Black Scholars Union organizes assembly to honor Black heritage

 

COMPLIED BY JENNA WALTER/EXECUTIVE THEME EDITOR AND CHARLOTTE LEVY/THEME EDITOR

 

Costa’s Black Scholars Union (BSU) and staff members organized an assembly in the Mustang Mall to celebrate Black History Month on Feb. 10. 

The 2023 assembly was the 10th-annual Black History Month assembly compiled by BSU. Each year, BSU focuses on a unique topic to highlight in history. This year, they chose to highlight cultural differences throughout each decade. Many stations featured Black artists, actors and athletes from various time periods.

“We chose to include the decades theme to draw attention to different significant events and people throughout the last few decades,” junior BSU member Hailey Fisher said. “Since this was our 10th-annual assembly, we wanted to make it special.”

According to Fisher, BSU first brainstormed ideas and split up in groups to create our posters about historical figures and plan the menu. On the day of the assembly, BSU members  set up the tables and split into  groups to prepare the food, games, and poster presentations as well as the DJ.

“A staff member who deserves absolutely all of the praise in the whole world for pulling this assembly together is Ms. (Janet) Allen,” said senior BSU member Haley Haynes. “[Allen] put so much hard work and diligence into making this assembly one of entertainment, quality and education.” 

A short video shown during third period on Feb. 10 gave students a preview of the assembly. Students and staff were then released to walk through the decades of Black history. BSU spearheaded the assembly planning by dividing club members into committees, each with a designated task.   

“Collectively, everyone involved, both members of the club and non-member volunteers, did a phenomenal job of making this assembly truly unique, entertaining and enjoyable,” said senior Kayla Calkins.

At the assembly, there was a variety of food available, including cornbread, macaroni and cheese, jambalaya, sweet potato pie and greens. The band Evolution, led by school psychologist Janet Allen and a DJ, provided live music, inviting students to dance to songs on stage. 

“I think the most popular part of the assembly was definitely the soul train line toward the end; I noticed a lot of people watching and cheering friends on,” Haynes said. “The atmosphere was incredibly infectious, and it was hard not to be entertained.”

Booths were displayed for each decade from the 1960s to the 2020s across the Mustang Mall. There were games available for students to learn about Black culture and history. Students were able to play cup pong, bingo, and trivia games, in which participants were rewarded for answering questions correctly.

“It was relieving to finally see the moment it all paid off and how much interest there was,” said Calkins. “Our goal was to display Black history in-depth over the years, beyond the limited aspects people may have already known or learned about.”

Members of BSU designed posters to celebrate Black excellence in fashion, music, art, politics and sports. The booths also covered social movements that spanned from the civil rights movement of Martin Luther King Jr. to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. 

“I think it’s incredibly important for the Black History Month assembly to be put in place every year,” said Fisher. “It’s important to remind and educate students and staff about Black culture and the purpose behind the month itself.” 

Booths were run by BSU members, students, and staff members, including club advisor Allen and many members of the English Department. To honor Black history in the field of literature, teachers arranged a spread of their favorite books from the 10 most influential Black authors over the last 100 years. 

“Honoring Black History Month with our assembly [helps] diminish [harmful] ignorance and spread knowledge and diversity throughout campus,” said Fisher.

Along with Allen, many of the Costa teachers within the English Department provided  additional help to the assembly, according to Haynes. They helped set up all the booths and aided BSU students with their booths and, most importantly, provided book recommendations written by African American authors and featured African American voices.

“I think it’s important to have an assembly centered around Black history at a school like ours in which the Black population is so low,” said Haynes. “1.6% of the student body at Mira Costa is Black, which is an awfully small amount.”

Another way Costa celebrated Black History Month is the annual door decorating contest. Teachers were encouraged to decorate their door with a significant African American figure in history. 

“As an English Department, we each picked an author, and Toni Morrison is someone I was introduced to as a junior in high school,” English teacher Lindsey Valbuena said. “I found her as an inspiration to become a teacher, which is why I chose to include her on my door.”