Image by Janis Kearney

Clinton diarist Janis F. Kearney is one of many African American notables participating the the nationwide HistoryMakers program.

On Friday, September 23, two Little Rock area HistoryMakers will join more than 500 African American HistoryMakers nationwide for the 2nd Annual Back to School With The HistoryMakers program. This year’s participants are civil rights lawyer and activist Adjoa Aiyetoro and President Clinton’s former diarist Janis F. Kearney. Aiyetoro and Kearney will visit with students at Stuttgart High School this morning.

The HistoryMakers, the nation’s largest African American video oral history archive, is launching the 2nd Annual Back to School With The HistoryMakers program deploying living African American HistoryMakers into schools in thirty-five states across the country to recount their own school experiences and the struggles they encountered and most importantly, to commit to excellence and finishing their education. The theme of the day is COMMIT. 

The 2nd Annual Back To School With The HistoryMakers program participants include Senior Advisor and Assistant to President Obama, Valarie Jarrett, actress Gabrielle Union, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, former Ambassador Andrew Young, hip-hop artist/actor/author Common, singer/actress Melba Moore, Broadway choreographer George Faison, poet Nikki Giovanni, actress Marla Gibbs (227, The Jeffersons), Ambassador Carol Mosely-Braun, actress T’Keyah Crystal Keymah (Living Color, The Cosby Show) and poet/author Sonia Sanchez.

The HistoryMakers’ Founder and Executive Director, Julieanna Richardson, says she launched the Back-to-School With The HistoryMakers initiative to respond to President Obama’s call for public service in a real and meaningful way by helping youth recognize that there are alternatives to violence and the challenges they confront.

“By bringing these living legends into the schools,” said Ms. Richardson, “we raise awareness about the achievements of the accomplished African Americans in local communities and bring these leaders into schools to see things firsthand.”

Richardson is encouraging educators across the country to use multimedia resources such as The HistoryMakers’ digital archive to enrich their students’ exposure to the contributions of African Americans in every community.

The HistoryMakers is a 501 (3) © non-profit dedicated to recording and preserving the personal histories of well-known and unsung African Americans.  To date, the organization has interviewed over 2,000 HistoryMakers, with the goal of creating an archive of 5,000 interviews (30,000 hours) for the establishment of a one-of-a-kind digital archive, and priceless educational resource.  For more information, visit The HistoryMakers website at www.thehistorymakers.com For a brief introduction to The HistoryMakers, view YouTube clip here.