City Of Brookfield Students Write Black History Month Resolution

CITY OF BROOKFIELD, WI—To celebrate Black History Month, several students from Brookfield East and Brookfield Central worked together with Alderman Mike Hallquist, and Shane Arnold, board member of Mentor Greater Milwaukee, to craft Brookfield’s first resolution celebrating Black History Month, according to a news release.

The resolution which will be voted on by the Legislative & Licensing Committee next Tuesday, and if passed, likely later that night by the Brookfield Common Council.

Authors of the resolution were Langston Ford & Jose Zapien Guerra from Brookfield East High School and Cynthia Lu, Rayanna Hassan, and Jana Gharia from Brookfield Central High School.

The resolution celebrates the achievements and accomplishments of Black Americans while also recognizing the systemic challenges of racism past and present.

"We are proud and amazed at the work of our students to organize and enact change in our community through this resolution," said Elmbrook Schools' Superintendent Mark Hansen. "As a School District we know that in order to end systemic racism and become a more inclusive community with equitable opportunities, we need to educate and empower our students to advocate for change in our schools and in the world around them. To see an outcome of their advocacy at the local government level is inspiring."

Hallquist and Arnold both said the students did a great job and were impressed with their passion for social justice.

“It’s very encouraging and admirable to see a group of students come together to not only recognize the need for increasing inclusion but take the onus and leadership to try and enact change. Black stories aren't normally included in school's history lessons, and the contributions that Black Americans have made to this country are rarely, if ever acknowledged,” said Arnold said.

Langston Ford, a senior at BEHS, said the goal for the resolution was to bring attention to racial issues overlooked in the Brookfield community. Ford said many believe that the Emancipation Proclamation and Civil Rights Acts ended racism.

"While these were necessary steps to a more equal and just society, racism continues to thrive and fester; our government opposed and fought against Dr. Martin Luther King until his death, and it continues to suppress the peoples’ plight for racial equality; the federal government and Justice Department refused to enforce the Voting Rights act of 1965; African Americans are constantly told that there are more appropriate times to protest; the United States has the incarceration rates in the world that disproportionately impact the African American community.

Injustice is ingrained in our nation and thus to bring America closer to a fair and just nation, everyone must acknowledge the flaws that exist and the journey it took us to get here," Ford said.

Cynthia Lu, a BCHS student said, building a better future begins with understanding the past. She talked about systemic racism, education, and the economy's impact on the African American community.

"There is substantial work involved in transforming our society into a better one; yet, we dare to hope and, more importantly, we dare to act. Recognizing February as Black History Month here in Brookfield is a necessary and long-overdue step forward," Lu said.

Jana Gharia, a BCHS student said, the recognition of Black History month is an important first step for the community and is long overdue.

"By recognizing this important month we are moving to understand the fundamental role that Black Americans play in our society. We are hopeful that this will help to make Brookfield a more inclusive, educated, and diverse place to live," Gharia said.

Gharia added, "It is time that we continue to move forward and make the changes necessary to make Brookfield an even better place to live.”

Rayyana Hassan, BCHS student said while drafting the resolution, she was able to reflect on great achievements Black Americans have made across the country and barriers they have broken down right here in the Milwaukee area.

Hassan said she was excited when Hallquist reached out about creating the Black History Month resolution. She hopes the symbolic legislative gesture that will hopefully set a foundation towards making change in the Brookfield community.

"I hope that by passing this resolution, citizens in Brookfield take some time to reflect on what Black History month means to them and the impact Black Wisconsinites have on our community," Hassan said.

According to Hallquist, many many communities have passed resolutions like this across the United States. He said students researched these across multiple levels of government.

"In many municipalities mayors issue a proclamation to declare Black History Month as well, an example of this would be what Mayor of West Allis Dan Devine recently put out," he said.

Hallquist told Patch the verbiage and impact is similar between resolutions and proclamations, the key difference is that a resolution will be voted on by the L&L Committee and then the full Common Council to pass, whereas a proclamation does not require a vote.

"Brookfield has passed many resolutions designating a particular day, celebrating a particular person, or the retiring of a long-tenured employee in the past. For example, we passed a resolution recognizing international Bird Day back in January," he told Patch.