For Black History Month, Sarasota Teacher Dresses Up As Iconic Women In The Classroom

SARASOTA, FL — For the past five years, a Sarasota County educator has found a fun and unique way to honor Black History Month every February — dressing up as iconic African American women in the classroom.

Teidra Everett, a second grade teacher at Bay Haven Elementary School, dresses up daily throughout the month and gets creative with her costumes, which represent everyone from politicians and activists to entertainers and scientists.

“The kids are usually very hands-on with their learning, and I just thought this was a fun way to explore Black history for kids that may not have explored it before outside the typical Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges (lessons,)” she said. “I wanted to highlight people of color who have made a difference and are still making a difference.”

Among the Black women Everett has dressed up as over the years are:

• Zora Neale Hurston, author
• Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first Black woman to run for president
• Ava DuVernay, filmmaker and director
• Whitney Houston, singer
• Ida B. Wells, journalist and activist
• Dr. Mae Jemison, astronaut and first African American woman to travel to space
• Valerie Thomas, scientist and inventor who created the illusion transmitter
• Toni Morrison, author
• Madame C.J. Walker, entrepreneur, inventor of the first hair-straightening formula and the first Black woman millionaire in the U.S.
• Michelle Obama, lawyer and the first Black first lady
• Jackie Joyner Kersee, retired track-and-field athlete and six-time Olympic medalist

“Some kids don’t get to see Black people in important roles, like doctors and scientists,” Everett said. “I want to break those barriers of stereotypes.”

It helps her students understand that Black people have a range of accomplishments, she added.

“I dressed up as Ava DuVernay, who made ‘A Wrinkle in Time.’ She produced that movie, which they know, and they make that connection that there are Black people that do all different things. They aren’t just limited to being poor or Black people were slaves,” she said. “I think children should know that we’re not stuck in a closed mind that this is who Black people were then and what they continue to be. Black people can be and do anything.”

Growing up in Jacksonville, Everett started learning about Black history at an early age through her church. For a few years, she even participated in African American Brain Bowls, which were trivia competitions focusing on Black history.

She was surprised to learn these history lessons weren’t as prevalent in other parts of Florida.

“Even my husband, who grew up here (in Sarasota) never learned about Black history until he went to college. He feels he’s been done a disservice,” she said. “It’s just so crazy how many adults approach me and say, ‘Hmm, I didn’t know this about this person. I didn’t even know this person did that.’”

This has only fueled Everett’s passion to teach the stories of these prominent Black women to her students while they're young.

“It’s amazing for them to learn this now, at this age, and I’m the type where I don’t commit to something if I’m not going to give it 100 percent,” she said. “It feels more important now than ever that we share these stories with them and highlight more than the typical people you have access to if you go to the media center."