OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Students from Masters Elementary School took their lesson outside of the classroom to shed light on Black History Month.
The students visited the Immanuel Village retirement community for the celebration earlier this week.
"You're never too old to learn," Immanuel Village resident Duane Iwen said.
The future met the past as 5th graders found an alum in the audience at their Black History Month presentation.
Duane Iwen was principal at Masters Elementary from 1995-1998, he says he enjoyed the students presentation because it shed light on our similarities rather than differences.
"It's all tied together so uniquely, and actually beautifully when you think about it," he said.
That's the message current principal, Dr. Diane Rivers, says she wants her students to understand. She says Black history is American history.
"All history is intertwined," Rivers said. "So when we talk about American history, we're talking about Native American history, Hispanic American history ... we're talking about all those histories, because history is simply a story and our stories are intertwined."
The students performed poems, speeches and dances that have had a universal impact on American culture, taking their acts to some of the very people who experienced it first-hand.
"It's a life lesson that we honor those who have history, we honor those lived and have knowledge wisdom," Rivers said. We want to be around them because then we can soak that up."
The students says they celebrated people they'll remember for years to come.