For more than two decades, the Black History Month assembly has been a fixture of our school’s February.
In recent years, the Leadership class has organized the event. This year, the newly formed Black Student Union took over those duties.
But a couple weeks ago, the celebration looked like it might not happen at all.
In early December, BSU students realized there was no assembly assigned to the schedule as it had been in years past. They asked the administration if they could plan and put on the assembly.
“We wanted to put something together we could be proud of and something that people could learn from and something that could benefit the school,” said senior Mekayla Lundy, a member of the BSU.
Their request was granted, so the group moved forward with preparation of the February assembly, just as they would have any other year.
But it came to their attention just a week before the assembly that the administration had scheduled an “optional” performance during Spartan Time for students who wished to attend. This caused confusion on both sides and resulted in what Principal Michael Mukai called a “misunderstanding.”
The members of the BSU, however, were angry and upset about the change in tradition and made their concerns known. A meeting was held a week before the event, giving BSU organizers a chance to tell administrators their thoughts.
“We voiced our concerns about how we felt it was unfair that due to lack of communication the students have to suffer,” said Tisa Frederick, BSU sponsor. “They had prepared mentally, physically and emotionally to be able to put on two performances and to be told a week before your event that it is not what you expect it to be is disheartening.”
A contentious meeting resulted in indignation on the part of the BSU members, who felt caught off guard by the decision that was made without their input.
“We felt as though our voices were truly not being listened to [and] our hurt and frustrations were just being overlooked,” said senior Grace Duah.
When students tried to express the reasoning behind why they thought two mandatory assemblies were imperative, they said they were cut off multiple times by administrators telling them they were being “hostile,” according to a post on Duah’s Tumblr.
“The students were very well-mannered, very polite and they were very respectful in the delivery of their feelings,” said Frederick. “I don’t feel as if they were hostile, I don’t feel as if they were disrespectful [and] I felt that they articulated their feelings in a calm way.”
The meeting ended with a “sorry” from the admin team and an inch of hope that a change would be made to the decision regarding the assembly.
“We were so persistent because we knew if [the assembly] was not mandatory, not only would people not come, but it also makes the whole thing seem less important,” said Duah.
The next morning, an e-mail was sent out to all of the Spartan staff announcing that the Black History Month assembly would be split into two performances. The implication was that the assembly would be mandatory, since all school events of this type are.
The BSU members were especially overjoyed over the new change to the February schedule due to their hard work and tenacity.
Last Thursday, the assembly took place during Learning Seminar 3 and Spartan Time.
Starting the assembly off, several members of the group ran through the crowd with flags from various African countries, along with the American flag. This showed representation of not only African culture but a coming-together of diverse and disparate cultures.
When the curtains opened, members took the audience through the ages of music and dance, ranging from the Roaring ’20s to the 21st Century, which then led to the educational video of famous black men and women who helped pave the way for justice among all individuals.
“Well, when we first came up with ideas, we knew we wanted dance through the ages, as well as poetry because of how deep of an impact dance and poetry has on the black community,” said Duah.
Following the video, Kevin Greata and Sherri Braxton, who both work here, sang “Lean On Me,” a song written by Bill Withers, an influential African-American musician. The students used that song to show black history and the accomplishments of the African American community, and also to get the audience involved in the performance., clapping their hands and singing along.
In addition to the BSU members, the Dynasty Step Team made an appearance, also conveying the importance of black culture and relevance, since the art of “stepping” originated at sororities in historically black colleges and universities.
“I hope that the students will come away with a positive message of cultural acceptance and understanding,” said Mukai.
The assembly ended with students of different ethnicities joining together to make statements about their culture and how they are stereotyped just because of their race.
“This assembly wasn’t for the BSU but for every single person in WS who has come to feel bad about their race or origin for any reason,” said Duah.
Social media was booming after the show with positive remarks regarding the assembly. Participants received nothing but praise and positive feedback from both adults and fellow peers.
“It felt like David beating Goliath, this little new-found group taking on a schoolwide event and doing such an amazing job. [I’m] so proud of my BSU family,” said Duah.