Tx. Teacher Performs Original Rap Song with His 6th Grade Students to Teach Black History Month

A Texas teacher who wanted his students to learn about Black History Month recently used the power of music in a fun and creative way.

When it came time to teach his sixth-graders about the influential figures that helped shape black history, Antonio Young said he wanted to do something that would stick with his students, KXAS reported.

After thinking about how he could help them retain the information, the Dunn Elementary School teacher in Arlington came up with an idea of writing a rap song and performing it along with his fellow sixth-graders.

On Tuesday, the results were finally unveiled, with “Our Truth, Our Treasure” making its debut on YouTube.

In the video, which is set to the song “Five Star” by rapper Yo Gotti, Young sings about how “black history is so rich, it can hardly be measured” and goes on to discuss many of the accomplishments made by black people throughout the years.

“If you love potato chips, you gotta thank George Crum. A black man who invented that treat in 1853,” Young raps. “And then there is James West. Without him, I’d be standing alone. If you didn’t know, back in the day, he created the microphone.”

“Dr. Drew’s blood banks saved many lives, just like Garrett Morgan’s traffic lights,” Young adds.

Though most of the students who appear in the clip do not sing, there is one girl who performs the chorus of the track at both the beginning and end. The rest of her classmates are featured in the video doing choreographed routines behind her and in the hallway, as well as dancing around at the end with many of the inventions discussed, including a clock, a container of peanuts, and Reese’s candy.

To go along with the inspirational video, the girl wore a Martin Luther King Jr. shirt, while Young donned a gray T-shirt that read “Malcolm, Harriet, Martin, Maya, & Frederick” — a nod to several of the well-known black figures in history.

Speaking about the project to KXAS, Young told the outlet, “The song sheds light on African American pioneers who are rarely talked about. My students did a great job helping me create the video.”

Following the video’s release, the Arlington Independent School District (ISD) praised Young and the students for their creative rap song on Twitter.

“Turn up the volume as Dunn Elementary School teacher Antonio Young leads students in a rap song through black history,” they wrote beside the video, which has been viewed thousands of times.

The district also added the hashtags, “#BlackHistoryMonth #ArlingtonISD #ThisIsOurTruth”

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