Being a minority, anywhere, can be an extremely challenging experience. Majority of the time, minorities can feel unaccepted, unappreciated, and/or out of place. It is an unavoidable experience, and some people might even go as far as to say it is a “canon event.” Meaning, it is an event in one’s life that is necessary in order to build character development. Also known as a major plot in someone’s story. Nonetheless, a club called Black Student Union (BSU), was created to not only help acclimate students, but to benefit African Americans at Dakota High School.
To say the least, the advertisement for Black Student can be seen as somewhat intimidating. Students may feel like they need to pertain background knowledge prior to joining the club, but as a member of BSU, that is 100% not the case. During every meeting, the E-Board, or Black Student Union Staff, include presentations and slideshows on a new topic they have decided to cover. (Side Note: The E-Board staff are also students just like us!) From the information provided from the PowerPoints, students are able learn new terms, phrases, and explanations that will ultimately give them a better understanding of our everyday world. Hence, BSU was created to be a safe space for your voice to be heard, and experiences to be shared. Participants like Candace Staley and Je’Niyah Dowdell, two E-Board members, have shared and expressed the benefits provided by BSU.
Candace Staley joined Black Student Union in 2022 as a member. This year, she had decided to become more involved, and ran to become a part of the BSU staff, specifically, a Historian. As historian, Candace posts on BSU’s social medias, like TikTok and Instagram, about the topics and events that will be covered during each of the meetings. Candace enjoys being a part of Black Student Union because she views it as a safe, comforting, and inclusive space to be involved in. She appreciates the little things, like the games the club comes up with, and connecting with the people around her who she can relate with on a personal level. Additionally, BSU has incredibly expanded her knowledge of African American culture and overlooked stereotypes, so even as a staff member of BSU, not only is she educating others, but also herself along the way. Oddly enough, the more someone is educated on specific topics, the more comfortable they are with addressing them, as well as also setting boundaries directly correlating to those topics.
Similarly, Je’Niyah Dowdell joined Black Student Union in 2022 as a member as well. In her 10th grade year, Je’Niyah decided to become a part of the E-Board as secretary. She plays an extremely important role for the E-Board because she creates the presentations and slideshows for the meetings. The designs, writing, and editing is all done by her, helping each meeting to run as smooth as possible. As Je’Niyah became more involved into BSU, she socially expanded, branching out to make new friends and cliques along the way. But as not only a member, BSU has connected with Je’Niyah on a personal level as well. She explained how attending a predominately white school has been challenging for both her and her peers, so attending each meeting is like a breath of fresh air. She is able to surround herself by people with similar experiences that they can share, connect, and empathize with each other about. It has also provided her with a sense of appreciation for the certain aspects of life that she may have not realized beforehand, like the importance of being around people you can relate to.
As a member of Black Student Union, and a transfer student, BSU is an amazing way for African Americans to get acclimated into Dakota High School. BSU is a fun, expressive space to engulf yourself into and experience a sense of belonging and acceptance. You are guaranteed to make a variety of new friends, in which you can discuss topics and personal experiences that others may not relate to. Everyone has the opportunity to feel included when a part of Black Student Union.
BSU is also an amazing opportunity to become educated on topics others overlook. The reality is that racial issues, whether they are accidental or not, arise as a result of being uneducated. Maybe someone did not know the racist background to the term ‘nappy’ and was simply using it as a common adjective. BSU meetings cover topics just like those, explaining the reasons and background information as to why terms like those are inappropriate to verbalize, in an attempt to help students prevent awkward conflicts and encounters that could have been otherwise avoided. Educating generations while they are young, so that they know the key phrases or words to avoid, would drastically affect racism in the future. Now, nobody expects racism to ever be eliminated because that is simply impossible, but by including educational options and resources about race for the youth, generation by generation, humanity would be taking several steps in the right direction in striving for inclusivity.
In addition, there is also merch members can buy to represent this inclusive club. Black Student Union sells new merch each year! 5 different apparels have already launched, including T-Shirts, hoodies, and crewnecks, ranging from only $10-20! The T-Shirts are valued at $10, the crewnecks at $16, and $20 for hoodies. You are allowed to pick your size from the website, of course, and there are a variety of different colors to choose from. Both the crewnecks and hoodies offer 2 different color options, and the T-Shirt offers 3. Currently the store is closed, but it re-opens periodically so make sure to occasionally check for new arrivals at
(https://stores.inksoft.com/dakota_black_student_union/shop/store-closed).
If you are still unsure whether or not Black Student Union is a club for you, come check it out in-person to see if it changes your mind. BSU meets every other Thursday in Room 118, cost free, and is hosted by none other than Mrs. Sarver herself! There are several exciting November events taking place this month, don’t miss out!
