The Black Student Union (BSU) utilized the pep rally that was supposed to take place today to spread awareness about a recent racist event and general pattern of incompetence in administration when handling anti-Black racism.
On Monday, Dec. 2, an anti-Black incident occurred at school. The n-word was written on a Black student’s desk. The teacher in the room photographed the writing, but did not report it to administration. When the student’s parents called the school the following day, no community message was sent out, according to BSU members who spoke at the pep rally.
Leadership from the BSU and other Black students spoke to the crowd, detailing personal experiences, and what they’ve done to spark change and assist administration with their responses to racist incidents. “We’ve exercised every single level before getting to this point. In any other situation, with any other group, a community message would have been sent out and it would be the buzz around the school,” senior and co-president of BSU Leila Khademian said.
Members of the BSU and Black students who spoke expressed disappointment with the overreliance administration places on them to handle racist events. “You can’t expect us to bring the logs, the screws, the foundation of everything and still make us build a house,” sophomore and BSU co-communications officer Zikora Okeke said.
Multiple officials from MCPS and central office were present at school today after receiving a message from the BSU about the recent events. Specifically, the BSU wrote about the lack of action regarding recent events, as well as a longer history of similarly mishandled incidents. BSU leadership called attention to a detailed action plan that was proposed to guide administration when responding to anti-Black racism. BSU speakers said that administration has not put this plan in action, and has continued to dismiss students’ concerns. “An action plan drafted by the leadership team led by Ona Olisa was formatted and sent to principal Douglas Nelson and his administration. This led to a discussion with Principal Nelson and our cluster director at the time. Nothing significant came of this discussion, and that served as the catalyst for every event that’s occurred since then,” Khademian said.
During the second pep rally, students and staff called out the disrespect coming from students after the first pep rally. Some students mocked, laughed at, and joked about the speeches BSU members gave. Sponsor of the BSU and English teacher Lindsey Vance addressed all the students who helped organize and speak. “There will always be people who try to diminish you, who try to make you believe you are inferior, who attempt to dehumanize you, there will sadly always be racism. What I have firmly believed my entire life and what I have attempted to impart on this school community is that change happens in the middle. There are people who laughed, there are people who mocked you and just because they’re the loudest doesn’t make them the majority,” Vance said.
The director of the equity department at MCPS, Anthony Alston, was present at the walkouts today and spoke to students about how to respond when these events occur. “I’m here to challenge our students, to charge them with doing better, with being better. When they see something, say something, and [they] should not be complicit. [Students] should actively connect and stand up for all students,” Alston said.
Although the pep rally was originally planned and scheduled by SGA, in full support of the BSU’s issues, they worked with the BSU to adapt the events and give them the platform needed to share their experiences.
