By: Sofia Escudero

McCaskey High School offers multiple clubs—some of which embolden the diversity the community has grown. Clubs such as Latinos Unidos for students who are interested in celebrating Latino culture, FOCUS photography for students interested in photography, or Burning Glass for creative artistic students. One of McCaskey’s biggest clubs is the Black Student Union (BSU) club. And to further understand what the BSU club stands for, a quick history lesson is in place.

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed— all American universities to submit a census to the government. This census revealed the abhorrently low number of Black students in predominantly white universities. Universities were told that they must meet a certain quota of Black students or they would not receive government funding. The percentage of Black students in predominantly white colleges started to increase quickly, but although Black Americans were accepted into these universities, socially they were not socially welcomed. Racism in these universities became frequent to the point where even professors refused to respect Black Americans. As the racism continued, Black students organized protests and were eventually able to build academic and social support systems. All of this led to the creation of BSU.

McCaskey’s BSU club has 3 main goals—create community, celebrate black culture, and to advocate for justice and equality on the McCaskey campus. Their biggest focus is creating community. The McCaskey BSU creates many events such as their annual Friendsgiving, watch parties, holiday card events and the most popular one of all, the BSU Spirit Week. As BSU president, Kyndal Brownlee puts it, “Even though BSU stands for Black Student Union, it is truly for anyone and everyone who is interested in the community.” Any student at McCaskey is welcome to join BSU as long as they come with ample curiosity and an open mind.

The BSU club is made up of a big group, including the amazing student officers. President Kyndal Brownlee, Vice President Fathia Warfield, Treasurer Imani Gray, Secretary Amina Salim, and Special Representatives Darla Placencio and Olivia Houde have all worked with bountiful effort over the past years to make BSU as big as it is. BSU has been around for over a decade, but in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they had to shut down for a few years, but gained the opportunity to start up once again once the pandemic had come to a close.”And thanks to all of the amazing officers, BSU has grown a great amount from where it originally stood. Brownlee said, “What I love most about BSU is our members. Each staff and club member is truly unique and I enjoy working and learning with them every day.”

As McCaskey Vidette staff member William Looker-Fenn said, “An important aspect of any high school club are the skills they teach their students.” The BSU club has made an important impact on the McCaskey community. It has formed a safe place to create community, celebrate Black culture and to advocate for racial justice and equality on the McCaskey campus.