Last year, the African American club closed down. Feeling that the African American population of Jones lost its voice, Ni’Schele Jackson’15 and Amirah Loury‘15 created the Black Student Union, to restore that lost voice.

The Black Student Union aims to encourage positive interactions with black culture, introduce a black point of view to social justice matters, and create a community for black Jones students to voice their opinions.

“Our discussions are not going to be tailored towards black people, but it’s going to be tailored around topics that have to do with black culture and what it means to be black,” said Loury‘15.

Jackson’15 said that the black students of Jones often are misrepresented and subjected to stereotyping. She was inspired to create the club after watching a video created by Imani Ford’14. The video, titled We Belong consisted of interviews from members of the black comunity at Jones. Students spoke out about  instances when they felt subjected to racism.

Jones is one of the more statistically diverse schools in the city, according to the CPS website, out of the Jones student body, 11.0% are Asian, 19.7% are Black, 30.4% are Hispanic, and 33.1% are White. Despite of this, Jackson‘15 said that the diversity is not a guarantee for sensitivity, or understanding of other races. They intend for the club to become a safe haven to foster that understanding.

Sponsored by English teacher Ebikepreye Porri, BSU meets every other Wednesday 3:45-4:30 in room 5036. The club is interested in sponsoring several events this year, such as a spade tournament, natural hair gallery, and a police brutality protest. Members of all races are encouraged to join and partake in black culture.