BSU celebrates Black History Month

A celebration of black culture and the achievements of African-Americans, Black History Month occurred originally in only the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, two important figures in the fight for racial equality. Now, February has been designated as Black History Month by every president since 1976, starting with president Gerald Ford. At Samo, the Black Student Union (BSU) leads the celebration of black culture all year round. BSU holds meetings every Tuesday in room I203, where they field discussions about issues impacting the black community and what steps can be taken to solve them.In order to celebrate Black History month, BSU had a movie night Feb. 22 in the library, where they showed “The Hate U Give,” with a discussion about the content held afterwards. They have also been collaborating with Dr. Shelton and Mr. Flores to organize a Black History Assembly on Feb. 28, which would involve the school wearing all black to celebrate the event. Club president Dahlia Michael (’19) has a clear view of the goals and priorities of BSU at Samo. “BSU is committed to the stimulation and development of cultural diversity at Santa Monica High School through participation in and sponsorship of educational, cultural and social events on our campus,” Michael said.Dr. Antonio Shelton recognizes the importance of BSU, stating that clubs are a powerful collection of voices in a world where it is incredibly important to give people a voice. BSU’s work in celebrating black history and culture helps to accomplish this. “A club like BSU validates the importance of a group saying to the rest of our campus that who we are and the impact that we have on society and our school community is relevant,” Shelton said. Vice President Tyler Taylor (’19) loves BSU for the incredible community it creates, and recognizes it as a place for black students to come together and see that they aren’t alone in a school where only 9 percent of the population is made up of African-Americans. “It’s a place I know I can go and be myself and be surrounded by people who look like me and share my same experiences. It’s like a safe haven for black students in a school where there aren’t many of us,” Taylor said.