New SHS club fosters cultural connections
August 27, 2016
“At my old school, I was one of five people of color. I was the only black person that people knew. I was the only one.”
Jasmyne McCoy, a current Solon High School senior, grew up in Goshen, Ky., where she was the only black female in her high school of over 1,000 students. According to recent demographic data, the city of Goshen received a Diversity Index score of 15 on a scale of 0-100; Solon’s score is nearly three times as large.
“When I moved here and saw the amount of African-Americans at Solon High School, my mind was blown,” McCoy said.
However, upon moving to Solon in 2014, McCoy realized that the black community at SHS “wasn’t as close as [she] thought it would be.” This motivated her to create African-American Culture Club, which held its first meeting of the year Aug. 22.
Jasmine King previously worked with the Diversity Center alongside SHS students and staff to enact a new Freshman Mentoring Program curriculum.
The meeting featured guest speaker Jasmine King, Director of School and Youth Programs at the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio (which previously worked alongside SHS’ Freshmen Mentoring Program), and attracted over 45 students; every desk and windowsill was occupied, and a number of attendees had to sit on the floor.
McCoy, King, and club adviser Aaron Jeter agreed that the turnout was better than anything they could’ve expected.
“It’s important to have various cultural clubs to first address [racial tensions] here and then bring those issues out to the larger body,” Jeter explained. “There’s not enough authentic conversation about how to build bridges between all people, and I think that’s commonplace throughout the United States.”
King’s speech, which featured various interactive activities, focused on the negative impact of labels, whether conscious or unconscious. Promoting the initiative “#Rethink Labels,” King invited students to recount times that they experienced or witnessed the harmful effects of stereotypes and labels. She explained that her goal was to empower students and encourage them to act as upstanders.
“African-American women get labeled a lot for being bossy and too outspoken,” said King, recounting a time that she’d been negatively labeled. “I don’t look at it like that. I’m not bossy, I was given the gift of leadership, and I’m just running with it.”
McCoy hopes that African-American Culture Club will continue to work to decrease discrimination as well as educate students about African-American culture.
One acceptance exercise asked students to write the worst thing they’ve ever been called on the back side of a piece of paper. Then, on the front side, they symbolically wrote the labels they were most proud of; for SHS senior Arianna Lee, that word was “empowering.”
“This club is meant to bring us closer together [so] that we’ll always have a shoulder to cry on,” she said.
African-American Culture Club will continue its efforts throughout the year by hosting parties, fundraisers, discussions and group bonding activities, all of which are open to students of any race.
“I hope to [teach] all students more about African-American history, culture [and] surrounding issues in regards to community relations,” Jeter said. “I’m looking forward to advising this club in whatever direction it goes.”
Information regarding upcoming meetings will be broadcast on morning announcements; email [email protected] or [email protected] with any questions.