Leading the Way-Our Black Student Union

Leading the Way-Our Black Student Union

By Student Contributor Jaila Hampton (’23)

Two years ago, sixteen upper school students, myself included, were presented with the opportunity to do the unprecedented. We were asked by former SGA President, Denise Geronimo, and Director of Student Life & Leadership, Jennifer Lovelace, to put together a Black History Month Celebration. For the first time in St. Agnes history, a minority group would boldly stand before the entire student body and highlight their uniqueness.

Ecstatic and hopeful, we got to work. In the beginning, we would share our similar stories of experiences. Slowly, instead of our time and space only being used for planning, it became a haven for authenticity and healing. We decided that after Black History Month, we would continue our discussions. This allowed us to better support each other on our new-found journey. This was the beginning of the Black Student Union.

We worked diligently for months to create plans for four weeks promoting black excellence and celebration. It was our hope that we would stray from the traditional way Black History Month was celebrated. Instead of lecturing students on redundant history lessons, we pioneered a celebration of our culture's past, present, and future. Because of this, our peers engaged in our "sessions" instead of rejecting them.

Their engagement led to them gaining impactful insight and allowed them to evaluate their actions. In addition to this, we broke down and are continuing to break barriers between the minority and majority ethnic groups in our school. We also serve as a blueprint for our school's first Hispanic Student Organization. I am proud to say not only was I a part of the founding group, but I now co-lead the Black Student Union with senior Maria Githinji.

We kicked off our 2022 Black History Month celebration on Tuesday with a powerful Senior Voice by Tamya Franklin about self-love and an introduction of all the BSU members, who identified themselves by their favorite self-characteristics. We look forward to more opportunities this month to share our passion and our joy with our classmates.