Black Student Union Assembly Kicks Off Black History Month

Daniel Lara

The Black History Month Assembly featured guest speaker, former Florida Senator Daryl Jones, who shared his life story and offered advice.

Otto Hellmund, Staff Writer

The Black Student Union (BSU) kicked off Black History Month with an assembly during advisory on Wednesday. The assembly featured a guest speaker along with student performances.

Guest speaker, former Florida Senator Daryl Jones, shared his story and offered advice collected from his own life experiences. 

“Believe in yourself, write down your goals, work consistently towards your goals, and learn from the best,” Jones said. 

During the assembly, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Director Don Lawrence stressed the values of equality and how these principles are crucial in making everyone feel appreciated.

“When we have a community with diverse individuals, there will be differences and similarities. We have to acknowledge them in every circumstance,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence encouraged students to celebrate and acknowledge these differences, recognize similarities, and find safety in commonality. He wants students to never feel like they don’t belong because of their ethnicity, race, or any other factor.

Lawrence further explained how well the school does in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, however believes that the school always has room to improve. He wants to take the opportunity to celebrate, learn, and acknowledge Black culture and identity, and to celebrate all the diversity present at Gulliver. Lawrence also urged students to treat each other with the same respect, dignity, and care that should be reciprocated. 

The assembly included BSU members reciting poetry touching upon Black culture, featured the aforementioned guest speaker, Jones, the current president of the Law Offices of Daryl L. Jones, P.A. and a former Democratic Politician. He spoke about his experiences growing up in the 1960s in Mississippi, and his journey to becoming a fighter pilot and later a state senator and representative in Florida.

Jones shared his most significant accomplishment in Florida legislation, the Bright Future Scholarships, which provides 300 million dollars in scholarships to students across Florida. He also turned all the community colleges in the state into four-year colleges and encouraged students to control their own destiny and believe in themselves. 

“Both my parents were teachers with low salaries, and without receiving a scholarship I could not attend university. I implemented the Bright Future Scholarship so students could control their own destiny no matter their financial status,” Jones said.

Lawrence further explained how well the school does in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, however believes that the school always has room to improve. He wants to take the opportunity to celebrate, learn, and acknowledge Black culture and identity, and to celebrate all the diversity present at Gulliver. Lawrence also urged students to treat each other with the same respect, dignity, and care that should be reciprocated.

The assembly reminded students that “our history is still happening,” and encouraged them to be a part of shaping it.