Black students from Surrey were celebrated and honoured during a designated graduation ceremony focused on representation, joy and pride. Black School'd is a Surrey-run organization with the aim of ending anti-Black and other forms of racism in the B.C.
education system by engaging with students and schools. Taking a break from the work and instead focusing on celebration was the aim of the student graduation ceremony held Friday night (June 28) at the Civic Hotel in Surrey. "These kids are so active in their BSUs (Black Student Unions), and they do so much change in their schools, whether that's talking to their teachers about issues that they have or wanting to mentor the younger kids in their schools, and a lot of them form their own BSUs in their schools," said Taqwa Ali, co-director of Black School'd.
"They take on a lot of that heavy work, and we really wanted to have an event for them to celebrate them." A special speaker during the ceremony was Minnijean Brown, who was one of , a group of African American students who were the first to be enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas after segregation was declared illegal. The Black students were faced with individuals "who hated us, who tried to keep us from going to school, so the whole idea of being opposed to school for young Black people is a pattern that exists in our world," Brown shared.
"I'm inspired by young people, I'm inspired by education, it fills my heart. I see you, you're beautiful, thank y.
