BY JULIA SAFRIN
CCHS brought the cinema to campus this month. On the nights of Monday, February 25, and Wednesday, February 28, Multicultural Club hosted its two first movie nights in honor of Black History Month.
“There weren’t a lot of things, quite frankly, going on in this school for Black History Month,” history teacher and Multicultural Club sponsor Kevin Fair said. “There was some talk about it and we [Multicultural Club] thought it was necessary for us to step up and change that.”
On Monday night, the club played “Hidden Figures,” an Oscar-nominated movie about three African-American women working at NASA. On Wednesday night, the club played “Black Panther,” an Oscar-winning superhero movie with a predominantly black cast. Students gathered around in the courtyard on Monday night and in the cafeteria on Wednesday night for popcorn, refreshments, a movie and time with friends.
“I enjoyed being able to hang out with my friends while watching a really good movie at the same time,” junior Gabriela Phillips said.
“I enjoyed being able to hang out with my friends while watching a really good movie at the same time.”
The club also wanted to recognize Black History Month by uniting students from all different backgrounds for the same event.
“We thought the best way to do it [recognize Black History Month] was to gather around students of all races and watch movies that they enjoy,” Fair said. “We chose ‘Hidden Figures’ and ‘Black Panther’ because we knew those were movies students would enjoy and come enjoy together.”
Admission was free for both nights. However, concessions came at the price of a donation of either gently used clothes, school supplies or pillowcases. Throughout the month of February, Multicultural Club hosted their annual donation drive to Little Dresses for Africa, a non-profit organization which sends supplies to underprivileged children in Africa.
“We thought that [the movie night] was a great way to also promote our Little Dresses for Africa drive,” Multicultural Club Meeting Adviser Kristin Mak said. “Their mission is to provide supplies to school children throughout Africa. As a community, we can help make a difference in these children’s lives.”
These were the first movie nights Multicultural Club has ever hosted and they will not be the last. Based on the turnout of students and donations, Multicultural Club is looking to continue hosting movie nights in future years.
“It’s something that’s fun for the school but also for a good cause.”
“We definitely want to [host more] in the future,” Fair said. “‘Hidden Figures’ didn’t really have the great turnout we expected but ‘Black Panther’ did, and it was an enjoyable night for everyone that showed and certainly an enjoyable night for Multicultural Club. For sure in the future we will definitely want to host something and we will make the effort to [do so].”
Students who attended either one of the movie nights and enjoyed it are supportive of the idea of future movie nights.
“Yeah [I would go again],” junior Katie Behr said. “It was a good event and I liked the satisfaction I got after donating. It’s something that’s fun for the school but also for a good cause.”
The movie nights proved to be a great way to unite students of all backgrounds, recognize Black History Month and collect donations for a good cause. Although Black History Month has come to an end, as members and attendees all expressed their enjoyment, Multicultural Club movie nights certainly have not.
Photo by Carly Cuoco
