you. look at the people celebrities that you only do you have to have East Haven surfing wave on your own time and then bring that and share that in public you can't different people to smack that you right through you can I'm not that good of a PR guy so I'm just saying learn it at home and practice it with your peers and there's no tolerance you need to respect Demetrius you think differently and look differently with a different background you need to understand that because you actually will benefit from learning about their cultures as well I think that's the right term to Define someone who would use that word consultant I wonder if you will come from another country from Iran if you have some dirty words nothing words that you guys said what if people were using long words on you people called you names where you came from you have a choice everyday you have control of yourself I seen some of the it's cool you can control yourself that's the beauty of life you can control your attitude you can decide to be nice or you going to be decide to be enough of it now if you're in the sixth grade and now you're low on the phone I remember that personality to be in the 8th grade and you run the yard you stop it book you stop for bad language that's a we did talk to me now on Facebook thank you for being nice to me in high school I've also seen posts from people who said I was bullied in high school and use the names that people call them don't participate in that don't have to do that be nice and don't use the n-word get a reputation for not using it's back to me if you're doing that you got too much time on your hands you should be doing some chores YouTube It's a serious subject Tell me the meaning of how time changes when we go back to Beverly we see the integration I will tell you when I first went to work there and 91 we didn't see a Persian students integrating and and hang out with my Jewish students apply to the Hamilton never happened pain in the right direction but I think there's still more work to be done just know that when you tolerate people using certain types of language that a merger on its way towards other groups weather in Jenner ethnicity whatever you're actually going to the environment and so just be careful and and work to be a force for positive change and the super important everyone is out so it would take I want to open up the forces questions here's what's going to happen the bell's going to ring and who's going to be in Alabama soon if you want to just jump out for right now if you are not allowed to do that we will dismiss You by classes if we came in the Bell doesn't dismiss you if it's the principle. open the park don't use that word any word that listen this is what I'll make it really care for you don't use words drive to certain group of people that might further p.m. naked girl that night there was a man at the meeting, trying to get attention and distract from the integration program discussion I've gotta rebuild wanted any other questions before John what's your processor can you speak stand up and speak with your Southwest please tell me this is a gradual on a 19 1975 from the high school and Alan's in the my business is well and then my computer report my cousin Horace Mann 1971 Beverly High 1975 he's in the insurance business and I am Mike Higginbotham m71 horse van 75 my brother high school and I'm in the legal field I think it's really important for us to acknowledge so it's this is a really severe thanks to book for these gentleman worker at school when you look at what our students looks like it look anything like it looks now if you turn to your left and right you see someone of color they were here Sports and by opening these Doors by by blazing these Trails they made opportunities for students who were Asian Indian or Persian in Black and Hispanic Hamilton School we are really really fortunate to be in this time so can you guys can you take a moment baby and and talk to us what what did it feel like for you to go through these transitions to be here prior to immigration and what was it for you like afterwards interesting in a family we moved apparently he was 1970 and my brother was a senior in high school so it's difficult for him to be the new kid on the Block as a senior in high school but when the vice principal said Beverly didn't look as multi color as it does today this in this room my brother's class was 650 students 1971 class 650 students at the high school he was one of the three African-Americans to Honda 650 change occur because of B father because of mr. tutor and the integration program that was started because of the following glass 1972 3 African-American students 33 minority students out of 650 father and the other people who supported the program for me the program was very beneficial because integration because the first is because learning about different cultures in about different races to me it was very valuable because I learned that I learned a simple that that's simple lesson was good people come in all colors is it easy lesson you learn if you have an environment like you're growing up here cuz you see it on a daily basis you see good people you see smart people about and it's all for me that I grew up hey everybody I'm David I came from I born and raised in Los Angeles and before I came to the Beverly hill schools I include in middle school at John Burroughs we came to the schools and I Horace Mann Middle School much better the LA schools are falling apart and you know I just feel blessed Because by the time I got here these guys were on the team it was a natural part of our classroom are socializing we played on Sports together and I didn't really know the difference our our diversity was our strength I was interested in these guys some of us were from the same. round table from different backgrounds but it's been at that time it was a plus you know this was the 1970s there was a big movement to bring people together after the sixties the walls Tomatoes were really coming down within through terrible war and politically in the schools and the community people were doing things like by Michael Father did really made it happen schools in Beverly Hills just before we reach oh. We're not even crazy and then they were and I just I feel like you for it because it was done for me and I didn't I didn't do anything different and it was very natural and easy I didn't personally experienced or standing tension will conflict we were all on the same side together you know I expect I know from Michaels history that we need to talk about continue I know it takes a very different world now and I hope you guys will benefit from the same thing in your life hey I'm out and my family grew up near Rodeo and Coliseum and and then their Hamilton High School, Roberts so I mean I used to go to the movie theater to the Baldwin Hills theater Michael enough very well that's right so going to Mike's house in Sycamore home for me and exterior house is family was very well off and we were on offer but my