Rockville joined the rest of the country in celebrating Black History Month in February, led by the Black Student Union which organized many events throughout the month. Students experienced what it means to celebrate this special occasion by learning about many historical dates and historical figures who have shaped American history.

Black History Month started in 1915 and is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time when the country unites in recognizing the central role of blacks in U.S. history.

The Black Student Union arranged three different events in order to celebrate Black History Month, one of which was Board of Education (BOE) member Jeanette Dixon speaking Feb. 28 in the career center about pressing issues to the BSU.

“You can do anything you set your mind to,” Dixon said. “You never know what opportunities will be out there at whatever age that you can make a difference and I think that’s really important.”

Black Student Union president Angelique Wong organized video segments on the Rockville Morning announcements in which various black students discussed historical black figures every day in the month of February.

“The segments on the morning announcements began last year when the Black Student Union was formed,” Wong said. “We started doing the segments because it was a new experience for many of the BSU students and a way to educate the school about Black History.”

Wong added that the Black Student Union promotes diversity and a large part of spreading awareness is understanding the culture of others. Students said they appreciated the various efforts by the BSU to promote awareness.

“I think expressing our culture is very important,”sophomore Julian Lee said. “Everyone is unique and different. It helps society as a whole to have a better understanding of everyone.”