The first Black Student Union was created in 1966 at San Francisco State University during the Black Campus Movement.
Black Student Unions were subsequently established at many universities and eventually high schools all across the country.
Seniors Amaris Stephenson and Sydney Maxwell worked together to form a Black Student Union at Blue Valley.
“I know between friends, we had always talked about how it would be to have a Black Student Union,” Stephenson said. “I know other schools that my friends go to, they have one and they always talk about how fun it is and how it boosts the community. We were like, ‘I want that, so let’s make it happen — why not?’”
For Maxwell, it was clear there was a need for a space where students could come together.
“Last year with the vandalism stuff — it was just a lot,” she said. “It became more apparent that we didn’t have a space to talk about it. I think it’s uncomfortable to go to your principal, especially if you’re not like someone who’s a leader in school. So Amaris, Theshiona [Fleming], Phaelin [Jones] and I, we all came together to create this.”
Black Student Union provides an opportunity for students to commemorate over shared experiences and grow closer as a community.
“I enjoy the fact that we all get to come together and communicate,” Maxwell said. “It’s not just talking about the bad things about being Black in Blue Valley. We’re also talking about the fun things.”
The scope of founding such a club is very large with fundraising being a current top concern, according to Maxwell.
“Being a junior last year and taking on such a big role within founding something like this — it was definitely very daunting,” Stephenson said. “It was harder to manage when we’re going to do this and when can we do that? But this year because of our team, our sponsors and admin being involved in the process, we’ve been able to do so much more than we could have ever imagined.”
On top of having meetings to build community, this February, Black Student Union members planned countless events which hosted an array of speakers for Black History Month.
“Thank God we have connections within our separate communities that are all part of the same Black community,” Stephenson said. “Sydney, our Vice President, she’s a part of the HBCU-centric stuff. I’m a part of the dance stuff, so we were able to pull from all of our resources and all the people we know within our community to help us out and push our initiative.”
The Black History Month events included a field day, a talk with pro-athletes, a step showcase, Black history trivia, a sketch comedy group event, an HBCU panel and an entertainment and fashion exhibition. They were designed to be both informative and entertaining.
“The one that really stuck out to me was the drill team,” Stephenson said. “They pulled out one of the office ladies, and she started doing the dance with them. That was really fun and special.”
Ultimately Black Student Union was founded to be a space where Black students can be celebrated.
“Of course it is a way for us to come together and have our intimate time,” Stephenson said. “More importantly, it’s for people to see how excellent it is to be Black.”
