Congress passed a law in 1986 which designated the month of February as National Black History Month. 37 years later, Americans everywhere continue to honor black Americans and bring attention to their past triumphs and hardships.

In the 1870s, Jim Crow laws began in the United States, shortly after the Civil War. These laws continued to be prevalent and were enforced in America until 1965.

However, despite these laws legally ending 58 years ago, many African Americans continue to experience the effects of past racial injustice.

Black History Month strives to bring awareness to past injustices and achievements, along with the current injustices and achievements still being experienced by the black community.

The JC Black Student Union (BSU) has a variety of plans for Black History Month.
BSU President Tatiana Wilkins revealed that the club is planning to recognize Black History Month through the JC announcements and BSU Instagram (@jc_bsu). “We are recognizing people, books, events, pop culture, and more that are important to us.”

The entire JC community also has plans to highlight Black History Month through the announcements as well.

Assistant Principal Jake Hollin shared that on the “Monday of each week, there is going to be an announcement made to celebrate achievements of persons of color.”

Other clubs also have plans to celebrate black history through films.

Mr. Hollin revealed that “there will be a feature film shown each week by the Film Club highlighting black history.”

Remaining films for the month include Love and Basketball on February 14, Glory Road on February 22, and Schindler’s List on March 2. Films begin at 3:00 pm in room 121.

The BSU’s overall goal is to promote inclusivity year-round. Tatiana shared that the BSU is “working on making the school more inclusive and accommodating for black members of the community.”

Tatiana emphasizes black achievements during February. She shared that “Black History Month is an important time to recognize the achievements of the black community and how far we have come.”

Tatiana said that she likes to “take the time to applaud black excellence” as it reminds her that “we as a black community have come so far and are continuing to achieve milestones and blaze trails.”

Tatiana recognizes Black History Month as “a chance to reflect on our nation’s history and how we can learn, heal, and change from it.”

Black History Month means a lot to members of the BSU.

BSU Member Oge Udeh-Martin revealed that her favorite aspect of Black History Month is “celebrating everybody’s different cultures and their ethnic backgrounds and where they’re from.”

JC hopes to both highlight African American achievements and honor people of color.

To convey this message, Mr. Hollin shared that a display has been put up in the Learning Commons, displaying black history and tying the upcoming junior African American History Museum trip to student learning for all grades.