URBANA, Ill. (WAND) — You can hear the gym floor of Dr. Preston Williams Elementary School shaking the moment you step foot inside. As students alternate performance after performance, the audience could not have been cheering any louder. 

"Young people can make a difference. And we want them to know that!" says Jeniece Mitchell, Urbana School District #116 Family Liaison. 

The school held their fourth annual Black History Month Celebration. The event honored Mitchell's mom and Urbana school district powerhouse, Janice Mitchell.

"My mom was born in February. This is a kickoff pre-loading her birthday, and she was somebody who loved black history. She was also was the founder of Urbana Neighborhood Connection Center, a nonprofit organization that serves many of the youth that are here today and their families."

Students and teachers came together to showcase Black History through art. The youth sang, shared stories, and performed musical dances for a packed audience. 

Mitchell shared, she wants to continue reminding Urbana students of their heritage in ways her mother did. "Oftentimes, we think about black history as older people, but we need the youth to know that there were just as many young people that led the civil rights movement."

And when asked what her mom would think of this celebration, Mitchell knows she'd be smiling in a front row seat. 

"Mom would be blessed to see this. She'd be honored to know that the community came out to support her and her legacy, and continue instilling in her kids what she instilled in all of the youth for all of these years."

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