Students experience live history lesson
in celebration of Black History Month

Student at BOCES 2's Westside Senior Academy hosted a panel discussion to celebrate Black History Month. Their invited guests, George Anselme and Nanette Dukes, spoke about their experiences of growing up and living in America.

Anselme, who was born in Haiti and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, spoke with students about the cultural shock he experienced when he attended college and how isolated he felt being the only student of color in many of his classes. He discussed the responsibility he felt at times to speak for an entire race of people. He felt the experience taught him a lot about stereotypes and he encouraged students to take responsibility for how they treat others. "If you hear someone saying something that is wrong to another person - speak up and tell them you don't agree with it," he said.

"My great-great grandmother was a slave," panelist Nanette Dukes shared with students." It wasn't that long ago." She told stories of traveling to Arkansas during the summer as a young person, to visit relatives, and being excited to swim in a pool only to be informed that the pool was designated for whites only - it was the late 1970s. "Segregation is illegal," she reminded students. "I look forward to the day when there is no Black History Month but an American History Month. Don't give up on yourselves - Don't let people tell you who you are. You define who you are," she said.