New club at Bellmore-JFK promotes diverse dialogues

John F. Kennedy High School’s newest club, aptly named Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, aims to make the school community more inclusive by promoting open dialogue on issues of race and social justice. The club held its first forum on Feb. 25, during which students shared personal experiences of racial prejudice.

“We were very involved throughout Black History Month, and heard students [talking about] those experiences,” said club co-founder Desiree Rigaud, “and we saw that Asian-American hate crimes are on the rise — and in some cases, they’re being attacked — or we heard experiences from Latin-Americans.

“This expression was only happening outside of the walls of our school,” Rigaud continued. “We wanted to make that change happen and bring those discussions here.”

“These are student-led discussions on how we can improve these issues,” noted co-founder Michelle Brown.

Last week’s event, held in Kennedy’s library and virtually via Zoom, was the first installment of DEI’s Diverse Dialogues series, which will feature discussions on a variety of societal issues, including LGBTQ rights, anti-Semitism, sexism and gender equality.

The founders kicked off the discussion by sharing their own confrontations with discrimination in their community, Brown said, while emphasizing the importance that the dialogues be open.

“Although the community has come a long way, we see the prevalence of those problems in our community,” Brown said. “We thought this was a good way to engage students and confront those problems.”

“It exists in our own lives and our family’s lives — it’s so prominent,” Rigaud said. “So many people had things to share, things people never would have said otherwise.”

DEI began as a district-wide initiative taken on by Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District administration to focus on such issues. Faculty members have attended several workshops focused on creating equitable school communities and to “try to get everyone involved in the dialogue,” Kennedy Principal Gerard Owenburg said.

“I’m really proud of our school culture,” he continued. “You can make any community better by talking about these uncomfortable topics. [Brown and Rigaud] have this unique ability to take topics like this that polarize our country and let people speak them out. A lot of people walked out with a good feeling of togetherness.”

Brown and Rigaud had long been interested in forming a club that focuses on these difficult topics, and their interest heightened when the Black Lives Matter movement made it to Bellmore-Merrick last year, which included anti-racism protests attended by thousands of people.

“It’s polarizing politically,” Rigaud said, “but we want to unite people and unite them on the issue. We wanted to bring this to the school level to spread the word . . . It’s easier for youth to get in touch with youth and evoke ideas on these hard topics.”

“The conversation I watched happen, the dialogue increased over the hour,” Owenburg said. “That’s what I hope happens to our building.”

Teachers in attendance also learned lessons they could bring into their own classrooms. Advanced Science Research teacher Barbi Frank shared some of the lessons with each of her classes after, she said.

“It was one of the most special events I’ve been to at Kennedy,” Frank said.

Next month, DEI’s Diverse Dialogues series will continue with a discussion on gender equality. The club has forums scheduled through June, Rigaud said, and members hope to have guest speakers involved.