Chicago elementary school students perform "Heroes of the Harlem Renaissance" show for Black History Month.

A group of South Side elementary school students ended Black History Month by staging and performing "Heroes of the Harlem Renaissance," doing everything from stage crew to starring in the production.

Jhaianne Cooper is the creative mind at Mount Vernon Elementary School on the Far South Side that came up with this idea. She directed the students starring in a show that celebrates Black history called "Heroes of the Harlem Renaissance" that they will perform for their community.

"It's telling us the experience about the Harlem Renaissance and important people from it like Langston Hughes. Like, I never knew about him," said 13-year-old Alvin Ghant.

Kids in the pre-K through eighth grade bring the 1920s to life on stage, learning history through the arts and discovering something in themselves.

"When you're acting, I feel like your emotion comes out," said 11-year-old Selena Brits.

"Now, me doing this, like I feel proud of myself, and I feel a connection to the arts and dance and acting, so I feel like I want to take this further," Ghant said.

"Proud is an understatement," Cooper said of her students. "I can't express in words how proud I am of them."

Nerves are nowhere to be found on stage, just joy, a feeling that will stick around long after the curtain closes.