BY LOGAN CAMPBELL
At Mariemont High School, African-Americans make up 2.6% of the student body.
Some students have questioned the need for recognition at school when 93.3% of the student body is made up of students who are not African-American. Junior Matthew McGrory says, “[BHM] does not need to be made over-insinuated. MHS’ curriculum has given us a good idea of every race’s history.”
“It has a minimal effect on me, I don’t remember having any celebrations for it in school,” says Junior Nate Michaelson.
In past years, the high school has held a Black History Month art competition. Pieces have included influential African Americans such as Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes, and Rosa Parks.
This year, the Diverse Voices Visual and Writing Arts Contest is being held in place of the poster contest. This contest allows students to show off their writing or artistic skills, dealing with the subject of diversity.
“There is a small African American population, and it puts those that population on the spot, when in reality, we would all do good to think about each other as human beings,” says English teacher Luke Wiseman, who runs this month’s contest. Wiseman adds that, “The contest was changed to be more inclusive of all our diversity.”
Other than this month’s contest, the high school has included little about the month in the curriculum, according to many students here.
Other students at Mariemont High School believe that the month deserves more recognition at the high school.
“I think that we deserve a lot more credit,” says junior Kennedy Moi, who is apart of the 2.6% minority. “The majority of the school is white, so I don’t think that they realize how big of an impact African Americans left on their culture,” Moi adds.
Senior Jack Filippi believes that, “[BHM] should be recognized at the high school, especially since we are predominantly white here.” 93.3% of the student body at Mariemont High School is made up of white students. Later, Filippi adds that, “I think it’s healthy to be informed about issues that we don’t see on the day to day.”
Another Junior, Jackson Northrop, believes that everyone deserves recognition. “Every month should be white history month. Every month should be black history month,” says Northrop.
I think most of us can agree with that sentiment and many of us would see beyond “black” and “white” to include all voices.