United through culture
Every year, February is Black History Month, a month for celebrating African American culture. The Black Student Union and the Black Girl Empowerment are two clubs that bring together all African American students and other students on campus interested in African American culture.
The clubs are a place where all students with similar interests can connect. Advisor John Prothro said, “Primarily, the BSU is for everybody who wants to be part of an African American group, because the African American population is not very big here at Perry. This is a place where the young people can come and enjoy just being here.” Protho showed how BSU and BGE are places where anyone interested in the culture can join.
Students can feel they belong and are included within a community. President junior Skylur Alford stated, “The club kind of made me realize that there is a big community, especially in an area like this, where it is a majority of white people, you kind of need that closure and familiarity to be like oh I belong, I am not out of place, and I can find my people here.” Showing the sense of community, the BSU and BGE give students a safe space to connect, share experiences and celebrate their culture together.
The BSU conducts activities to build the community and help students feel welcomed. On Saturday, Feb. 7, all of the Chandler Unified School District’s BSU clubs met up at Tumbleweed Park for a picnic. Junior David Adjeugah explained another activity they participated in, “For Black History Month, we are putting our bulletin boards just trying to inform people about Black History Month in general, how this comes about in America…I feel like we built a tight sense of community and meet every week and talk about how our lives have changed.”
The BGE was started after the BSU started, to create a space for African American girls and others to discuss topics important to them and build their own supportive community. Prothro stated, “The ladies, a few years ago, felt like they were being held back and wanted to start their own club where they could talk about things that other groups don’t talk about, like the proper hair care, skin products, and how to make soul recipes.” BGE is a space for students to share ideas, interests, and similarities with other African American girls to gain new and helpful information about their culture.
BSU and BGE build a tight sense of community and familiarity through support and guidance.
