Black Lives Matter flag flies over San Diego unified headquarters
A Black Lives Matter flag now flies over the San Diego Unified School District headquarters in University Heights.
Elementary, middle and high school students raised the flag on Wednesday morning to mark the start of Black History Month.
Several of them spoke about the meaning at the flag ceremony.
Cory Colquitt is a third grader at Ocean Beach Elementary. He said: “It doesn’t always feel good to hear about the bad and unfair things that have happened to black people. But it is important to learn about it.”
The board of trustees decided to raise the Black Lives Matter flag to show the district’s commitment to diversity and equality in all locations.
Some students shared their personal experiences of discrimination and harassment at school.
Stephanie Adegeye, 12, is a seventh grader at Millennial Tech Middle School. “Being black is an ongoing journey, but you must never give up,” she said.
At their last meeting on Jan. 24, the Board Trustees passed a resolution recognizing the contributions Black Americans have made to cultural, community and nation development.
They also recognized that in the current climate, students of color face deadly police shootings and disproportionate arrests by officers.
“As many of them said, it was a challenge for them personally. I myself struggled with my identity growing up, and I’m proud of who I am today because I’m an educator,” said district superintendent Lamont Jackson.
While the BLM flag is a symbol of celebration, there are some black education leaders who say there is still work to be done, especially when it comes to social justice and education here in California.
The current state budget has earmarked $300 million to help students who receive free or discounted lunches at school. Gov. Newsom proposed the spending to help children living in poverty close the education gap.
But that excludes nearly 350,000 children of color who don’t live in poverty and have fallen behind their white classmates in receiving free or discounted lunches.
Ramona Bishop is the President and CEO of ELITE Public Schools, a San Francisco Bay Area charter program serving children from marginalized communities.
“If you really analyze the data, it doesn’t matter if the students are wealthy or middle class. It’s a factor if you’re black in school right now,” Bishop said.
Meanwhile, Wednesday morning’s flag ceremony also included hopeful stories from students.
Henry Anderson III is a seventh grader at Millennial Tech Middle School and has big plans to one day become a lawyer.
“Like Barack Obama, he was a lawyer before taking office. I’m going to start out as an attorney in my community, and if I become a respected attorney, I think becoming president would be easy for me,” he said.
The district has several other community events planned throughout the month in honor of black history.
