For Black History Month there will be a door decorating contest with the winner’s flex class will be awarded donut. The theme needs to be based on black historical figures or cultural movements and accomplishments.
“When it comes to black history, there’s a lot of different ways you can approach it. And, some people know little tidbits and things based on their content. So I’m a forensics science teacher,so I have a science one,” forensics science teacher Brandi Elsayed said. “Another teacher might be an English teacher, so they may take an approach like a poet or an author, you know what I mean? Criminal law might do advocacy, things like that. So that’s what they really like. They like to see the different things represented.”
Classes are encouraged to take part in this campus wide recognition brought about by the efforts of the campus Black Student Union.
“We just brainstorm during our meetings and then, kind of talk about it and what’s attainable and what can be achieved. You know, because sometimes you have a lot of ideas, but you can’t execute it all because we all are students and teachers, you know? We still have our normal things we got to do,” Elsayed said.
The Black Student Union bounced around some ideas for the future and made the rubric that the doors will be judged by.
“It’s scored on 100 to 50, and it’s like, so design, writing, pictures and things like that. We suggested that during your flex, if your students aren’t doing anything that you ask them to help as well so it speeds up the process. They can bring in their own ideas and help as well. So it’s like the students are still getting in on the action and everything,” senior and Black Student Union President Amarachi Nnadi said. “I had an idea where we go to an art museum and they show black painters and things like that. We could do that. That’d be fun. Just for the future.”
Some other ideas that had been mentioned were a week of dress-up days, trivia in the mornings, and organizing with the library to spotlight black authors and stories.
“I hope to see a lot more like just representation throughout the school, like maybe more poster boards about it or more projects dedicated to it,” senior Cameron Dickerson said. “I’m looking forward to seeing more collages and pictures of different black people.”
There are a multitude of demographics that make up Johnson’s community, and one goal of doing these activities is to bring the spotlight to other collectives.
“Maybe it’ll promote some other door decorating contest to, make aware of other cultures and stuff like that throughout the year because there’s Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian Pacific Islander. There’s all of that. And I think this is one thing that everybody knows about. So I think this could open the door for other things,” Elsayed said. “I love decorating my door. Most people do something else so that you don’t always have to look like you’re, like, in a school with naked doors, you know, because things are going on behind those doors.”
