BLACK HISTORY MONTH
February 2022
Theme for 2022
Each year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History identifies the theme for Black History Month. The theme for 2022 is:
Black Health & Wellness
2022 Black History Month, Theme, People, Poems & Quotes
Five Fascinating Facts About Black History Month | Front Range Community College Blog
2021-2022 Bassett Distinguished Humanitarian Award Recipient
Congratulations to Mr. Gary O'Neil!
Mr. O'Neil was recently awarded the 2021-2022 Bassett Distinguished Humanitarian Award from Central Connecticut State University
Mr. O'Neil was born and raised in East Hampton, CT. He attended East Hampton public schools, graduating in 1971. He was an exchange student in Cali, Colombia during the 1971-1972 academic year, where he studied a general high school curriculum. He made lasting personal and professional friendships while there. He went on to study art at the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, MD. He graduated in 1976. He later continued his studies at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, receiving a degree in the Master of Arts and Science program in 1982. He received his next degree from Wesleyan University from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1992.
He has been employed by the Meriden Board of Education since 1977 and has taught art at the elementary and middle school levels. He currently teaches at Washington Middle School. Additionally, since 1977, Mr. O'Neil has been a pottery instructor at Wesleyan Potter’s in Middletown, CT. From 1992 to 1994 he served as an adjunct professor at Wesleyan University teaching ceramics.
Mr. O’Neil has been a juried exhibiting artist since the 1970s. His many exhibitions have included ceramics and mixed media sculpture, some of which feature themes of African American and Native American artistry. He has had exhibits at Gallery 53 in Meriden, CT; Portland Library, Portland, CT; Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA, which was the first exhibit whose subject was people of color; Fels Point Gallery in Baltimore, MD; and Galleria in San Miguel de Allende, Colombia.
Mr. O’Neil is the father of a special needs daughter, Kyle, age 36, who is an artist in her own right. He has mentored her to refine her own work, some of which was featured in a show in Argentina. Kyle has also worked with her father to present professional development to art teachers in Meriden.
Mr. O’Neil is an Elder of the Wangunk Nation, a past secretary and vice president of the Meriden-Wallingford Chapter of the NAACP, a past dedicated Cub Scout Leader, a past member of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Committee, and has volunteered at the Plainville Historical Society, the Chatham Historical Society, the Middlesex Historical Society and the John J. Nerden Camp for those with disabilities.
He has received the CT Association of Schools “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” award (1999), the Meriden Probus Club's “Educator of the Year” award (1988), and has been a five-time recipient of Meriden’s “Exemplary Achievement Award”. Gary created a community dinner called “Bread and Broth” which served soup in pottery bowls to be taken home. This event ran for 23 years and benefited Gallery 53 in Meriden and the Meriden Soup Kitchen.
Take this Black History Quiz...
Meet Meriden's African American/Black Administrators:
Mrs. Laura Dixon
- This is Mrs. Dixon's 3rd year working in MPS
- She was a teacher for 11 years before becoming an administrator at MPS
- Mrs. Dixon has a twin brother named Larry
- Mrs. Dixon is a mom to 3 children under the age of 6
Mrs. Andrea Fonseca
- This is Mrs. Fonseca's 2nd year working in MPS
- She taught 3rd and 4th grade for 11 years in Bridgeport then was a middle school reading teacher and elementary literacy coach in Stratford. She was an assistant principal in Naugatuck for four years before joining our Meriden team.
- Mrs. Fonseca has four brothers and is a mom to three children. She's also done a ToughMudder obstacle course!