On February 1, the City of Shoreline presented a delegation of Shoreline Community College students and staff with a Proclamation in celebration of Black History Month. Mayor Chris Roberts presented the Proclamation to the delegation at the City Council Meeting.
The Proclamation reminds the community of the contribution of African-Americans and the importance of our continued quest of achieving equality for all races. The College was chosen to receive the award because of the school’s dedication to promoting multicultural awareness and understanding through teaching and learning and campus programs and services.
“It’s a great honor to receive this award from the City of Shoreline,” said Dr. Yvonne Terrell-Powell, Associate Dean, Equity, Engagement, and Counseling. “We honor diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus, and one of the ways we do so is by celebrating Black History Month with dynamic, educational programming. It’s great to continue building our relationship with the City, who is also honoring the strengths and contributions of African-Americans.”
The group representing Shoreline at the Council Meeting included Tashayla Ray, Black Student Union (BSU) President, Marcia Deurwarder, BSU Vice President, Rezina Habtemariam, Acting Director of Student Leadership Center, Janel Middleton, BSU Advisor, and Terrell-Powell.
The City awards the Proclamation yearly; this is the first time Shoreline has received the honor. Ray and Deurwarder represented Shoreline’s student body by making a statement during the ceremony.
“I was pleased and honored that they included students in this ceremony,” said Ray, “because a lot of students may not even be aware that Black History Month is celebrated anywhere but on campus. But it’s a very important event for our culture, and it’s important to honor what people in the past have done to afford today’s students the education, freedom, access, and equality that we have.”
Ray went on to say that student involvement in the ceremony indicates that both the City and the College understand that students have an important role to play in the success of creating equity and inclusion. “We’re the leaders of the future,” said Ray, “and we’re fortunate to be able to use the work done in the past as a stepping stone to continue to pave the way for those who come after us.”
“Black History Month is an opportunity for the college community to reflect on our past experiences as well as the power, strength, resilience and contributions of African-Americans,” said Terrell-Powell. “We’re proud to be recognized by the City of Shoreline in our continued efforts to celebrate diversity on campus and strive toward inclusive excellence.”
Black History Month activities on campus have included a talk by author Nisi Shawl, a showing of the film “God Loves Uganda,” a moment of silence for Trayvon Martin, a presentation titled “The Age of Mass Incarceration,” and a discussion facilitated by Shoreline Communications faculty Dr. Elena Esquibel on the history of sundown towns, “all-White” communities that have banned African-Americans after dark.
Stay up to date on all of Shoreline’s programming by consulting the college calendar.