What is it like for you being a Black student at Wootton?

Being a black student at Wootton to me is much like being any other student at Wootton. I haven’t attended Wootton for all of my high school career, and with COVID-19 I was only physically in school for six months over the last two years. I wish I would have had the opportunity to have more in person classes so that I could have been able to have the full experience of the school and social activities.

Have you gone to high school somewhere else? How does being a student there compare to being a student here?

I spent two years of high school in Louisiana. My school in Louisiana did not have a Black Student Union but similar to Wootton, had a small percentage of Black students. One of the differences between the two is that Wootton has a formal BSU Club that provides a platform to share African American experiences, culture and ideas. I think Wootton is also more mindful of diversity issues and better prepares all students for college and their future.

Why did you join BSU? What are things you do there and how do you think it has affected you as a person?

I joined BSU to help myself build more friendships with other students. BSU was established to help connect and bring Black students together. Tt is a club for members to share experiences as well as educate all students in the school on African American history and culture.

Some things we do are hold events including having guest speakers come and speak to our club. For example, after the police shootings and protests that occurred last summer I wanted to do something to help better inform our club on civil rights and safe law enforcement encounters. In October 2020, I helped organize and host a presentation by the head of the FBI Civil Rights Unit in Washington, DC, to come and speak to our club, which was actually also covered by Common Sense. The presentation provided information that helped give students another perspective of law enforcement and tools to keep them safe during potential law enforcement encounters. The presentation and discussion hopefully helped raise awareness and made the students better informed.

Lastly, this partnership we are doing with Common Sense for Black History Month is also something that will hopefully provide the student body and teachers a better understanding of different topics and experiences shared by BSU club members.