Maryville Academy

Rebuilding Lives. Rekindling Spirits. Renewing Hope.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

https://www.maryvilleacademy.org/donatevolunteer/donatenow/

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Mission, Vision, Values
    • Our History
    • Our Leadership
      • Maryville’s Board of Directors
    • Maryville Code of Ethics
    • Our Model of Care
    • Our Alumni
  • Programs
    • Maryville Catholic Youth Organization (CYO)
      • CYO Grade School Track & Field Meet 2019
      • Advisory Council
    • Maryville Children’s Healthcare Center
      • Caregiver Training
      • Center Guidelines and Visiting
      • Children’s Healthcare Center Staff
      • Diagnoses and Conditions Treated
      • Children’s Healthcare Center Wishes and Needs
      • Referral Guide
    • Maryville Crisis Nursery
      • How We Care for Your Child
      • Questions & Answers for Parents
      • Crisis Nursery Volunteer Opportunities
      • Crisis Nursery Advisory Council
      • Crisis Nursery Wish List
    • Maryville Golf Academy
      • Flagstick Newsletter
      • Golf Academy Success Story
    • Maryville Jen School
      • Academic Program
      • Vocational Program
      • CAAEL
      • Jen School Wishes and Needs List
      • Advisory Council
    • Family Behavioral Health Clinic
    • Residential Programs
      • St. Monica Home Program
        • Moms Recovery Home Substance Abuse Services
        • Mom’s Recovery Home Program Wishes and Needs
      • Residential Services for Girls
        • Wish List for Casa Imani and Casa Salama
      • St. Dominic Savio Program
    • Stephen Sexton Training Institute
    • Maryville Special Events and Sports Complex
    • Augustus Tolton Peace Center
  • Media
    • News
    • Message from Sr. Cathy Ryan, Executive Director on March 17, 2020
    • Maryville Video Gallery
    • Maryville Photo Gallery
      • Crisis Nursery Christmas Party 2019
      • Jen School Holiday Sip & Shop 2019
      • Jammin’ with Jen 2019
      • CYO 4th Annual Golf Classic 2019
      • IGPA-Maryville Gleason Cup 2019
      • CYO Grade School Track & Field Meet 2019
      • Crisis Nursery Ladies Luncheon 2019
      • Ed Block Courage Award to Zach Miller 2019
      • Cardinal Blessing for Center for Children 2018
      • Annual Gala 2018
    • TV/Video
    • The Voice
    • 2019 Annual Report
  • Events
  • Join Our Team
    • Maryville Employee Benefits
    • Become a Volunteer
  • Ways to Give
    • Donate Now
    • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Grant Awards
    • Our Supporting Organizations
    • Ed Block Courage Award
    • Charitable Tax-Free IRA Rollover
    • Giving Societies
    • Planned Giving and Bequests
    • Volunteer Your Time
    • Program Wish Lists
  • News Feed

Black History Month Art and An Alumni’s Story

Black History Month - CN ProjectsRecently, we posted a photo on the Maryville Facebook page of the artwork that had been created at our Crisis Nursery in honor of Black History Month.

We received this wonderful anecdote from Bill Coyne, a Maryville Alumni, in response to that post. Bill shared a story with us about his life at Maryville in the late 1960s. We think it reflects the collaborative spirit that still exists on our Des Plaines and Bartlett Campuses today.

Bill Coyne’s Response to our Black History Month Post:

I especially like the collage. As a high school junior at Maryville Academy, enrolled at Notre Dame H.S. in Niles and living in the high school building behind the gymnasium around 1968, I experimented with many art techniques as a hobby. One of our many black schoolmates approached me for help with a project for his art class. He saw me playing with silhouettes of various objects and wanted one of his head for his assignment.

I set up the lamp, taped a construction board on a wall, set him in place and etched it out. He had very interesting features that stood out well on the shadow. Then he saw my little collages and wanted to paste pictures on his work. “I want lots of black people!” All I had were a few National Geographic magazines, which really wouldn’t suffice. Not enough pictures and nothing that reflected the current black consciousness and the struggle for its achievements.

We went through the building asking for unwanted magazines and explained why. We soon had a few dozen periodicals, and a few others helping us cut out pictures. With the new wealth of material my friend said, “We got enough to show the whole history of black people!” Light bulbs clicked on and immediately everyone in my room was contributing. I sat back and occasionally offered a suggestion about gluing and where a picture might be positioned. There was lots of excited discussion, cutting, and gluing for an hour. And then it was done.

We all just stood around for a few minutes very much in awe of the accomplishment. We didn’t really have the vocabulary to express the feeling of pride and admiration we felt. I just stood, mouth agape among the “Cool, man. That is really cool!” and “Wow! I want one in my room!” For someone who thought he had no talent, he scored an Everest on this one. He got an A for the project and for the class. People couldn’t enough of it. It appeared in the school paper and in some of the surrounding dailys. At the high school dorm we watched as Black Power fist collages, African continent collages and others went up in a lot of rooms.


Black History Month and student art projects are just a few of the topics that generate fond memories for our alumni. If you have a story about Maryville that you would like to share with us, please send an email to geraghtyk@maryvilleacademy.org. Thank you for your support and your continued interest!

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Black History Month, collage art, student projects

Please help us care for children and strengthen families.

Donate Now

Information

Nondiscrimination Policy
Affiliations and Associations
Privacy Policy
Maryville’s Program Sites

Maryville Biometric Policy

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Employment

Maryville Employment Benefits
Employee Emergency Notification

All Available Positions

Calendar

There are no upcoming events at this time.

View All Events

Contact Us

Contact Us

1150 N River Rd
Des Plaines, IL 60016

(847) 294-1999

Complete Facility Locations
Maryville Center for Children
Maryville Des Plaines Campus
Maryville Eisenberg Campus

Copyright © 2021 · Log in