The Black Student Union of Inderkum High School recently hosted its sixth annual BSU Night that highlighted the voices of Black students and leaders of the greater community.
Held Feb. 29 in the school atrium, the event served to wrap up Black History Month at Inderkum.
The night had a central theme: a quote from Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the United States House of Representatives as well as the first Black person and first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Chisholm famously said “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
The roster of guest speakers included: Ashante Norton, California Deputy Attorney General; Deidra Powell, Executive Director of Communications and Family Engagement for the Natomas Charter School District; Denisha “Coco” Bland, associate director of Sacramento Area Youth Speaks ; Asani Shakur, motivational speaker; and Jordan McGowan, leader of the Malcolm X Academy.
In attendance were teachers, Inderkum students, parents, and guests from BSU programs of neighboring schools, including Westlake Charter’s Black Student Union.
A student panel made up of Black Inderkum students was a big draw to the event with panelist speaking on culture and problems in the community.
Josiah Edwards said, “(It means) you have to create your own opportunities . . . a person of color will not get an opportunity painted out, you have to go up there and get it yourself.”
Jameel Pugh, a college and career readiness mentor to some of BSU’s members, spoke on the imbalance of opportunities given to communities of color from the perspective of preparing students for life after high school.
“It’s important to see kids of color, get the same opportunities . . . an opportunity they deserve,” said Pugh. “I’m here because four of my students, that I volunteer with, are here right now. I’m so proud of the young people here . . . You showed them the fight.
Mason Newcomer, Inderkum freshman, called the event enjoyable and said he was welcomed with open arms as a person outside of the Black community.
“Learning and hearing from people of different backgrounds and cultures was inspiring,” said Newcomer. “Getting to hear about their experiences . . . very eye opening. Meeting different students and leaders was amazing.”
Inderkum sophomore Victor Kamya said his biggest takeaways came from the guest speakers in attendance.
“I liked when motivational words were given out to the youth by the guest speaker Asante Shakur. It was interesting to hear how he turned his life around from crime and was then able to attend UCLA . . . It was a really good night.”
