Photos: Armstrong High School holds first cultural celebration

Armstrong High School recently held its first cultural celebration highlighting spoken word poetry, a Native American dance exhibition and a performance by the African Empire dance group.

Students and staff at Armstrong have been working to find different ways for students to embrace their culture at school. Last week students participated in a high-energy celebration of Native American and African cultures.

“I absolutely loved this,” Armstrong Senior Class Co-President Ava Peplinski said. “I absolutely love all the diversity at Armstrong. I love learning about different cultures – and seeing students embrace themselves and their culture at school is amazing. Every culture is beautiful and every culture deserves to be recognized here at Armstrong.”

Celebrations like this make Armstrong a more inclusive place.

“I spoke to a lot of people I didn’t know, complimenting their outfits and asking what culture they were representing,” said Lawmanda Bouye, a student at Armstrong. “I think celebrations like this help with identity so different people can be able to relate with one another.”

Students and staff alike are looking forward to growing the cultural celebration next year to highlight and represent more of the different cultures at Armstrong.

“Moving forward, even though I won’t be here, I’d love to see more students feel comfortable coming out of their shells so we can learn about and celebrate the different cultures at Armstrong,” Peplinski said. “There are so many different cultures represented here. It will be amazing to give students space to share their culture and celebrate where they came from to create more equity here at Armstrong.” 

Scroll to view some photos from the event. 

Stella Wright, an Armstrong student heading to the national poetry tournament this year, spoke to the power of the written word and read a short piece by Langston Hughes.  

 Reyna Archie dances in a Native Jingle Dress.

Members of Armstrong's African Empire dance group perform.