Despite pandemic, students of color at this high school made sure their voices were heard
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students at Curtis High School, like most students across the state, spent a good chunk of the 2020-21 school year working remotely.
That didn’t stop one group of students from making their voices heard.
The first ever Black Student Union and Asian-Pacific Student Union launched this year at Curtis, a school of about 1,400 students in the University Place School District.
Karrington Smith, senior and president of the Black Student Union, said she felt compelled to help create the group to give students like her a place to connect in a school where the student population is only 9 percent African American/Black.
“We basically are a platform for African American students at Curtis to share their experiences, but to also learn more about their culture and history,” Smith told The News Tribune.
Smith said being in such a small minority of students at the school made her feel like her voice was silenced due to stereotypes or preconceived notions.
“With the opportunity to be able to create a Black Student Union, and even to become the president, it has given me a chance to amplify my voice,” Smith said. “It’s been amazing because it’s not, it’s very rare to see young Black students speak out without being torn down.”
Also new this year is the Asian-Pacific Student Union, led by president Lyndon Tanoa.
“We discuss how to educate others on cultural appropriation and separate the false information from the facts, and we just build upon the diversity here at Curtis, as much as possible,” said Tanoa, a sophomore.
Earlier this year, the groups held virtual assemblies to highlight the cultures of their fellow students, including the first-ever Black History Month assembly.
“We’ve never had an assembly dedicated fully to Black History Month, and we’ve never done a virtual assembly either, so I think the response and the outcome of being able to do that project has been great,” Smith said.
The school’s Cultures United Club has been around for a few years, but it got to run the school’s Cultural Assembly for the first time, according to group leaders Benita Kisembo, Sarah Mwangi and Hannah Mwangi. They asked for submissions from students around food, dances and other parts of their culture.
“We really wanted everyone at Curtis to be able to look at all of these different cultural things through the eyes of the people from that culture,” said Kisembo, a senior.
The Black Student Union met with teachers and administrators to discuss experiences of Black students in the classroom and have created history lessons to send to elementary students in the district. The group has scheduled meetings where they discuss a range of topics, from police brutality to their favorite music.
“It’s very important to be involved in things like that, where you can talk about things that are relevant today but also have just a safe space where everyone can express their feelings or just talk about their day or anything like that,” said Jala Ward, vice president of the Black Student Union.
Curtis High principal Tom Adams said it’s important to him that all cultures and races are not only represented but feel heard. He said he intends to work with all of his students in the future to uplift their voices.
“I’m very proud of the work that they’ve done,” he said.
According to state data, roughly 47 percent of students at Curtis identify as white, 17 percent Hispanic/Latinx, 11 percent Asian, 9 percent Black/African American, 1 percent Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, .6 percent Native American, and 14 percent say they belong to two or more races.
The diversity at Curtis falls somewhere in the middle when compared to other high schools in Pierce County. For example, Lincoln High School in Tacoma is 17.1 percent white, while Gig Harbor High School is 77.4 percent white.
Many of the leaders of the student groups are seniors who are graduating this week. They said the work does not stop here, and they want to leave a legacy for the students that come after them.
“Our message is larger than just Curtis,” said Ward. “It’s just to amplify Black voices everywhere.”
Ward said they’re leaving the clubs behind to some responsible underclassmen.
“We’ve done all this work in this online school year, in a global pandemic, and as hard as that was, it’ll be even better when everyone returns to normal,” Smith said. “So I just can’t wait to see what more is changed, as time goes on.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2021 at 5:05 AM.
