Guled Said
Zephyrus: What does Black History Month mean to you?
Guled Said: Black History Month means all the black excellence that you didn’t hear about in school. Black excellence that you didn’t see, that needs to be seen by the world. Because it’s very important. All excellence is important but black excellence … people don’t really see it. There’s beyond rappers and basketball-players; we’ve got scientists, doctors, inventors… like, there’s so many things invented by black people and I wish the school would know about that.
Z: Do you believe that EHS sufficiently recognizes Black History Month?
G.S.: Yes…and no. Because, I like the announcement they made; it was very powerful, but then, we have only one group, the Black Student Union, and we’re doing a Black History Month event on the 24th and that’s the only thing we’re doing. I don’t really know what to expect from the school, I mean, I guess it’s kind of on us black students to bring Black History to Edina and show it. It’s like, we can’t rely on the staff to do it because they might not even know about it and it’s kind of weird for a white teacher to say, ‘oh, here’s some black history’. It’s not weird, but they might feel uncomfortable.
Meti Regassa
Zephyrus: What does Black History Month mean to you?
Meti Regassa: Black history month isn’t really spoken about at Edina High School and that’s why I’m excited for the ‘Sun down to Sun up’ event held by the BSU. Although it’s sad that the history of Black people in America is only spoken about in the shortest month of the year it helps people realize the continuing struggle of Black people in America, to me Black history month is a time to highlight the many contributions of Black people in America.
Z: Do you think that Edina High School does enough to recognize Black History Month?
M. R.: I think there’s room for improvement I mean I don’t recall Edina High School ever acknowledging Black history month.
Z: What would you like to see EHS do in recognition?
M. R.: There’s many things that can be done, it can be as simple as telling students facts about Black history such as Betty Boop was inspired by a Black jazz singer named Ester Jones or facts about Black excellence in today’s society like Black women are beating out ALL other groups, no matter race or gender, in overall college enrollment. Quotes are good too such as “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today”- Malcolm X or “Freedom is never given by the oppressor it must be demanded by the oppressed- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Little things like that can play a big role in peoples lives, just hearing those words and knowing those facts can change people.