Although the shortest month, February boasts the holidays of Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day, and President’s Day. February is also Black History Month, a time designated to commemorate the contributions and legacies of generations of Black Americans. “Tatler” sat down with Black Student Union (BSU) leaders Yodahe M. ’24, Izzy M. ’24, and Yordanos Y. ’24 to discuss future projects and activities, cultivating community with the inaugural BSU committees, and sustaining the momentum of Black History Month after its 29 days are over.
BSU has many activities planned for the upcoming month, and they all started with the creation of committees early on in the school year to zero in on different responsibilities. “We wanted to first build a foundation for BSU. So, this year … we decided to form committees so that we can make sure that the students who possibly want future leadership roles or want to help more and be more active members can participate,” Yordanos said.
With these different committees tackling different aspects of the Black History Month celebrations around Lakeside, BSU members had opportunities to join whichever committees best fit their interests. Speaking on the different committees, Yodahe added, “There’s a creative and artistic side to them, which is more fun, but then there’s also the discussion-based side, where we’re trying to start conversations, which a lot of our members have expressed interest in.”
Each of the three BSU leaders heads a different committee. Izzy’s committee focuses on one of the most visible celebrations for students: decorations in the Student Center. They will be utilizing the wall space to display posters on a variety of topics. “I have a ton of flyers for decorating, which will have things for students to make and create in the middle of the Student Center … We’re going to be making some more cool posters with a person of the day,” he explained. Movies celebrating Black excellence will be shown some weeks, as well as BSU-original presentations.
Yordanos’ committee focuses on using BSU’s membership to benefit organizations outside of Lakeside, including on-campus and out-of-school service opportunities. BSU is currently putting together a service opportunity for all members, but the specifics are still in the works. Her committee will also organize a fundraiser for the International Rescue Committee, which provides aid to humanitarian crises around the world, including in Ukraine, Palestine, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Yordanos excitedly told us that BSU is “uplifting the Black community through posters … but also making sure that we’re using our platform for good.”
Yodahe says her committee will be helping out with all of these plans, as well as planning for a multicultural night set to take place in March. “There’s a lot of different ethnicities and different cultures within BSU that we want to share,” Yodahe said. Students will be encouraged to dress in clothing from their respective cultures and enjoy diverse cultural cuisines to celebrate the diversity within the affinity group.
The BSU leaders hope that the various Black History Month projects will promote belonging within their club. Yodahe hopes the activities will create friendships for students both “within their grade or outside of the grade,” and Yordanos disclosed that one of the BSU’s biggest goals for the year is to “create a community that people can turn to express their feelings and maybe what they want to change at Lakeside, as well as things that Lakeside is doing well.”
Izzy also mentioned how his work as a middle school affinity facilitator has influenced his work in his committee. “One thing that I even hear from the middle schoolers is how, during Black History Month, they’re not seeing information about Black leaders or decorations around Lakeside.” Their committee hopes to bring this representation to a part of the Upper School campus, bringing information to a part of most students’ daily routines.
February may be Black History Month, but BSU wants to keep celebrating the Black community all year long. The aspiration of the group, Izzy proclaimed, is to “keep building that space for Black individuals and Black people to come together and express their pride.” Izzy hopes Black students entering the Upper School think to themselves: “Okay, this is the space I’ve been looking for.”
Follow Lakeside’s Black Student Union on Instagram, @lionsbsu, and Tiktok, @lakesidebsu, and stay tuned for upcoming events, including the BSU Potluck on February 8th, during ACT.
