Black History Month is a time when people come together to celebrate the achievements and culture of African-American people, both now and in the past. This year, Black History Month celebrations at Niles West have looked different from those in the past.
This year, festivities and commemorations included hosting a performance from the South Chicago Dance Theatre, an opportunity for students to attend a potluck at Glenbrook South, a celebration hosted on Feb. 26 after school, an email sent out to staff and students acknowledging the 100th year of Black History Month and window decorating.
“Obviously, some things are a little bit different programming-wise than we’ve had in the past,” Student Activities Director Caitlin Lucci said. “It was still important for me to offer opportunities for students to see themselves in their identities confirmed here at West.”
In recent years, Niles West, in collaboration with the Black Student Union, has celebrated the month by hosting a Black History Month Assembly with themes ranging from celebrating 50 years of hip-hop to being “more than a skin tone.” This year, however, the administration decided not to hold an assembly. According to Lucci, the building administration decided that it was too heavy of a job for clubs to be putting on assemblies. This decision drew criticism from several students. Senior and President of the Black Student Union, Lydie Boussoukou, was sad to not have an assembly this year.
“Seeing how much has changed, I think it’s an overreach in general [by administration],” Boussoukou said. “I feel like they don’t want to deal with the work that comes with having these types of events. They need to be able to listen to us in order to understand what we really want.”
Lucci hopes that in the future, students reach out to her with their concerns or suggestions.
“I can’t adjust our approach in the future unless students are willing to share their thoughts with me, Mr. [Steve] Parnther and/or other members of our admin team,” Lucci said.
West has held fewer assemblies overall this year. The administration’s reason for this is to prioritize instructional time. In discussions Boussoukou had with Parnther and Lucci, it was revealed that other cultural clubs had requested assemblies for their heritage months. Boussoukou said that she and junior and former Vice President of BSU, Aliyat Olushesi, had a conversation with Parnther and Lucci during first semester regarding their concerns with not having an assembly.
“We told them that it was a major inconvenience to us since we [had been] planning on what we would do for the assembly since over the summer,” Boussoukou said.
Senior Jade Alao felt that the BHM assemblies brought people together and encouraged her to join BSU later on in her high school career. Now she is not a part of the club.
“I feel like [the BHM assemblies] help a lot with community,” Alao said. “Me seeing the assembly freshman year is what made me want to join BSU and meet more people and connect with other Black people.”
Freshman Nyla Cajuste commented on what she thought of the events that took place during February, including the spirit week devised by BSU for the last week of Black History Month.
“I think the whole spirit week is really good… but I think our school just needs better school spirit,” Cajuste said.
Since 2021, the district has held a Black Student Summit, a school day when Black students from North and West gather for speakers, workshops and cultural celebration. Past years have also included MENA (Middle East and North African) Student Summits, a Latine Student Summit, an Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Student Summit and a Unity Summit. Coinciding with the elimination of the Chief Equity Officer position, the district has shifted away from holding summits at all; no summits are planned this year.
