BSLA demonstrates purpose and reflection

At Naperville North, the group of 40-50 students participating in the Black Student Leadership Association (BSLA) have shown throughout their first year as a club that purpose and reflection should be the main focuses of the conversation regarding race in our school and community.

Through carefully planned events, ranging from assemblies to roundtable discussions to social “soul food Mondays,” BSLA students engaged their members and the rest of the school in the conversations that are important to them.

At the Multicultural Arts Show on March 23, where a number of different clubs representing minority students at NNHS performed, BSLA members recited a spoken word poem written by BSLA Executive Board Member Cairo Lawrence about what it means to be black. Another member rapped a song chosen specifically for the powerful lyrics reflecting on the challenges of inner-city black students.

The show was one way BSLA, along with the other groups involved, has attempted to broaden the participation of the school in their club. The show succeeded in capturing the attention of the audience in a purposeful way that was still entertaining.

While the show seemed like a classic example of embracing minority cultures and uniting these groups with the school, BSLA members also participated in an event earlier this semester that actually isolated them from their peers in order to draw attention to important issues.

Earlier this year on Feb. 24, to finish up an eventful Black History Month for the club, BSLA held a silent vigil in the Large Cafe. Nineteen members stood with pictures of victims within the black community.

This was not an event just thrown together. Everything about the event, from the pictures to the number of minutes they stood in silence, was purposeful, according to Lawrence.

“We wanted to honor all of the lives that have been lost through gang violence, police brutality and gun violence in general,” Lawrence said. “We spent 16 minutes honoring 16 different souls that have been lost. A minute per soul.”

Ebony Baker, BSLA sponsor, said that members purposefully chose a variety of stories to represent at the silent vigil, which ranged from well-known cases such as Michael Brown, who was shot multiple times in Ferguson, MO on Aug. 9, 2014, to even more personal stories.

“We actually had a variety of students who have been close to people that have been part of a tragedy,” Baker said. “It may not appear as obvious to other students unless they have a personal story or experience with it, but some students, especially those in BSLA, are significantly impacted by the lives that are lost.”

Standing up in front of the school took a lot of bravery. Lawrence said despite her confidence and passion for the topic, she still felt nervous before she stood up.

“We didn’t know how people were going to react to this,” Lawrence said. “People aren’t used to these kinds of things at this school. It was definitely an experience.”

For Lawrence, living in Naperville has meant being one of the only two or three black students at her elementary and junior high school. She said she didn’t even really know black people lived in Naperville until she came to NNHS.

“Before, there wasn’t a lot of opportunities for me to talk about different racial issues I wanted to talk about,” Lawrence said. “BSLA is a group of people that are leaders that want to talk about these issues, and it’s given me a lot of opportunities to excel in that area because that’s what I’m really passionate about.”

During the vigil, BSLA members were very aware of their conduct and how it reflected on the school.

“We did not want to make other students uncomfortable,” Baker said. “We did put it in the announcements, but we were not looking for publicity. We wanted to see the response without assuming how people will respond to it.”

Baker said despite their efforts, the student responses to the vigil were mixed–some kept going as if nothing was going on, others paused and acknowledged the event–but she was surprised that more students didn’t come up to look at the pictures.

Lawrence had a similar observation. She noticed many students even diverted their eyes while walking by the line of students holding the posters. She said she suspected they were uncomfortable with the situation.

While some may think worrying about the comfort of other students should not be their problem, BSLA members did anyway. And while looking away is our school’s natural instinct when our comfort is tested, we have to stop and reflect on why this is our response.

Reflection isn’t where we end–it’s where we begin. As a school, we should welcome the opportunity BSLA has given us to participate in an open discussion about race in our community.

In front of us is a group of students who have conducted themselves in a respectful and open way. They don’t seem to be demanding anything of the school; they simply want to discuss and reflect, and they want us to be a part of that.  

“Unfortunately a lot of people feel like if it doesn’t affect them or their group directly then they shouldn’t really be worried about it,” Lawrence said. “We wanted to do this to make sure everybody knew that it affects them too.”

In their first year as a club, BSLA clearly set the precedent for their conduct in the future. While there are still things to improve and build on, what needs to change most is the school’s participation.