Annnnndddd ACTION

The bell rings and Brother Kevin begins his lecture on the Central Catholic Memorandum of Understanding that all Central Catholic students and parents are required to sign. At the conclusion of his lecture he clears his throat and simply asks, “Are there any comments?” This was my moment. I quickly raised my hand and said, “I do not agree with the Memorandum, yet I am forced to sign because I want to attend Central. The Memorandum forces me to abide by rules with which I do not agree.” “Would you care to elaborate, Mr. Laing,” Brother Kevin replied. He seemed curious. I quickly began my own lecture, explaining how I feel Central’s Memorandum does not allow for progression in school policies. I particularly took issue with Central’s minimization of Black culture seen specifically in the school’s dress code, which forbids students to have “hairstyles with designs, patterns, lines, weaves, spikes, braids, or ponytails.” All of the excluded styles are staples of Black hair expression, I further argued. Yet the dress code explicitly allows for military haircuts, something identifiable with White culture.
After a short pause 23 hands flew up to dispute my points. It’s safe to say the class not only disagreed with me but was also outraged. Argument after argument was posed, but I always had a rebuttal. The bell rang as I was wrapping up my last point, and I left the room seething. The lack of support I received from the class was frustrating. Nevertheless, it was the refusal of my classmates to think of things from a different perspective that infuriated me. It felt as if the class was mocking my intelligence and deeming my argument to be silly and irrational. I decided to take matters into my own hands.
The isolation and lack of support I faced as a Black student at Central Catholic is one I would feel throughout my tenure as a student there. I did not want other students, particularly freshman, to encounter what I had faced alone. I wanted younger Black students to feel empowered and to know their opinions were not only valid, but mattered. In response, I founded the Central Catholic Black Action Society (BAS), a student group with a hierarchy similar to a student council. The goal of the BAS is to incorporate Black culture into the Central Catholic curriculum. Also, BAS acts as a support group to help Black students engage in a predominately White school. Our organization enables Black students not only to have a voice and engage in student activities but to also add Black culture to the curriculum through the “Black culture fact of the day” and group discussions.
While Central Catholic has undoubtedly prepared me for college, the school’s Eurocentric curriculum ignores Black culture. As a Black student, working in a curriculum which I rarely, if ever, saw myself or my culture reflected, was an alienating experience. However, my independent study project about the discrepancy between Black and White males enrolled in honors classes has allowed me to insert aspects of Black culture into my curriculum at Central Catholic. As I researched more, I learned that students engaged in curricula that are not responsive to their culture often lack motivation and consequently underachieve. Upon learning this, I knew it was imperative to infuse Black culture in the Central curriculum so other Black students would benefit.
Without the educational challenges I encountered from my freshman to junior year I would not have created a Black Action Society nor chosen to research Black male academic achievement as a senior. The creation of BAS, in addition to my senior thesis, has undoubtedly provided the motivation I needed to be a high achieving student at Central Catholic and beyond, enabling me to become a better, more self-motivated student. Nevertheless, my goal was not only to change my own academic life, but to leave a legacy for the Black students who come after me so that they have guidance at Central as they begin their academic journeys.