Shirley Proctor Puller presents Rich in History – We Are St. Pete living history museum

SPPF MASTR Kids® Program presents its annual “Blacks N’ Wax” Event
Walk into history. See and hear the stories of prominent local African Americans from the students who admire them!

On Wednesday, February 26th, 2025: With the theme Rich in History – We Are St. Pete, the
scholars of the Shirley Proctor Puller Foundation M.A.S.T.R. Kids® Program are hosting a living
wax museum to showcase and celebrate prominent local African Americans in politics, business, medicine, science, entertainment and more whose stories have inspired our scholars.

This living museum will portray figures and tell their stories from the eyes of our K-8th graders. Some are ancestors, some are still with us. All have accomplishments that spark courage, imagination, determination and positive self-image.

This living wax museum of scholars is the brainchild of SPPF Academic Director, Keisha Snead, who says “I chose this event because it allows our scholars to totally immerse themselves in the historical figure. Not only are they researching this person, but they are trying to tap into something that resonates with them personally. It is also teaching them the first steps of public speaking!”

Some of the inSome of the individuals who will be portrayed include:
• Shirley Proctor Puller, a lifelong Pinellas County educator
• St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch
• C. Bette Wimbish, civil rights activist and the first African American woman to serve on
the St. Petersburg City Council
• Current St. Petersburg City Council Member Deborah Figgs-Sanders
• Judge Patrice Moore, Florida 6th Circuit Court
• Pinellas County School Board Member Caprice Edmond
• Saundra Weathers, Bay News 9 Reporter
• Elijah Moore, the original Mr. I Got ‘Em
• Will Packer, Film Producer
• St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway
• Terri Lipsey Scott, Executive Director, The Woodson African American Museum of Florida
• And MORE!

The SPPF MASTR Kids® Program’s Blacks-N-Wax Museum will open its doors to the public at 4:30 pm on Wednesday, February 26th, 2025, at 701 Queen Street South (in the Campbell Park Resource Center at the back of John Hopkins Middle School) in St. Petersburg, Florida.

SPPF’s C.E.O. says “celebrating resilience, triumphs, and the profound impact of Black Americans happens daily because they are integral to the development of our scholars’ self-perception and self-esteem. Every story is a testament to the strength and brilliance within. It reinforces our claims about the scholars’ capability.”