Newark Boys Chorus and ABC's Lori Stokes Visit Roosevelt Intermediate School

was filled with students, faculty, staff, and guests Thursday morning for the fifth annual Black History Assembly featuring guest speaker ABC News anchor Lori Stokes and The Newark Boys Chorus.

Eighth-grader Brooke Schaeffer said she had been looking forward to the assembly and noted that last year’s program was “really good.”

The presentation opened with The Newark Boys Chorus singing “Remember Me Wherever You Go.”

Conducted by Donald Morris, the choir returned earlier this week from its Southern tour, which included visits to Emory College, Georgia Tech, Morehouse and Spellman College. The Chorus was able to perform at several venues and events including the Wells Fargo Atrium and the Georgia Boy Choir Festival during the trip.

The Newark Boys Chorus was then joined by the Roosevelt School choral group, The Sharps and the Flats, under the direction of Sabino Losco and Karen Romero. The groups teamed up for two numbers, including a rousing rendition of “The Man in the Mirror.” 

“It’s a wonderful thing to have this partnership," said Roosevelt School’s Vice Principal Derrick Nelson. "It has been going on for a while and we hope to maintain it for the future.” 

The assembly's featured speaker was Emmy-award winning ABC Eyewitness News anchor Lori Stokes. A resident of New Jersey, Stokes is the mother two daughters, a high school junior and a college student. She spoke about growing up in a family that achieved inspirational accomplishments in the black community. 

Her uncle, Carl Stokes, was the first black mayor of a major US city, Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, Louis Stokes, is a former US Congressman.  She shared the story of her family’s humble beginnings and their hard work. 

“I do love what I do,”  Stokes said of her 30-year career in journalism. She then discussed a series she worked on in the early 1990s in which she went undercover as a homeless person in Baltimore in an effort to give that population “identity, a name, and dignity.”    

“I know you are going to make the world a better place,” she said to students, and challenged them by asking, "What role will all of you play?” 

In closing, Stokes asked the audience to tell by a show of hands whether Black History Month should be acknowledged separately or if the contributions of Black Americans should be an integral part of American History. The audience clearly favored the latter.

The program also included a reading by Samantha Greenaway who shared her essay with the audience. Greenaway is the daughter of last year's featured guest speaker Judge Joseph Greenaway, who on Feb. 9, 2010 was confirmed by the full United States Senate to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was nominated by President Barack Obama in June of 2009.