THE ECHO

by Eva Pearson

Avon offers a various amount of clubs, societies, and after-school activities to over 3000 students each school year; however, Avon is expanding with a new student union for the large portions of Black students that attend.

Black Student Unions originally started around 1960 to unite Black students amongst college campuses and to fight racial discrimination at the time of
segregation. Also, approximately 4.9% of kindergarten through 12th grade students in the United States are Black, with over 49.4 million students who are enrolled in elementary and secondary schools also being Black.

At Avon, students will now have a new space to express themselves with the introduction of the school’s very own Black Student Union.

Assistant Principal Dr. Aaron Willis pitched the idea for the high school to get its own Black Student Union, which has now had its first call-out meeting and is planning to expand to many more meetings for the student population and by the student population.

“We want students to come up with the majority of the things that they want to see happen for this club,” Willis said. “At the end of the day, this is a student organization.”

Don’t let the name deceive you; this club is not only for Avon’s Black student population. Any student interested in learning about Black culture inside the
school is welcome to join.

“It is open to any student who wants to learn more about the Black students in [the] building along with their thoughts, their concerns, to see Black joy, and to see just how great all the students in the building are,” Willis said.

While Avon offers African Diaspora, another club for Black students to express their culture while in school, Willis decided that the high school should expand the amount of culture being spread around the school while
also allowing students to hold a leadership position.

“Expect a lot of good things coming from BSU,” Willis said.

This story first appeared in the December 2024 print edition of The Echo.