Four Black women, with most of their college tuition, paid off between them, seniors Sara Berhe-Abraha, Cecilia Fosso, Dominique Blount, and Morgann Noble lead the Black Student Union (BSU) club at the school. Despite not all of them being in the club before the pandemic, the girls believe their passion and drive are good for the BSU.

“The first meeting, I didn’t feel like I could just sit there,” Berhe-Abraha said. “I felt like I had to put my ideas into action and just help cultivate a space that makes people feel happy and supported and cared for and included.” 

Berhe-Abraha is the oldest of the four, 18, and has decided on Pomona College, but was also accepted into the University of Southern California and NYU. She plans on majoring in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which are independent organizations that serve to help humanitarian or environmental causes, social change, or sociology. Berhe-Abraha is someone who wants to help with societal problems.

“I hope to possibly be a professor or do nonprofit work,” Berhe-Abraha said. “Being a sociologist journalist sounds like a really cool way to kind of put my thoughts on paper and spread awareness about different social issues that I see around me.”

Berhe-Abraha also feels it is important to help juniors as they begin their senior year because they may not always get the help they need.

“I’ve also been trying to help other students prepare for the college application process,” Berhe-Abraha said. “There’s information that doesn’t reach some groups and it’s important to try to level the playing field a bit,” 

While the BSU is a generally small club, it has offered students a lot of things, including being a safe space for everyone, especially students of color. Contrary to the title of the club, BSU is open for everyone to join, something the four seniors want to make known.

“I want BSU to be presented to others as an inclusive community space,” Berhe–Abraha said. “I think above all just prioritizing making it a space that is one of community, support, and care [is important].”

Morgann Noble similarly feels it is important to include everyone in the club. BSU exists to help students through their problems: all people.

“I want BSU presented to others in a way that it’s not just for black kids,” Noble said. “It’s for everyone who needs a place of refuge and who needs a place to air out what they’re going through, what they’re experiencing,” 

That being said, the leaders also realize that it is important to create a space for people of color, especially in a predominantly white school. 

“I think having a club that focuses on unity between Black people is very important,” Dominique Blount said.”It’s designed for POC, especially Black children, to come together, and talk about the things in our lives that are affecting us and we’re very open-minded to other people and what other people are going through and different backgrounds,”

Blount is committed to Howard University, ranked as the second-best historically Black institution in America according to US News. 

“I’m going to Howard and I plan on studying sociology…I’m going down the pre-law track, and I want to become a lawyer, a civil attorney,” Blount said. “I’ve been really thinking about pursuing social justice and how I can do social justice reforms and stuff like that, but only time will tell.”

Blount, as an aspiring social justice advocate, believes that the two-year anniversary of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests following the murder of George Floyd is very important, however, the cause has not gotten the attention it deserves and the problem still exists.

“I think [BLM] was a very important movement within our country and I think it brought a lot of awareness about the issues happening in the Black community,” Blount said. “But I wish, especially with the two-year anniversary coming up, that people talked about it more because the issues that were happening two years ago are still happening now.” 

The BLM protests are a representation of the struggles that Black people and POC go through and many could say the BSU is similar. According to the leaders, BSU can be a place where students can talk about their experiences with anything, bad or good, which makes Noble believe she is a perfect leader for BSU.

“I came from a school that did not value me as a Black child and did not take the time to focus on what my needs were as a Black child and how they were different from the majority of white kids at my other school,” Noble said. “I feel like because I had those experiences my entire life, I know how to be there for other kids of color when they feel similar to how I did.”

Noble, like Blount, is committed to Howard University and plans to major in finance and minor in marketing management. Noble believes that her senior year has been eventful and has advice for future seniors. 

“We’re in the home stretch, it’s been pretty stressful but I’m very happy that I can see the finish line and I’m very excited for what’s to come,” Noble said. “Start early. College applications start in August, maybe even July. Make sure you have your list before you start your applications just so you know where you’re trying to go,”

BSU, unlike many other clubs, according to the four women, does not have a set motive. BSU is solely there for students, which differentiates BSU from other clubs at W-L.

“I think BSU is different from other clubs because there’s not really an agenda besides spreading joy between each other,” Blount said.

Clubs like Unicef and ACLU have a political and social agenda outside the school while BSU exists with the objective solely to help students.

“The majority of clubs here are kind of either to represent a social or economic change or issue in the world,” senior Cecilia Fosso said. “I feel like BSU is just a club that is made for people to come to where they can kind of just [talk] about what they need to talk about,”

Fosso is currently a student coach on the W-L track team and has committed to Morgan State University. Morgan State University is the biggest Historically Black college or university (HBCUs) located in Baltimore, where she plans to major in biology to become a cardiothoracic surgeon.

Fosso believes that since 2019, the year BSU was created, it has changed a lot. It has fewer members than it did pre-pandemic, but she believes it’s still on track for success.

 “We had a really large population of students [who]  were involved and we were able to do a lot of things, but then COVID [hit and even though it continued ] throughout COVID there’s obviously less interest because I think COVID affected all of us in a negative way,” Fosso said. “Now, I think it’s getting back on its feet.” 

BSU is sponsored and partly run by Mr. James Sample, the equity and excellence coordinator at the school. The four girls believe that Mr. Sample has played a big role in their school life and beyond.

“[Mr. Sample] has done so much in terms of just helping me blossom into someone who can stand up for herself and who can advocate for herself and he can just see that potential,” Noble said.

They believe Mr. Sample has helped them mentally as well as finding additional opportunities outside of school, including Blount, who did Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN) her junior year.

“He’s done a lot for me personally by finding opportunities for me,” Blount said. “I was able to join the MSAN, the minority student achievement network, which is a network board for kids across the country, minority students to get together and talk about issues within their schools.” 

Above all else, the four girls believe the existence of BSU is important, not only for them but for other students as well. They see it as an outlet and prioritize the safe bubble that BSU provides.

“BSU not only offers a community to go to but a community to lean on and a community that will watch out for you,” Berhe-Abraha said.

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