11
TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2022 • THE BEACON
JR’s Black Student Union: celebrating culture and history Javier Thompson Opinions Editor
For over 50 years, the Jackson-Reed Black Student Union (BSU) has been bringing African American students together, cultivating a safe space where students feel free to express themselves. Aimed at celebrating Black culture and history, senior president Kailynn Jones works to create an environment “where you can find true culture and meaning behind every Black person at JR.” Fellow BSU president and senior Khari Bell expressed that her and Jones see the club members as a unit that works together as one. Instead of independently controlling every aspect, the presidents communicate with club members to discuss the group’s desired outcomes. At their weekly Wednesday meetings in the library, the BSU talks about topics ranging from politics to economics to beauty and, as Jones puts it, “anything under the
sun.” They also take time to learn about Black history, including field trips to various museums and historical sites around DC. The BSU has specific plans for Black History Month. Each
year in February, classroom doors across the school are adorne d with de corations representing different Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Highlighting another aspect of HBCU culture, the club intends to have a day solely focused on the Divine Nine fraternities and sororities, which are historically African American Greek life
organizations that are governed by the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Bell noted that many students within the Black community at JR are considering HBCUs for college. The BSU is also planning an arts fair where Black students can write poetry, present their music, and display their art. The fair aims to bring together the work of Black students and highlight them for the general JR population to see. Lastly, for the upcoming pep rally, the BSU will help introduce the winter sports teams as they run into the auxiliary gym. Students can also enjoy line dancing at select lunches in February, which the BSU will sponsor in the atrium! The BSU has a variety of exciting plans lined up for Black History Month, offering something for ever yone. Don't miss out on these opportunities to get involved and celebrate! •
The history of desegregation at Wilson High School Jessica McCallum Style Editor
Founded in 1935, Woodrow Wilson High School was an allwhite public high school built across the street from a recently demolished Black neighborhood. Now named Jackson-Reed, our building has decades of racial history and is currently home to a diverse group of around 2,000 students who take pride in JacksonReed’s accepting mindset. Originally called Tennallytown, this area was developed in the late 1700s and is one of the oldest neighborhoods in DC. During the Civil War, Tennallytown was home to Union forces after Fort Reno was built in 1861 to communicate with nearby troops and protect the city. After the war, Reno City was built on the former fort, containing about 100 homes, several stores, and a church. A racially integrated neighborhood, Reno City was about 75% Black and 25% white.
In 1903, the Jesse Reno School was built as a kindergarten through eighth grade school for Black Reno residents. After a 1922 Congress evaluation declared DC public schools overcrowde d and neighboring white residents protested to have Reno City demolished, Alice Deal Middle School and Woodrow Wilson High School were set to be built. Woodrow Wilson High School officially opened September 23, 1935 as an all-white school named after the 28th US president known for his international peace initiatives and racist national policies. A pair of Supreme Court decisions laid the groundwork for integration. In 1954, after several lawsuits against segregated school boards, the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case passed—a decision instrumental to civil rights. Brown v. Board ruled that segregation
in schools was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which provides that “equal protection of the laws” must be ensured regardless of race, sex, or any other discriminants. After the Bolling v. Sharpe Supreme Court case that ruled segregation in DC schools unconstitutional, six of DC’s seven all-white high schools accepted Black students for the first time in the fall of 1954. Wilson hired their two first Black teachers that same fall: Edna Burke Jackson, our now school namesake, and her colleague Archie Lucas. It wasn’t until 1955, however, that Wilson, the last school not compliant with desegregation rulings, enrolled their first two Black students. Edna Jackson graduated as valedictorian from Dunbar High School in 1928, one of DC’s allBlack public high schools. She graduated from Howard University and started her teaching career at an all-Black high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she taught for six
years before moving back to DC to teach at Cardozo, a then all-Black high school in DC, for 15 years. In 1954, Jackson joined the staff at Wilson where she stayed until her retirement in 1976. Brown v. Board of Education ruling shifted demographics both at the school and across the city. The DC population went from 65% white in 1950 to majority Black in 1960 as white residents began moving to the suburbs. Wilson too experienced a similar shift as it began integrating. Teachers who have worked at Jackson-Reed for a long time have noted the demographic shift even over the past decade. Health teacher Rebecca Bradshaw-Smith pointed out that there was “a huge shift between 65 or 70% AfricanAmerican in 2010, when [she] got here,” to now. Currently JacksonReed is one of DC’s most diverse schools, with our student body being 28% Black, 26% Hispanic, 36% white, 5% Asian, and 5%
mixed race. Despite our diverse student body, many aspects of our school don't accurately represent this diversity, such as some clubs or sports. Health teacher Lejanika Green discussed the change in professional development regarding implicit racial biases with the change in demographics. “Depending on the demographics of the teachers in comparison to the demographic of our students, some students may be labeled as being more problematic or having behavior issues just because of the difference of culture,” she explained. As the school’s racial composition constantly evolves and Jackson-Reed continues to see both adversary and inclusion every day, it’s important that we not only adapt but remain an open-minded and accepting school working towards equality. While JR’s history cannot be changed, it can be a place to mark not only our progress but that of the country. •