parents moved us Beverly Hills the educational value of the Beverly Hills Unified School District that's why I was here from the 6th grade on a Beverly Vista my sister is here and my two boys graduated he's coming home from being all you got really good it is I think David touched on it I feel that Ford's brought us together a way that probably may not have had the opportunity to get to know each other as well we were competing against each other we didn't have a middle school and we played against each other 7th grade and 8th grade they went away from them but we all ended up playing together in high school and we've been friends ever since and that's a testament to the program that wild instigated in the late sixties early seventies we still are and even if we may have simple differences we understand you learn something we understand each other when we were in high school different cultures different backgrounds people grow up in different places we want to learn about that that was educational it made us better made us understand our own culture and experience is at home better our parents were from different backgrounds pattern for Polish immigrants survivors they didn't America alone with the truth just to be here so we always welcome to our families into each other's home growing up and we still do so it was a it was a real learning for harassment we're better off because of it I sent you a calendar room walking around the school seeing your facilities talking to your principal I think I like it's the principle has a mass background magnetism paw I used the last of my job way more than I thought I would I think that this is the greatest show got a grey school I got smart people here the greatest part about this is you control your destiny you control what comes out of your mouth you control how you act so deep in your life is asking yourself questions for your brain is like a computer how can I improve the rest of the year make this a really good jit what is important what is important but my point is you can use your mind to ask a question as far as how you can improve the 200 towards our most promising of I got most improved player two years in a row that's how I have improved I'm usually not the smartest person I got to work hard so your work are important for me I usually study harder hit him up or other people I don't care it's our important attitudes is important attitude of people in the ma'am no ma'am thank you you're welcome in the front of the class ask the teacher what can I do to improve I wish I would have done that more again use your friend like the computer you can control yourself as a lot of tough stuff we're talking about but you can come to school with a good attitude everyday that's what I try to do once I get this if you don't know when to say be nice friends with only people on Facebook who are from very high and I have had people tell me who were bullied in school and I'm so glad I can do it but it is a whole life so you want to you want to be on the non fully team to me life is all about green green and orange so you have control of the situation you can make this non-racist and I sense a parallel with all of you and us because we were in the eighth grade we were picked to be on an All-Star basketball team is they thought we were good The Varsity the varsity and just won the CIF championship in 1969 so they said they're really good and work this week so we're teaching you the varsity is right now so by the time you go through Beverly and you guys get to be seniors you from school and you will establish the potion so if you bring a plastic kind nice culture that is the BV definition it'll happen sometimes I'm not if I just when I got it I just smile as I go through my day your posture your attitude you can have a lot to do with how your day goes each day and you can start you leave this room you can say I might have said a few bad words in the past but going when I get home tonight I'm going to ask my mom is ready I can do to help around the house the problem with the phone you guys you know a computer is down as the person using it so you guys are only engaged and 56 more years old you need to be listening and taking information so is that look at your talent she and an emergent grouping together think about how you can be a great team together not individual I'll sign off with that differently retreated in the way that some of our other people of color were it was really sad to see so I guess when I went back to teach there at 1 to see how the emergency this happened love our community to see the integration at happen you would see like Persian kids hang out with white kids and Jewish kids and a black kids and everyone was kind of cool it was like really nice to see looking out here see all you guys kind of match together is beautiful but one of the things that the concern is some of the language that we're hearing the campus so here and you have either witness or had someone say something to you that about your ethnicity or color that was hurtful raise your hand raise your hand if you're one of the people who said so we have a problem right so I guess one of the questions that we had earlier and I will love to hear your gentleman to paying on it and we have a lot of black artists to you some type of language I feel that language is not ever appropriate school but there are some people here who feel like because they're directing it towards a friend that it's okay what are your thoughts on using the n-word particular benefit some other people say some other hurtful things directed towards other time Rachel groups what is your feeling about that how does that improve or hurt the environment of the school as element in our background is white and Jewish I came from a 11 family educated parents so I really didn't feel blessed I did not experience is anything like that directly toward me and Jewish people have heard plenty of it over the years you know that but being in the environment and being friends with these guys and living the life that we did in middle school and high school studying socializing playing playing sports together I certainly was aware of it and sensitive to it and it and he can my own experience it was said it was extremely uncomfortable I have my own instincts about it don't like when I heard anything like that even when it was teasing or kidding I fell you know the person who is saying that no really how those words are landing either to the person they're saying it too or to someone who might be hearing it you just don't know you just don't know what their life experiences in and whether that's really pushing a button really hitting a nerve so my own experience has been uncomfortable and steer it away from that as much as possible nobody wants a big confrontation but if there's something that's aggressive it it really needs to be stopped somebody has to station so you know I don't know what what it's like here and I understand music is like now and what the current culture is but I think it's glorified