Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 3-3-20

National
Teacher Dresses Up As Black Trailblazer Every Day Of Month
A first grade teacher from Suffolk, Virginia found a way to teach her students about black history by taking them back in time to meet celebrated black figures. For each day of Black History Month, LaToya Mc- Griff has dressed up like a fa- mous African-American trailblazer and taught her stu- dents about their significant contributions to the U. S.
She kicked off her cre- a t i v e lessons on Monday, Feb- ruary 3, when she dressed up as Virginia native Mary Jack- son. "She was a mathematician who worked as an aeronautical engineer whom people referred to as a human computer," Mc- Griff wrote on Facebook. She shared a photo of herself in 1960s attire, like Jackson
First grade teacher LaToya Smith McGriff dressed up like a different historical figure for each day of Black History Month. Here she is Lt. Col. Howard Baugh, Ella Fitzgerald, and Arthur Ashe.
the U. S. Open.
Next, she was Mack Benn,
Jr., a Suffolk, Virginia native who had a strong connection to the school. Benn was the first African American superintend- ent for Suffolk Public Schools, McGriff wrote.
On February 7, she was an- other Suffolk native, Colonel Fred Cherry, who was the first and highest ranking African American officer among U. S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War, ac- cording to McGriff.
On February 10, she glammed it up as Ella Fitzger- ald. Wearing a sparkly dress fit for a music icon, McGriff taught her students about the jazz singer. The following day she was educator and presiden-
tial adviser, Booker T. Wash- ington; then she was ballerina Misty Copeland, and then Florence Bowser, a Suffolk teacher who taught in a one- room schoolhouse for African American students.
By February 18, McGriff's Black History Month lessons were starting to gain traction online. She was interviewed by CBS News affiliate WAVY, and said she works at majority- black school and "wanted [stu- dents] to see that people who look like them contribute."
That day, McGriff dressed up as Dr. L.D. Britt. "He is the first African American doc- tor in America to have an en- dowed chair in surgery at a Medical School," she wrote on Facebook.
would've worn when she worked for NASA.
Jackson was one of the three "human computers" pro- filed in the book and film "Hid- den Figures," which shed light on the African-American fe- male mathematicians whose ef-
forts helped put men on the moon.
Once McGriff started dress- ing up, she kept going. On Feb- ruary 4, she wore athletic gear and held a tennis racket – she was Arthur Ashe, the first African-American man to win
Ariz. Man Killed Wife, 2 Daughters,
But Spared 3rd Because She
‘Reminded Him Of Himself,’ Not Wife
An Arizona man who con- fessed to killing his wife and two of his three children — ulti- mately sparing his youngest, as she took after him and not her mother — learned Tuesday he will be spending the rest of his life in prison.
Austin Smith, 30, had ac- cepted a deal from prosecutors in November, and pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault, according to several local media outlets.
In addition to his wife, 29- year-old Dasia Patterson, and two kids, Mayan Smith, 7, and Nasha Smith, 5, Smith fatally shot a family friend.
According to authorities, Smith confessed to the shoot- ings soon after his arrest. He al- legedly said he was drinking at a bar the night of April 11 before going home to confront his wife, who he suspected was cheating on him with his brother.
She denied cheating on him, but Smith fatally shot her be- fore turning the gun on his 5- year-old daughter, Nasha. He allegedly told police God told him to kill his wife.
Smith then beat Mayan to
AUSTIN SMITH
death because she was crying. Next, he headed to his brother’s residence, where he was met by Ron Freeman, 46, a friend of the family.
Police said Smith admitted to shooting Freeman after he called him crazy for thinking his wife had strayed. Freeman was shot several times, even after he’d fallen to the floor.
Following his arrest that evening, Smith admitted he spared his youngest daughter because she “reminded him of himself.” Nasha and Mayan, he said, reminded him of his wife.
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