February is Black History Month, and the MICDS community celebrated in a number of different ways, from events and discussions to presentations, productions, and potlucks. As always, the MICDS Black Student Union planned out many of the details and activities for the month-long celebration. After the past couple of years of smaller celebrations due to the pandemic, we were thrilled to celebrate this month with both small and large gatherings.
This year’s celebrations centered on the theme of «Black Currency,» highlighting and uplifting Black business and creativity. «The theme was voted on by the members of BSU and it was picked as a way to highlight modern-day victories and accolades for the Black community,» explains BSU Co-Head Steve Hall ’23. «Everybody knows MLK and Rosa Parks, but everybody doesn’t know about Locs of Glory or Black start-up businesses like Winston’s Naturals.»
BSU members first held a Kickback and Kickoff event in the Taylor Hearth Room to give students the chance to mingle and hang out before an MICDS basketball game while enjoying beverages and snacks, and getting excited about the upcoming Black History Month events.
At several Upper School assemblies during the month, BSU members gave informative presentations to spread awareness of Black entrepreneurs and Black-owned businesses. On February 7, Jada Greer ’24 and Hall presented on Black-owned restaurants. The following week, Winston Moore ’23 and Kamryn Reed ’24 shared about local business owners, including Moore’s own business called Winston’s Naturals. On February 21, Chloe Martin ’24 and Riley Crawford ’26 talked about Black-owned clothing companies and shops.
This month also included the annual Bond Lecture which is held in observance of Black History Month every February. The Bond Lecture brings a notable African-American to campus who speaks with students and spends time in our classrooms. The Erik Lyons Bond ’77 lecture is named in honor of the first African-American graduate to complete all eight grades at Saint Louis Country Day School. This year’s 2023 speaker was Jarrett Young ’01, Head of School at City Academy. Young spoke about connection and gratitude, then met student leaders to share some excellent advice.
Students were also invited to see Washington University’s Black Anthology, a production that was written, choreographed, directed, and produced by Washington University undergraduates. This is an annual student production that has celebrated Black culture through discussion of prevalent issues since 1989. The 2023 production was called Change Gon’ Come, and it centered on the everyday experiences of Black Americans in their lives and neighborhoods: gentrification and white flight, the choice between following one’s passion versus making a decent living, and social and community battles.
On Friday, February 24, MICDS iDentity Club students hosted the student-planned Diversity Leadership Conference on the MICDS campus. Twenty-five area schools took part in the day-long conference that was filled with engaging activities, games, a keynote by KSDK news anchor Michelle Li, and small group discussions.
For the culminating event of the month, BSU held a Black History Month Potluck on February 28 in the Olson Hall Presentation Room. This event was held in collaboration with the African American Support Committee. Everyone recapped the month’s theme, held a moment of silence for Coach and Coordinator of Student Engagement Greg Foster, blessed the food, and reviewed the month’s events. The group closed by singing happy birthday to Moore and enjoying cake.
This was the favorite Black History Month event for two of our BSU co-heads. Hall shared, «[At the potluck], it was good to have a lot of Black people in the community come together and just eat and laugh together. We haven’t had that many BSU events in the last couple of years due to COVID, so that was a really special event.» Kavin Hardison ’23 agreed: «It was great to have such a good turnout, especially since we haven’t been able to hold one since my freshman year. The potluck was fun because it was a nice opportunity for us all to come together and enjoy each other’s company. It seemed like everyone had a good time, and I hope the Black Student Union can continue to do potlucks after I graduate.» Thank you to everyone who attended and participated! Also, thank you to parent Heather Day P’28, ’30, ’32 for the potluck photos below.
This year, the community had the opportunity to order Black History Month sweatshirts once again. Thank you to Kelly Zhao ’24 for the great design! It was especially fun to have sweatshirts available since that hasn’t happened since 2020, the last time there was a large, in-person gathering for Black History Month. At that time, our now seniors were freshmen, so how special it is for students, faculty, and staff to be able to wear the sweatshirts proudly for years to come!
«Overall, I’ve been really pleased and impressed with the way the students stepped up to celebrate this month,» said Celeste Prince, Upper School English Teacher and BSU Faculty Sponsor. «They took the lead on presenting in assembly and showed immense pride in putting together our small but mighty events.»
One of our BSU co-heads shares how he hopes the month’s events will leave an impact far beyond the month of February. «I hope that people see how special the Black community is at MICDS and that Middle and Lower Schoolers see that they have a full support and fellowship group waiting for them when they get to Upper School,» said Hall. «I [also] hope that as a BSU co-head, I leave the Black community at MICDS better than I found it and that I have had an impact on some underclassmen and classmates along the way.»
Thank you to our BSU co-heads, students, faculty, staff, and the African American Support Committee for making Black History Month 2023 a very special one in highlighting Black currency and celebrating the Black community!