I think it was it makes something seem cool but it's not it's not it's not experience that way by the people that are better here I think I mentioned earlier that I'm a second-generation survivor of the Holocaust both my parents Escape got liberated actually from the bridging amps and I don't have an extended family was the last person to my family with the last name their rub for one reason only because we were Jewish so it was interesting is when your bra. Zurich White if I never heard anyone using the n-word in my black brothers and sisters it would have sent me more it affected me more because it's an attack on all of us people of color it's an attack on on using the word that is expensive and I for one wouldn't stand for it and I would make sure that I let my feelings be known to the Birdman Zaxby's hurting other people might not be hurting him or herself but you hurt other people are using offensive language and you have to understand and respect people's feelings and you have to prove that you have to be cancer and let something happen and let it run off if it hurt your feelings very important for people to express their feelings and emotions if they've been hurt by someone else using that language so just understand that word do mean something words and be very hurtful and just remember respect your peers respect for family members respect other people and what makes them upset or hurt their feelings that's not okay I don't care what age you are I don't care what profession you're in you got to keep that you got to be considerate of other when I first went to Horace Mann I could people see me they don't know it right the time that's not my problem that's theirs so I'm going to pick up started talking using my name what how are you so I dropped it I punched him in the trust and drop them off I said these people on your campus are doing this of sissies and their Beyond reproach I cannot believe that they're dropping this word around and think it's not a big deal to me. gather as one and say you have to fix it fix it fix it you have to say we're not going to pay you're not going to get pissed if you keep doing that cuz it's unacceptable the rap artist use that words doesn't make it right Builder lower-class people I don't know why they think it's permissible to say that I told the story in my earlier that my grandfather left Marshalltown Iowa St Louis cuz he got tired of it everyday it means lynching starts it means murder it means it means you're not allowed to get a job it means you can't check into a hotel I mean you have to be when you because they couldn't stay in hotel do black people have to set up a network to stay when they travel that's what the N word means to me private club downtown I stayed there last night what the N word means to me I can just say it I would never set it our house bad fiction is annoying to and some of these clowns I see on ESPN again I think it's possible to live a non-racist I don't take my friends on it by color everything is fine I think you can make that choice to you can decide not to participate in it and those who do shouldn't be you make me want to watch I'll be more careful or four questions have a question come on over mr. given no you may not even ask you a question thank you any other questions 9 minutes is we may not have another opportunity yes things that was troubling me I believe we've made tremendous progress in this country on on race relations do you think it was troubling me was I was seeing a lot of things happening to me and 1970 Beverly Hill it happened to my parents in a 30-40 years earlier so when I first moved to Beverly Hills 1970 on TV program was The Beverly Hillbillies and that you probably don't know about GTA V online children family from I was very poor and they struck oil on their land so they moved the Beverly Hills and was a top rated TV shows I wanted to find I want to find in your house another was coming home the police stop and and asked me if you know where I was going and when I was doing in this neighborhood and I told you know I live down the block they don't believe me putting up new series of questions is it one what is bores me is it what is your phone number I gave me the telephone number the address so they finally work event that I was not an outside intruder but when they said to me as they sent me on my way they said well here in Beverly Hills so kids can't be out under like 17 can't be out after dark. Thank you officer so the next I'm at a party and I'm happy cuz I got invited to a party these guys and it's starting to get dark and I got to get out of here now and so I didn't want to be the first one to leave so finally I said I got you know I got it and they said one and I suppose a good car for you it needs a white kids now all white kids they said what they lived in Beverly Hills for free for 5 years so when you start thinking about what was going on I got racially profiled and I got a I got a law apply to me that didn't exist don't and now those kind of thing did happen to me over the over the course of the year and that made me feel a lot better you know people stood with me too hey that's wrong they should have treated you that way they should have applied a lot to you that way and I just finished turn it over because of that differing treatment overtime in in Macon some of the obstacles some of the opportunities that were taken away from me I was pissed off and the way I deaf I want to call it one of my professors freshman Theory let me tell you why he said you know what I he said I want you to look at your family not supposed to leave them with an overpayment in this country and then I want you to look at another family if somebody from another phone through another religion and look at their family and what so you know what I'm talking about that so I know whether a family was it opened up my eyes because what he said to me was a Mike you got the short end of the stick on something that you got wrong but other people have gone through similar trials and tribulations and it's not just you not just read it's a lot of things as religion is economics is ethnicity and so what that did for me it opened up my eyes it said to me you know what don't judge people on the base or drinks people not going to be against you just because they're white just because there are another race in you judging by the content of their character can you say a sentence and this is much better for me because I have friends from all different races and I think it might have been mentioned Wayne recently as 1996 when I look at the fuel we had an event in Palm Springs to honor him but I look at the event he's got more of it I mean it was like funny United Nations are they met people said you know what I'm not your daddy and I think I learned the opportunities I had to deal people from different races into combat

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Black History Month Assembly "On the Shoulders of Giants" 2/27/23

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