Meeting the Minds Behind Providence Day School's
New Black Student Union
46 years after establishing itself as a school, Providence Day recently introduced its Black Student Union, with the help of seniors Adanna Eziri and I.J. Ferrette.
With the help of a few passionate faculty members, the four students running the club have dedicated the better part of the past eight months to fostering its success. I.J. explains that the process of creating BSU involved a sort of summer training, where Dr. Johnson, Executive Director of Diversity and Multicultural Education, coached them in how to successfully run the group.
Because race is a controversial topic in the United States, people could easily get the ‘wrong idea’ about the purpose of BSU at Providence Day. Due to that possibility, these four students have discussed the true mission of their club at length. I.J. shares that, “by showing our differences, we’re trying to bring everyone together,” and instead of trying to earn sympathy, to gain the empathy of the community. The difference between the two are invaluable in destroying the negative racial relationship between two groups of people.
At the core, Adanna agrees “[BSU is] really collaborative; [...] we want people to come with their differences, and come with their different opinions, and become part of the conversation.”
by Tracy Laughlin
One of the four leaders of Providence Day’s BSU, I.J. Ferrette, connected to the group when the three existing leaders, all female, approached him to become a male leader of the club. With the help of a few passionate faculty members, the four students running the club have dedicated the better part of the past eight months to fostering its success.
I.J. explains that the process of creating BSU involved a sort of summer training, where Dr. Johnson, Executive Director of Diversity and Multicultural Education, coached them in how to successfully run the group. Because race is a controversial topic in the United States, people could easily get the ‘wrong idea’ about the purpose of BSU at Providence Day.
Due to that possibility, these four students have discussed the true mission of their club at length. I.J. shares that, “by showing our differences, we’re trying to bring everyone together,” and instead of trying to earn sympathy, to gain the empathy of the community. The difference between the two are invaluable in destroying the negative racial relationship between two groups of people. At the core, Adanna agrees “[BSU is] really collaborative; [...] we want people to come with their differences, and come with their different opinions, and become part of the conversation.”
Because race is a controversial topic in the United States, people could easily get the ‘wrong idea’ about the purpose of the BSU at Providence Day.
With the recent introduction of the Black Student Union (BSU) affinity group to Providence Day, conversations regarding the club have actively spread throughout the school community. Students, teachers, parents, and more have been affected by and are reacting to the kickstart of a long awaited establishment.
The club, created and led by JoyceLyn Bentley, Vanessa Hawkins, I.J. Ferrette, and Adanna Eziri, has been in the works since February. However, the idea has existed in the minds of many students of color for much longer. Providence Day was created in 1970 as an anti-busing school, meaning that the school did not participate in desgregation busing, contributing to a homogenous student body. The fact that there is an affinity group for students of color some forty years later shows the social progress of our community. The leaders of the BSU hope that this trend continues, and that every person at Providence Day can broaden their thinking and find a place to express who they are.
One of the four leaders of Providence Day’s BSU, I.J. Ferrette, connected with the group when the three existing leaders, all female, approached him to become a male leader of the club. With the help of passionate faculty members, the four students have dedicated the past eight months to fostering the success of the club.
I.J. explains that the process of creating the BSU involved summer training, where Dr. Johnson, Providence Day’s Executive Director of Diversity and Multicultural Education, coached them in how to successfully run the group. Because race is a controversial topic in the United States, people could easily get the ‘wrong idea’ about the purpose of the BSU at Providence Day.
Due to that possibility, these four students have discussed the true mission of their club at length. I.J. shares that, “by showing our differences, we’re trying to bring everyone together,” and instead of trying to earn sympathy, they hope to gain the empathy of the community. The difference between those two ideas is invaluable in breaking down the barriers of race and prejudice between two groups of people.
At the core, Adanna Eziri, another leader of the club, hopes that the BSU can work to “overcome the taboo of talking about race in a productive way,” and agrees “[BSU is] really collaborative; [...] we want people to come with their differences, and come with their different opinions, and become part of the conversation.”
With this community-oriented mentality, the Black Student Union has not wasted any time in getting active in the Providence Day community. In the first weeks of the 2016-2017 school year, the four leaders stood in front of the Upper School to announce the creation of the club. Since then, they have hosted multiple meetings, some that are solely for black students and some that are open to the whole upper school.
While the idea of meetings scheduled only for students of color might strike some as exclusive, it exists to create a comfortable space for students who may still be afraid to talk about their race or ethnicity in front of others. Furthermore, the club has attracted a large following of students of all races. A diverse array of students and teachers lined up in the central part of Providence Day’s campus in September as a part of a silent protest organized by BSU.
. . . we want people to come with their differences, and come with their different opinions, and become part of the conversation.
Providence Day's silent protest. Photo courtesy of Danielle Ferguson.
This event followed the violent protests in uptown Charlotte in response to the death of Keith Lamont Scott. I.J. explains that the purpose of the protest was “to bring awareness to situations like these because it really does affect people in different ways, so we need to be mindful about people who identify as these affected peoples.” Because of the strong level of participation, the community has reacted in many ways.
Generally, the widespread responses to the silent protest have been voices of support. However, like we see happen surrounding every contentious topic in our country, not everyone agrees with the reasoning behind the creation of the club or the silent protest. The idea that not all of the meetings include white students has spurred noncommittal talk of creating a “White Student Union.” While these proposals were mostly immediate reactions and have not been acted on, they exemplify the variation of views among PD students. I.J. clarified that it is in anyone’s power to create such a club, but that students should keep in mind that BSU is not anti-white, but instead an effort for the majority to understand the perspective of the affected group, or the minority within Providence Day.
One major source of support for that type of understanding comes from Providence Day’s faculty. Both Adanna and I.J. agree that their teachers have been extremely supportive, which greatly benefits their cause. In I.J.’s words, “they’re the people that are, in a way, influencing the minds of the students,” so their confidence in the club translates to a broader range of students.
This seems to be paying off, as many students have offered their support and have continued to join the club. Many in the community have stepped into the conversation. Adanna reveals that, “[the BSU has] gotten a lot of cool people at these meetings...a lot of people [she] never thought would be interested, and there has been a lot of rich discussion from all different sides,” which is the goal of the club: to include and listen to everyone’s thoughts, and hopefully open up the minds of the community through collaboration.
FEATURE
Vanessa Hawkins and JoyceLyn Bentley stand together during the silent protest. Photo courtesy of Danielle Ferguson.
The Charger, November 2016
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