BSU Celebrates “The Joy of Our Culture”

The Parker community enjoyed a special Morning Ex last week as members of the Black Student Union organized a Morning Ex, “The Joy of Our Culture!”

The BSU Heads Hudson Davis, Spencer Dunbar, Trisen Phillips, Paige Randell and Gabriel Vilus explained that they wanted to approach this Morning Ex from a completely different angle than in past years. “We decided to make this shift because, in the past, our BSU has focused on the hardships that we face, while in addition trying to make the school aware that we don’t feel like we can belong in this space with them at times,” they shared. “Last year, we decided to shift our mindset to thinking about the joy and positivity there is to being Black because we all realized we are more than the struggles that we face. Black people have paved the way for many of the things we have today, like our music, technology, fashion and much more. So, with that, we wanted to extend our goal of celebrating Black excellence to the rest of the school and show everyone how our best qualities surround them every day.”

With that in mind, the BSU began their time on stage with senior Gabriel Vilus reciting a special poem, then explaining how poetry is “a part of Black joy and celebration.” Next, they discussed the history of BSU at Parker, from its establishment in 1971 and its reinstatement in 2021 to today. The next topic was Black History Month, how it came to be, how it stands today and important Black figures, including Madam C.J. Walker, Garrett Morgan and Benjamin Banneker.

BSU members described their favorite things from Black culture, including soul food, a history of Black music, traditions, hair and dance—which manifested in all those in attendance standing up and learning the Electric Slide under the tutelage of BSU members. Finally, the presenters mentioned the upcoming BSU social event that will bring together Black students from across the Chicago area.

“We believe this year’s MX was very well-received by the Parker community, much more than in previous years,” BSU Heads explained. “Everyone seemed much more engaged and interested in what our BSU members had to say. We hoped the Parker community would gain more personal recollections of Black culture from the MX rather than a history lesson. We want to have more MXs like these so Parker can hear from students and community members, rather than just teachers. Overall, we’re happy that the MX went well and all our BSU members enjoyed themselves.”

Join Parker in congratulating these students on a tremendous, fun and informative exploration of Black excellence. A special thanks to BSU Heads Hudson Davis, Spencer Dunbar, Trisen Phillips, Paige Randell and Gabriel Vilus; BSU members Aïda Davis, Jordan Drisdell, Dallyce Harrell, Gannon Holt-Hall, Bryce Johnson, Khaliah Lastic, Vada Mescudi, Desi Molina, Simone Sonuga, Billie Wilson and Niara de Wit; and faculty advisors Sven Carlsson and Rolanda Shepherd.

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