Black Student Union Launches the theme of Black History Month at CSW
On February 7, Black Student Union began their Black History Month assembly presentation the same way they begin their affinity space meetings, with a quote from a Black influential person. This week’s quote came from U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke, “We must never forget that Black History is American History. The achievements of African Americans have contributed to our nation's greatness.”
During the presentation Head of BSU, Dana Howell Brimage shared the history of Black History Month. She shared that in 1986, congress passed a law that designated February as “National Afro-American History Month”. Since then Black History Month has been used as an opportunity to highlight and celebrate accomplishments that have been made by African Americans. This month at CSW, BSU will be focusing on the theme of “Defying the Odds” to honor those who did the impossible even with the odds against them.
Each week, will have a different focus. Week one will feature athletes Doug Williams and Althea Gibson, week two will feature authors and poet Jewelle Gomez and Richard Wright. Week three will feature entrepreneurs John H. Johnson, Angelica Ross and Madam C.J. Walker and the final week will feature dancers Author Mitchell, Alicia Graf Mack and Katherine Dunham. Each week the boarding community will also be learning about four individuals in Hip Hop with the theme “50 Years of Hip Hop.”
The presentation ended with a powerful poem titled “Defined this Defined Me” recited by Gigi Nacco ’26 and Aj Lawrence ’26. Click here to read the poem.
CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.