See bottom for special 1970s BSU archive spread

For the first time in nearly 50 years, Parker has a formal Black student affinity group — the Black Student Union (BSU).

Formed in October of this year, the Black Student Union is, according to student leader senior Tristen Tate, “a space for black students — whether you’re African American, African, Caribbean, biracial, anything. It’s an affinity group, a space for you to come to.”

Currently the BSU does not have defined leadership roles, but seniors Tristen Tate and Yaleigh Harris (a head of the Women of Color Alliance), and junior Payton Pitts (a head of the Men of Color and Heritage Alliance), are organizing meetings. The BSU has three faculty advisors: Upper School Coordinator and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator Rolanda Shepard; Assistant Principal Priyanka Rupani; and Middle and Upper School Director of Studies Sven Carlsson.

The BSU was formed after conversations between Tate and a number of her Black friends. “My freshman year, I didn’t think much of it because I wasn’t really involved with any of the affinity groups,” Tate said. “But going through sophomore year, junior year, I was like, ‘dang, we don’t have one just for us.’”

The pandemic put a stop to any action, until the return to school brought the idea of a BSU back to Tate’s and her friend’s minds. “One day, I was just like, we’ve been talking about this for a few years now,” Tate said.“We know that this hasn’t been a thing in our years.”

After emailing Dean of Students Joe Bruno and Shepard to ask why there was no Black Student Union, Tate and Harris met with the two of them to discuss how to create a BSU. Rupani, who has previous DEI experience, offered her support to the group.

Nearly 50 years ago a Black Student Union existed for four years, between 1971 and 1974. Photographed in the yearbook, the Parker Record, 1971’s Black Student Union lists 25 student members and one faculty sponsor. Membership stayed strong through 1974, the last Black Student Union at Parker until today.

A December 1972 “Weekly” editorial stated that “the B.S.U., once the school’s most productive, powerful and important group, has … become apathetic to any function they may have had in the past and indifferent to any cause they may serve this year.”

The editorial quoted BSU faculty advisor Mr. Threet, who said that students felt the BSU was not “serving its purpose,” and that interest had declined, but that “the need for an active B.S.U. will never come to an end.”

According to Shepard, affinity groups need to be a student-driven endeavor. “There’s always been a need, but until someone saw the need and the importance of it and came together to create it, I couldn’t create a student group,” Shepard said. “As soon as Tristen sent the email expressing some interest, I jumped right on. It’s such an amazing idea. I’m so glad that someone has finally mentioned wanting to get together and do something.”

The BSU does not yet have any formalized goals or a charter, but the group is meeting more often and is organizing a Morning Ex to introduce the BSU to the community for Black history month. The main goal of the BSU, however, is to provide a space for Black students to connect and feel empowered in a predominantly white institution.

Shepard says she knows well the feeling an affinity group like the BSU provides. “Being a Black woman who works here in a predominantly white institution, I know what it feels like I get with my specific Black colleagues that I relate to,” she said.

She describes an affinity group like the BSU as like a “family reunion,” a space to connect and reconnect over a shared connection. “The beauty of BSU is that no matter how different all of those Black students are, they share that one thing that society sees first before they even talk to them,” Shepard said.

But, says Shepard, it would be a mistake to see the newly formed Black Student Union as the first, or most recent, union of Black students. “Although there was no organized Black student group, Black students find each other — that’s how they survive,” Shepard said. “Although it wasn’t formalized, the informal BSU has been going on for years.”

Tate, now a senior, says she is shaping the BSU to build a group that she wishes she had as a freshman new to Parker. “When I first came to Parker, I had been at predominantly Black schools and Black communities,” Tate said. “I didn’t really know what to do. It made me really frustrated at times, and it made me sad … Had we had a Black Student Union, or a way for me to see leaders that looked like me in this school, navigating this space with confidence and people who are grounded, if I was able to see that as a freshman, I think that it would have helped me to transition a lot quicker and to be a lot more confident in myself coming into the school.”

Harris says that the BSU can provide an “essential” space for Black students. “It creates a safe space where we can all relate to each other and share our joys,” Harris said, “and also share uncomfortable experiences.”

In addition to providing an opportunity for connection, the Black Student Union is working to reach out to the broader community, including time in Student Government as well as a Morning Ex.

According to Rupani, who has been involved with student alliances in past positions, such as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, student alliances can be a platform to share to a larger community. “At Lab the Black Students Association has historically put on a ‘Martin Luther King’ assembly every January,” Rupani said.

But, Rupani says, any sharing should not be a burden. “My hope is that whatever is shared comes from a source of empowerment and is not burdensome.”

The BSU has a Morning Exercise February 18. According to Yaleigh Harris, the MX will present a video featuring Black community members and host a panel discussion with Black students, faculty, and alumni “We want to have experiences heard and broaden perspectives,” Harris said.

Whatever the BSU’s actions or goals it will establish in the coming months, Tate, Harris, Pitts, and their faculty advisors agree that the Black Student Union is an indispensable and impactful group for Black students at Parker. “I’d like to inspire people to be themselves here. Be confident and be intentional and be honest,” Tate said.