It’s Black History Month, and members of the Leadership through Innovation in Genocide and Human rights Teaching (LIGHT) Club have organized a panel discussion with several black Shaler Area community members to hear their thoughts on black culture and their experiences with racism, discrimination, inequity, and inequality in Shaler.

“We live in an area that is mainly white, and we understand that the black members of our community often feel overlooked,” junior Cassidy Laffey, President of LIGHT, said. “It is our hope that this event will spark many of the necessary conversations that are sometimes uncomfortable, because then we will be better equipped to combat racial inequality in our community. The most important step toward change is honest communication, and that is what this event aims to do.”

Over the past few weeks, LIGHT has sent requests to Shaler English and History classes asking teachers to talk with their students about what they’d most like to know about black history and culture, or about experiences the panelists have had with racism and inequality. Classes submitted questions that were then compiled by LIGHT, and questions were chosen to ask the panelists.

“I want to be a panelist for this event because I want to support any opportunity to educate students who sincerely want to understand the challenges of being black in the US,” Mrs. Dianne Charity said. “I also appreciate the fact that this event creates a safe space for students to ask honest questions and have uncomfortable conversations about race without being judged.”

Zoe Babbit and Jake Raymond, both Shaler students, will ask the panelists questions in a recorded discussion on Wednesday, February 24, and the discussion video will then be edited and made available by LIGHT Club for everyone to watch.

“We hope to send the video to both English and History teachers throughout the district to be used as a tool to bring black history and culture more into our classrooms,” Hannah Coleman, a student in LIGHT Club, said. “We strive to set an example for other school districts in education and celebration of black culture and black history.”

The purpose of this recorded panel discussion is sparking conversation about black history and racism in Shaler, and helping Shaler Area actively fight discrimination in our schools and community all the time, not just during the month of February.

“I hope that students learn that there are legitimate challenges associated with being nonwhite and living in the US,” Mrs. Charity said. “But, each student can be a part of the solution by striving to be the first generation to have zero tolerance for racism.”