Black Lives Still Matter

We might have been plunged into lockdown once again but as there is no time to lose, our young leaders are back to online learning.

Our focus for January is ‘Black Lives Still Matter’: how do young leaders respond to racism?

The first session saw our Young Leaders speak on their personal experiences, and engage with a powerful example of spoken word on the topic. The Young Leaders produced lists of actions that schools can take to prevent racism, and discussed challenging topics such as the use of racially charged language. 

Speaking on the first session, Emmanuella in year 11 said:

“Today’s message was no doubt a powerful one, which is not uncommon for an Eastside session. Hearing other people like me relate to my experiences was very empowering but not only that, to be able to actively come up with solutions exercising our initiative…was truly eye opening.”

“There is no doubt that the way racial issues have been handled so far is appalling and in this session we took the first step, in discussing this issue with our future leaders of tomorrow.”

Ernesta in year 11, who was also a part of the session had this to say:

“This session has definitely opened all of our eyes and allowed us to understand a bit more about racism, something that has affected many of us young leaders. I would definitely say that I left this session with a different mindset.”

We look forward to the coming sessions to see how our young leaders’ thoughts develop and grow in response to a topic as relevant now as it has ever been.