By Kayla Markowitz and Harshitha Kothapalli – News Editors 

Jonathan Law’s Black Student Union recently hosted a series of events to highlight Black History Month.

In February, the BSU held a student panel at a faculty professional development session to share Black experiences, a book talk on The Morning Briefing to promote black authors, and an Advisory activity that taught students about Black culture. 

“The BSU made these activities for Black History Month in order to educate the school on Black history that’s mostly unknown in our school,” senior Ikeoluwatomiwa Opayemi said. 

The club put together a panel of students to share out different experiences in hopes that they could work with staff members and have an honest conversation about diversity.

“I think it’s important for schools to participate in these activities because it gives them a chance to educate themselves and see how life is for people different than them, and can also give them a chance to self-reflect on moments where they may have said or done something offensive and ignorant,” senior Sarah Ahmed said. 

Faculty attending the student panel learned insightful ways to make sure they make every student at Law feel welcomed and accepted.

“I learned that students always prefer that they feel like they are heard and that racism in the classroom gets addressed,” English teacher Ms. Kelly said. “Additionally, I learned that being an adult does not mean you know everything, and all of our gaps about Black culture is our own issue, and I need to educate myself accordingly.”

Other than the panel, the club also came up with other fun activities for students to participate in throughout the month. 

Specifically with our advisory activity, students are able to ask each other questions and come together in order to ultimately win the prize,” Co-President of BSU Senior Gemard Geury said. “I believe our activities serve as a fun way to just learn more and can even contribute to an advisory community.”

The BSU allows Law to recognize Black culture and creates an accepting community that empowers and encourages students to celebrate their backgrounds.

“It’s important for schools to participate in BHM activities because it’s important to Black stories to be visible, especially where they can be silenced,” Opayemi said.