In celebration of Black History Month, student leaders in Black Student Union (BSU) and Student Empowerment: Education for a Diverse Society (SEEDS) are working to spread awareness of diverse cultures at South.
Madison Duff ’23, president and founder of BSU, said the club kicked off Black History Month by painting the Rock and plan to carry on the decorating inside the school with a hallway banner and culture showcase. She hopes to post daily about historical figures on the BSU Instagram page, but said she recognizes there is a lot of work that goes into the projects the club is taking on.
“It’s a lot of communicating back and forth (between club members), whether over Zoom or texts,” Duff said. “I assign roles to people, and we throw ideas out there. At our next meeting on Tuesday, I’m planning on splitting people into groups and brainstorming for the showcase.”
According to MaShanta Ashmon, history teacher and BSU advisor, the discussions in BSU this month will focus on black people who are currently making history. She said members will delve deeper into diversity, equity and inclusion and help spread these ideas throughout the school in celebration of Black History Month.
“There are hundreds of different cultures in our school,” Ashmon said. “It helps to share the pride that we have as black Americans. We also want to bring about conversation about what’s appropriate and what’s not.”
A facilitator of SEEDS, Zaria Jones ’22, said SEEDS members are reflecting on similar topics at meetings this month and will be potentially collaborating with BSU to highlight black historical figures on social media. She mentions the importance of recognizing black culture at South to create a more inclusive community.
“We really need to embrace Black History Month at South,” Jones said. “In class, we don’t really talk about it. It shouldn’t be the club’s responsibility to teach about Black History Month.”