Calvin Terrell returned to Niles North to speak during the freshman assembly and leadership workshop on October 13, and the Black and Latinx affinity spaces on October 14.

Calvin Terrell is an activist, motivational speaker, peacemaker, and the founder/director of the Social Centric Institute, which is a non-profit he built to educate anyone and everyone to be healers of historical trauma. Terrell focuses on his role under White supremacy as a Black man.

Affinity spaces are a gathering of marginalized people seeking out an inclusive environment to feel valued and empowered in. It is a safe space where those people are able to have open conversations about the problems and concerns they have within the community.

I attended the Black Affinity space. It was not a speech nor a presentation; it was a collaborative experience where the Black kids in the building were free to speak their truth, MC, dance, crack jokes, and laugh together.

Terrell concentrated on the idea that as Black men and women, our bodies are made of stardust. We are composed of light and energy.

“You cannot see the stars without the infinite Blackness of space,” Terrell said. He warned Black students not to wait for space as long as we have the power to be the space. Rather, the light and power we hold are meant to be shared with others, not hidden or used to outshine. 

A key quote from Terrell was “land of the free, home of the brave, land of the thief, home of the slave.” We were pushed to “decolonize” our minds and learn our history, “or someone else will write it for you and give you a lie.”  Terrell put our Blackness on the forefront, driving us to recognize our position as and the power we hold being Black Americans.

We learned about the history of hip-hop and the ways our culture has been stolen from us. Students were asked to come up and freestyle on beats, applauded not for talent but for courage. We danced to the Cupid Shuffle and Wobble, all bonding together as a community through our music. 

Students were given the mic and told to share what they needed from both the space and the administration; hands rose high and voices were illuminated, sharing ideas on Black representation, respect, diversity and inclusion, and racism in the building.

Senior Kaylee Williams spoke up and urged more of our Black students to join the Black Student Union so the club could have more power and influence.

“Everyone in this room should be a part of the Black Student Union,” Williams said. “As Black students, we need to work together to influence change. Right now our club is very small and unrepresented.”

The superintendent, Thomas Moore, dropped by to speak with us and responded to concerns regarding security guards and teachers in the school who may have targeted Black students. A number of students believed that they have been targeted at least once in this school by faculty and staff. Thomas Moore believes this needs to be addressed, and he promised to do something about it.

“As superintendent, any injustice that takes place in this school is my responsibility,” Moore said.

Calvin Terrell has inspired us to become advocates for change. His presentation was immersive, allowing us to talk about the issues our school faces together as representatives of this school’s Black community. We need to respect our Black students and faculty and hold them to the same standards to which we hold our White counterparts. Only then will true discussion and discourse take place.