A 9-year-old boy decided for his Black History Month presentation in school to do something different: He chose to research the late News4 anchor Jim Vance.
Eli Kauffman of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, dressed up like Vance and shared a newsworthy report for his fourth-grade class that his mother shared on social media.
“I see a lot of people pick Martin Luther King (Jr.) and Rosa Parks, so I just wanted to be different and choose Jim Vance,” Eli said.
His mom helped him to dress up like Vance. For his presentation he wore a suit and tie, a beard and glasses, and, of course, an earring.
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“I showed him videos, some funny videos (and) some more serious topics that he touched on,” said Sara Sunshine Kauffman, Eli’s mother. “And he was like, ‘I really want to do my project on him. I want to learn more about him.’ So he did his research, he learned a lot of cool facts on him.”
Eli’s presentation wasn’t only memorable for him, but for his mother as well.
“It was a really special thing to do this on Jim Vance. I think he really needed the credit,” she said. “He did a lot of good things, and it was a joy watching him on TV (for) my whole life, ever since I was a kid. Being able to celebrate him, especially during Black History Month, it was a pleasure.”
