Days before the official recognition of Black History Month was set to end, students from across Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214 assembled at Buffalo Grove High School for an event with a title that was as much a name for the occasion as it was a statement of cultural pride.
BGHS hosted the “Everyday is Black History” celebration Feb. 24 at the high school in Buffalo Grove. More than 150 students attended from the district’s multiple high schools and specialized schools.
District 214 Ebony Clubs and Black Student Unions participated to recognize African American history and Black people’s national and global contributions.
While activities took place most of the day, educator, author and activist Ernest Crim III was the keynote speaker at a special presentation. His speech included interactive moments with the students where they were invited on stage.
The Friday program also featured Chicago poet Moe-Mentum.
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One notable moment was when Crim asked students in the audience if they had ever been called a specific racial slur. Many of the teens raised their hands.
The author and activist showed on a large screen onstage a video that included a recording which has been viewed on YouTube hundreds of thousands of times. The video is said to capture an incident where Crim and his wife were confronted by a white woman at a Chicago festival several years ago.
The woman appears to be recorded using racial slurs and spitting at the couple. The incident received media coverage and public pushback in favor of justice, resulting in the woman’s identification and arrest, he explained.
Many of the teens in the audience reacted to the video with incredulity and outrage, a recording which Crim said he plays back as a learning tool for awareness.
“I want you to think about what you think Black is,” Crim told the students. “I want you to think about what other communities may think. … And then beyond that, I want you to think about how you think about your community.”
Crim, who attended the University of Illinois, is author of the books “Black History Saved My Life: How My Viral Hate Crime Led to an Awakening” and for children, “The ABCs of Affirming Black Children.”
Ami Relf, a BGHS English teacher and the school’s Ebony Club sponsor, said she hoped the students would understand that, “every day is Black history. February just happens to be the anniversary of our celebration, of each and every one of us.
“Today I want them to understand that they are loved, they are empowered, they are beautiful,” she said.
Phil da Homie was also featured in the daylong program, sharing the journey from backyard chef to food truck entrepreneur to owner of Phlavz, a catering and dine-in restaurant on Chicago’s famed Maxwell Street.
Relf said this year was the first time Buffalo Grove High School hosted the event of this scope.
“And the reason why I wanted to host it at BG is because what I got from Black students, Black staff, the Black community, is that Buffalo Grove wasn’t welcoming,” Relf said. “I wanted to change that narrative.
“So I was very intentional to host it here, to use as many of the spaces in this building for everyone to see Black students, that they are present, that they are alive, they feel emotion and that they matter.”
The English teacher explained that the planning was conscientious: the T-shirt vendor, food caterer and the speakers, with the exception of Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton, were all Black. She called Britton at ally.
“Every detail was intentional,” said Relf.
Britton spoke to Pioneer Press after addressing the audience and shared a leaflet about “Cook County United Against Hate.”
“I think the concept of ‘everyday is Black history’ is … not only what we do in February, we should do all year round,” Britton said.
“I can never truly understand what it’s like to be African American in America, but I can be an ally and I can try and do things that are going to be beneficial to all the populations, and especially with our new initiative on Cook County United Against Hate,” the commissioner said.
Buffalo Grove High School students shared their thoughts with Pioneer Press.
“I hope the takeaway is that we are all beautiful in our skin tones and just as who we are,” said 15-year-old freshman Maze Coble “And that even if the world around us doesn’t love us for who we are, that we can still love each other.”
Drew Crues, 16, a sophomore, said Black history should be recognized throughout the whole year and not just one month.
Laila Muhammad, 14, a freshman, said she hoped the event “enlightens and inspires Black students because I feel like many (who) aren’t very inspired might not be as confident about themselves because of their skin color.
“And I feel like many might not think they can achieve much,” Muhammad said. “They should be open to possibilities because they can be anything they want to be.”
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer.
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