BUILDING BRIDGES; MOM ORGANIZES CULTURE CLASSES.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

Drawing pictures after listening to African-American folk tales was fun, and learning about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Jackie Robinson was memorable for Nina Bermudez.

``I learned that a lot of them helped black people be free,'' said the Canterbury Avenue Elementary School first-grader. ``And that they helped black people go to other places that only white people could go to.''

Nina's class was among five, ranging from first to fifth grade, that contributed drawings, collages, historical profiles and other items to a Black History Month exhibit that fills half of the Arleta school's auditorium.

The school's 1,100 students, accustomed to Cinco de Mayo and other Latino cultural heritage programs, will walk through the exhibit, read books and watch a video on King through Tuesday.

The exhibit was the idea of parent Norma Ramirez. After organizing a Black History Month presentation at Mission College last year to expand cultural activities at the predominantly Latino school, Ramirez brought the same spirit to the school her son, third-grader Diego Ramirez, attends.

``We discussed it in a meeting about doing activities for other cultures. I thought it was nice so they can understand each other,'' Ramirez explained. ``What I like about it is there are a lot of parents involved.''

Forging cultural links among the school's diverse student body is particularly important to parents at Canterbury in the wake of the racially charged beating of the principal at nearby Burton Elementary School earlier this month.

``I was really surprised because this is the same community,'' said Martha Mejia, a parent volunteer at Canterbury.

Mejia said her daughter, second-grader Chantel Reyes, has attended two other Los Angeles Unified School District campuses, and she was impressed with Canterbury's efforts to get parents involved.

``This kind of event stands out,'' she said. ``I think sometimes schools have a problem when they don't show other cultures.''

What stands out for the students is learning that U.S. society once was divided between white and black.

``The hardest thing for the kids to understand is that there could have been segregation,'' said Mary Jackson, whose first-grade class participated. ``Racial injustice is inconsequential to them, and that's perhaps the most encouraging thing.''

The cultural program will culminate Tuesday with four 30-minute assemblies featuring skits and presentations about notable African-Americans. Organizing the event is second-grade teacher Joan Greggs, an African-American who credited Ramirez, a Latina, with making the program a success.

``We've never had something like this,'' she said. ``This school is really a melting pot, and we just try to cover everyone.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Canterbury Avenue Elementary students work on bookmarks as a Black History Month project at the largely Latino school in Arleta.

(2) Michael Martinez, 8, looks at a poster of prominent African-Americans as his school marks Black History Month.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News