Black student union

High school poets continue the conversation

Abstract

Gonzaga College High School celebrated its 2020 Black History Month through month-long programming hosted by a Black Student Union, ONYX Club. Four student poets read their original work at the annual Black History Month Assembly at Gongaza College High School to introduce keynote speaker Dr. Eddie Moore. Dr. Moore then provided a thought-provoking talk on the long and ongoing fight for civil rights and justice, culminating with an invitation to participate in an action plan to continue the conversation and work toward a more inclusive community. In response to this invitation, Mr. Devon Leary, Gonzaga's Director of Diversity, encouraged the student poets to contribute their work to the journal.

The following five creative pieces are poetry authored by four student poets of Color in the Gonzaga Poets and Writers Club and Black Student Union, ONYX, at Gonzaga College High School. These creative pieces were published, in part, to show how #BlackLivesMatter includes our youth, but also to inspire other student task forces and diversity leaders in secondary schools to make a similar commitment to fostering the creative expression of young men of Color as they reflect upon the fight for social justice.