Historymakers Visits South Side High School
Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Dorothy Brown and Cook County Department of Health Chief Operating Officer Dr. Terry Mason both go visit Chicago Vocational Career Academy (CVS) High School where they participated in the 4th Annual Back to School with the History Makers Program. Clerk Brown and Dr. Mason are both former selections as History Makers; Dr. Mason is proud to be an alum of CVS.
Clerk Brown and Dr. Mason spent the day at CVS sharing their stories and experiences with an estimated 270 high school students as they spoke to as many students as possible. Clerk Brown and Dr. Mason joined more than 500 other History Makers who are visiting schools across the nation with presentations on this year’s theme: “Commit.”
Clerk Brown was elected as the clerk of circuit court in 2000, making her the first African American to be elected to the position.
“This year’s theme is especially provocative because it encourages our youth to understand how important it is to be fully committed to achieve one’s goals in life in order to fulfill your highest potential. I believe commitment is the foundation to becoming a trailblazer.” Clerk Brown stated.
Clerk Brown told the students, "My commitment to excellence and education was my ticket out of an impoverished background. Choosing to excel in at educational pursuits enabled me to advance every step of the way along my career path.”
"Your progress report that's published and has CVCA and it has an overall rating at level three which is below average, way below average. I bring this as not as an indictment about you but an indictment about the system that has failed you. This is not your fault, this is the fault of the system that over time made sure that you are not getting what you need,” said a passionate Dr. Mason. “This may have reflected who you may have been but it is not reflective of who you are. I want to talk to you about who you are, not what the paper says you are but who you are, you may not know it yet but that's who you are."
Selected as a notable History Maker in 2003, Clerk Brown said, “I understand the commitment and patience it takes to lead people through life and I hope my video history will help educate future generations.”
CVS sophomore Deion Renay Jay Ann Oliver, a first lieutenant in the Junior ROTC told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper, “In the world nowadays, the world is mean to kids to kids who can’t defend themselves; so I want to get a better education so I can stand up to anyone and say that ‘I want you or I don’t want you’ instead of someone saying they want me or don’t want me. If people are interested in coming here that just shows how good we are at what we do. That we’re able to pull people in because of our natural motivation.”
First Lieutenant Oliver is also a STEM major, in an advanced program which few other Chicagoland schools offer.
The 4th Annual Back to School with the History Makers is a national program sponsored by the History Makers Foundation, a non-profit entity started by Attorney Julieanna L. Richardson in 1997. The History Makers goal is “to create an archive of 5,000 first person narratives of African American History Makers, both well-known and unsung.” A few notable former History Makers are Harry Belafonte, Quincy Jones, Ill. State Rep. Monique Davis and former Ill. Senate President Emil Jones Jr. History Makers are determined based on their age, accomplishments, in some cases interviews, member suggestions, and advisory boards.
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