The Highland Black Student Union has begun their celebration of Black History Month. February is very important as it is the time to celebrate all African American culture and history, The BSU is doing exactly that by hosting events and activities all month long.
The Highland BSU is advised by Deirdra Straight and Tiffany Rasmussen with Takarah Parker, Sadiyo Noor, Anud Hashi, and Arianna Berchan-Bridges taking on leadership of the club. Together, they have come up with an exciting agenda including different themes correlating with each week. All are welcome to celebrate with them each week in the club corner and attend any of their events and participate in their clothing-themed Fridays.
“I feel like Black History Month in PWIs, or Predominately White Institutions can be very repetitive where you only hear about a couple of black figures for about a week,” Parker said. “We’re going to talk about hair, we’re going to talk about fashion, we’re going to talk about music, we’re going to talk about black love, we’re doing all this stuff because we deserve to be celebrated this entire month.“
The first week was based around music with Berchan-Bridges taking the lead. Not only did they learn about Black music in their weekly club meeting, but they also invited a DJ to come to the school. DJ Freshness was at the club corner on February 2nd and the crowd had a blast. Along with the fun activity, they invited the student body to wear a shirt with their favorite musician/s on it.
The next week was centered around Fashion and Hair, specifically Black Culture’s influence on trends today. It was led by Noor and Hashi who had local designers come teach the students about Black fashion and hair. They hosted a club corner that Friday and students wore traditional clothing to school that day.
This week is a collaborative effort between Highland’s Black Student Union and the Pride Club to focus on Black Queer History. Parker is taking the lead. Monday evening at their meeting that had multiple guest speakers come join them in discussion about this piece of American history. One of these guests was a Black Queer local business owner and another was a resident queen, and Rasmussen spoke as well. They will host another club corner Friday with the theme of monochromatic clothing.
The next week is structured specifically around Utah’s Black History. Rasmussen will take charge and Tuesday, Feb 20th the hosts of a PBS show called “Roots, Race, and Culture” and instead of strictly doing a club corner that Friday, the Utah Black History Museum will come to the school from 12:00-3:30pm.
Finally, for the last week of the month, there are two subjects being highlighted, entrepreneurship and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Parker is taking the lead once again and the club is inviting multiple outside speakers to their meeting on the 26th. The first guest is the Executive Director of an organization called Curly Me. It’s a nonprofit focused on empowering children of color, specifically Black girls. The next guests come from the Highland High Steppers for they are the coaches of the step club. These are two individuals who know a lot about Black sororities and fraternities from attending HBCUs.
They are highlighting so many different aspects because they want to make sure everyone feels included. This has made a positive impact for many students like Takarah Parker.
“I’ve always been that one black kid the class or even that one black kid in the school so for me, this is somewhere where I am able to take a step up and say, ‘that’s not going to be an experience for anyone anymore,’” Parker said. “I’m able to say, ‘here’s a space where you can come whether you’re an ally or a black individual,’ you’re able to come look around and say, ‘hey I am not alone anymore.’”
