At Glenbard East on Thursday, February 6th in the library the Black Student Union (BSU) hosted a Black History Month read-in. The read-in was intended to support “a safe space for community pride” during Black History Month, Ms. Garecia Rose, a BSU sponsor noted. The event brought in well over 20 students and staff.

The read-in was led by Dr. Teresa Lawrence and the club leaders Romello Jones and Michael Titus, both executive members of the Black Student Union Board. 

The event consisted of guest speakers, a game of Jeopardy, and gifts for everyone who participated. The guest speakers included Principal Antoine Anderson, Assistant Principal of Student Services Mr. Broderick Booth, Ms. Ellen Pieper, the Career Advisor, Ms. Jennifer O’Connor, English teacher, and more.

Multiple students spoke and presented at the event. One speaker, Romello Jones, a senior, did a rendition of the first two pages of Gwendolyn Brooks’ book of poetry entitled Annie Allen to the audience to much applause. 

A game of Jeopardy was played during the event and each audience member who answered a question correctly had the opportunity to pick a prize of their choice from a prize table. 

“It did exactly what we intended it to do, which was educate each other on black voices of the past and present, while also spreading their messages,” Michael Titus said. He added, “The goal of the event was to celebrate black voices all around the world through the outlet of literature. A lot of times we are silenced, this was a space to be heard.”