East Lansing Insider: ELHS Black Student Union Leaders Share Their Experiences
On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, ELi’s Managing Editor Emily Joan Elliott talks with Anaiis Rios-Kasoga, Laila Lloyd, and Liyu Mesay, three young Black women who recently graduated from East Lansing High School. The trio discuss their work with the Black Student Union at ELHS, how the 2016 presidential election shaped their high school years, and what ELHS could do – and in some cases, has already done – to build a more inclusive environment.
Rios-Kasoga, who spoke on the podcast, previously served as a youth reporter and member of ELi’s Board of Directors. You can check out some of her most recent reporting for ELi here.
Issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion have been a focal point for the East Lansing Public Schools district during the last year. Following the murder of George Floyd, the district pledged to take more intentional steps to address racial inequities. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, ELi reported on how the overwhelmingly white faculty does not represent the diverse student body.
In the Spring of 2021, a parent spoke during public comment about an assignment given to students at MacDonald Middle School that asked students to imagine themselves as slaves. ELi then reported that students had previously been asked to write about the positives of slavery several years before. In response, district administration assessed where it stood regarding its steps for more inclusive schools. Most recently, the district hired Klaudia Burton to serve as a the first Director of Equity and Social Justice for the district and is moving to rename Pinecrest Elementary after civil rights icon Robert L. Green, whose children were among the first African-American students to attend the school.
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Future episodes will be available online and will air at 9 a.m. on Sundays on WDBM at 88.9 FM.