February 13th marked the annual African American Family Involvement Night, hosted by the Black Student Union. Located in the media center, this event invited black families to join ion spoken word, guest speakers, raffles, and celebrating black excellence.

Cultural Liaison Anthony Anderson reiterated, “The purpose of this event is to celebrate Black excellence. We see a lot of students excelling in school and other things, and we need to recognize that.”

When asked about any changes to this event, president of the Black Student Union Sofeya Omer (11) said, “This year’s event took place in the library instead of last year, which was the commons. Even though it was a small space, it still played out well.”

Many were asked what their favorite part of the event was. Junior Nura Omer said, “I liked the Photo Booth, it was super cool how they could get one for us.”

Mel Chaput, one of the media center staff, said, “I just loved the spoken word bit. It was so powerful and I love how you guys [performers] coordinated it and stepped forward with a powerful message.”

There were many speakers at this event. The Barze family, Alisha, Anica (9), and Alise (10) all presented about Black Girl Magic, and emphasized that, “It’s about all of us and it’s not boys vs girls, it’s about bringing up all the strong, intelligent black women and connecting together as a community.”

Art was also presented at this event. Mizz Mercedez, an author, presented her new series Black 2 the Future, which featured inventions made by black investors and black business owners. She has an intention of ‘unlocking hidden superpowers’ within black communities. You can visit her website at http://www.mizzmercedez.com.

Raffles also took place at this event. Raffle prizes included a stuffed animal, a gift basket, homemade jewelry, gift cards, and a brand new air fryer.

Parents also were satisfied with how this event played out. One parent said, “I am so proud of what [RAHS BSU] did and what my child helped with. This just shows, to me, black excellence.”

People from the district also attended this event and had their own messages to say. Roseville Commissioners of Human Rights, Inclusion and Engagement Amanda Becker and Peju Solarin were very “impressed on how well this event played out.”

When asked about her favorite part of this event, Commissioner Amanda Becker said, “I love seeing all the participation in this event, and seeing all these parents show up brings me joy.”

Commissioner Peju Solarin said, “I’m proud that you guys put this together, but the commission attended this event to support and help you guys with anything you need.”

Out of this event emerged new information on an upcoming project taking place here in Roseville. EnVision Roseville focuses on what needs to be improved in Roseville and wants to hear from all sorts of different communities.

Brigitte Bjorklund, Director of Education and Equity, said, “We want to see a better and new Roseville in the future but the most important thing is that we hear different perspectives from different people.”

Visit https://zan.mysocialpinpoint.com/envision-roseville to complete a survey for your input on the city of Roseville/enVision or email Brigitte at [email protected] for any questions.