Morning Ex Spotlights Black History Month

Members of the Upper School Black Student Union shared their culture and personal experience in a special Morning Ex.

The BSU scheduled their Black History Month Morning Ex at the end of February to cap off the school’s month-long celebration. In the week leading up to the event, the Upper School BSU orchestrated a spirit week, encouraging their peers to wear clothes of specific colors on certain days of the week to show their support for Black students at Parker.

In their presentation, BSU members shared historical facts about the Black experience in America as well as personal anecdotes about their lives as Black people in Chicago. They described Black history as distinct from history in general and noted that what began as “Negro History Week” in 1926 evolved into Black History Month in 1976.

Presenters addressed the importance of community in the Black experience as the central theme of the Morning Ex. Students and employees shared various ways in which they celebrate and experience community, such as attending church, being a part of the Divine Nine, cookouts, reunions, soul food, music, dancing and more. Big church hats, gospel music, shared plates of soul food and multi-generational congregational ties were among the unifying forces emerging from the church culture of Black people. Students learned about the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities that compose the Divine Nine, and Middle School Counselor Bonita Barnett and Assistant Controller Crystal Wheeler shared about their membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated and the community and camaraderie established in college extends to their present-day lives as Black women. 

While many of the audience was familiar with cookouts and family reunions, BSU presenters spoke about their additional importance for Black people given how the historic evils of slavery upended traditional family structures, making it difficult for families to gather for a significant period of history. Today, cookouts and reunions provide a time and space for Black people to come together, honor those who have passed and to celebrate new additions. BSU students provided a primer on soul food, describing how enslaved people combined ingredients from their homeland with the less desirable cuts of meat they were allowed to eat on plantations using North American and European cooking techniques. Fried chicken, collard greens, peach cobbler and sweet potato pie have a real history, and all types of people still enjoy them today.

Another topic was the importance of music in the Black community: as an example, presenters mentioned Stevie Wonder using his 1980 hit “Happy Birthday” to help establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. Presenters praised movement and motion in the form of line dancing was highlighted as an example of a community activity open to all, and the students even taught the crowd the steps to the Cupid Shuffle!

Dance provided an ideal segue for students to talk about their recent annual BSU Social gathering, which brought nearly 150 Black students from 12 area schools to Parker for open dialogue about life as a Black student in a predominantly white institution, followed by dancing, fun, food and festivities. To communicate their positive experiences at this year’s event, presenters shared a video capturing the spirit and energy of the gathering.

Presenters welcomed questions from the audience at the close of Morning Ex. More than one presenter said that being able to share more about their Black culture and identity with others in forums like Morning Ex was what they most enjoyed about Black History Month.

Enjoy photos from this Morning Ex here.