Vanessa Hawkins and JoyceLyn Bentley, high school juniors, have helped introduce, shape, and lead the newly founded Black Student Union at Providence Day.
The Faces of BSU
Vanessa Hawkins, a sixteen year old high school junior at Providence Day, is one of four student leaders responsible for the creation of Black Student Union. Formed partly as the result of Hawkins’s visit to a diversity conference, Providence Day’s BSU was ideated in late 2015. Following an approval process by faculty and meticulous planning of its structure and core, the club was brought into effect at the start of the 2016 school year.
Each of the four student leaders feels very passionately about the creation and success of this club. When asked why she wanted to start BSU, Hawkins replied, “I realized how there’s such a lack of black history and black culture that’s talked about in curriculum”. She possesses grand hopes about the implementation of black culture into what we’re taught on a greater scale, and wishes to educate the entire Providence Day School community on black history and culture.
Peer feedback received by Hawkins has been a mix of both positive and negative. “We’re aware that people aren’t one hundred percent sure”, she states, referring to how people feel about the purpose of the club. She recognizes that a portion of the student body feels that it is exclusive: “We made it our responsibility to make sure that everyone understood that it’s not supposed to separate, it’s supposed to unite.” Regardless of restricted “affinity meetings”, however, Hawkins is confident that the BSU community meetings sufficiently represent the whole of Providence Day.
Amidst varied peer reactions, the club has been well received by faculty and staff, many of whom participated in a silent protest led by the BSU. As for the future of BSU, Vanessa Hawkins hopes to further diversify the curriculum as well as increase the cultural knowledge of students.
She elaborates: “If one day my kids were to come here, I want to be able to see BSU still a club, but also doing even more in the community”. In the near future, students can expect a variety of events to help integrate black culture into the school on a higher level.
The largest thing to take away, per Hawkins, is that “(Our goal) is to educate the community on things that we aren’t always taught in the classroom”. Although Hawkins hints that the near future might not see grand scale changes, she is hopeful for the future of the Black Student Union at Providence Day.
oyceLyn Bentley was a
latecomer to Providence Day School. The sixteen year old high school junior came to PDS her sophomore year. Bentley talks about the transition, saying “More-so than anything it was a culture shock, because I had never been a minority in any given educational setting. I was always the majority”. References to black culture she made frequently went over the heads of her peers. This culture shock is what inspired Bentley to work to form the Black Student Union at Providence Day.
Bringing the idea that black culture should be known and celebrated to the leadership group, JoyceLyn Bentley collaborated with her co-leaders this past summer to prepare the club for the upcoming school year. She stresses the importance and care taken in planning how the meetings are shaped and run.
Bentley is passionate for the success and impact of BSU. She reflects, “I think it’s just important. PDS is all about being global”. Delving deeper, Bentley concludes, “If we’re going to be global we have to also recognize the diversity in our own community right here in Charlotte”. She also feels connected and invested in this club on a personal level. “This is my culture”, she says, letting this mentality show in her dedication and leadership within the club.
Recognizing the mixed feelings among the student body at Providence Day, Bentley supplies, “We really didn’t want people to think it was meant to be separatist or divisive”. While some students express concern over “affinity” meetings for those of black ethnic backgrounds, Bentley promises that this is a fair and well-meaning part of the club. These meetings are to better impact black students, the central focus of the club, by allowing them a safe environment to discuss sensitive topics.
On the topic of community meetings, however, she assures the students that “we make sure everyone is welcome; everyone’s opinion is heard and valid”. She does, however, realize that there will still be those who do not support the idea. Bentley addresses this, promising to respect their opinions as long as they do the same.
Keeping the future of the club in mind, Bentley hopes to see it continue to grow and thrive. “My vision for BSU is that we celebrate black culture and black history, and that we do it as a community”, she tells. Bentley has faith that the celebration and integration of this culture will unite the community by opening it up to everyone, making each individual student feel comfortable in the school environment. She's optimistically minded about the club, trusting that it will continue to positively impact the Providence Day School community.
To finalize, JoyceLyn Bentley assures “BSU is not divisive. That is not our goal. It is really here to celebrate black culture and black history. It’s really a unifying club, and that is our sole purpose.”
Bentley is passionate for the success and impact of BSU. She reflects, “I think it’s just important. PDS is all about being global”. Delving deeper, Bentley concludes, “If we’re going to be global we have to also recognize the diversity in our own community right here in Charlotte”. She also feels connected and invested in this club on a personal level. “This is my culture”, she says, letting this mentality show in her dedication and leadership within the club.
By Adam Burke
J
FEATURE
The Charger, November 2016
Back to Table of Contents