Moncton high school student organizes summit for Black youth
Black students from four Moncton area high schools engage with guest speakers, community leaders
Opportunities to ask questions, make connections and share experiences are all important aspects of the high school experience.
Chinazam Igwe from Moncton's Harrison Trimble High School said she wanted to have that interaction and connectivity — not just for her — but for all Black high school students across the Moncton area.
The Grade 11 student decided to create a space for Black youth from four different high schools to be able to share their experiences and interact with some keynote speakers, including the city's mayor and New Brunswick's education minister.
"I think there's a really big ecosystem of entrepreneurs and professionals here, but a lot of the time they're not really interconnected in our school system and there isn't always a lot of pathways for that," she said.
On Friday afternoon, Black students from Moncton High School, Riverview High School, Bernice MacNaughton High School and Harrison Trimble High School attended the summit that Igwe helped organize.
The Elevate: Empowering Black Youth Summit was a partnership between Igwe and the Anglophone East School District.
Rokeebah Adeleye is a Grade 12 student at Moncton High School who attended the event.
"This event was important for me because I got to connect with a lot more students that look like me."
Adeleye said when she came to Moncton, she was the only Black student in her classroom and an event like this made her feel more comfortable and inspired.
She said she made four new friends, including three from Harrison Trimble within an hour and a half.
She also witnessed a rap battle between the high schoolers, which made her feel close to Black culture, she said.
Adeleye also had the chance to get some advice about her post-secondary studies with a Black doctor who was part of a panel at the event and who also competed in a rap battle with students.
"I think it's such a good opportunity to go back and forth with them having conversation because they have so many great insights and their experiences are so deep, and there's a lot for us young students to learn from."
She said often speakers at events have a great message, but there isn't enough opportunity to talk to them and clarify any doubts.
However, this event helped her to not just interact with the speakers but also make friends with students from other high schools who come from the same background and culture, she said.
Oluwashemiire Aderibigbe of Riverview High School also attended the summit and participated in the rap battle.
Although he lost the competition to the doctor, he found out they both share a love of making music.
"That kind of inspired me," he said.
"The rap battle was good. I was kind of nervous, you know, stumbled on my words a bit, but it was fun."
Aderibigbe said he was glad that he could connect with the doctor, as he can now get some guidance about resources to make music.
"This is my first-ever event here and, you know, kind of enjoyed it ... I feel like I could definitely ask questions if I really needed," he said.
Standing beside her group of new friends, Esther Ademola said she did not have an opportunity to ask a very important question while the speakers were on stage.
"But the good thing about it was that after the events, the speaker was like, if we have any question, we can go in and meet them ... so I could easily talk to her from there."
"I think that's actually very good."
The students had the opportunity to speak with Moncton's Mayor Dawn Arnold, who encouraged them to attend city council meetings and present solutions to any issues they see around the city.
Moncton High School student Omosigho Nosegbe spoke with Claire Johnson, New Brunswick's minister of education and early childhood development, about creating a platform where students could directly share their thoughts and suggestions with the minister about various topics.
"I think it removes that feeling of being isolated and being alone. I think building a community and understanding is great," said Nathaniel Fells, who works with the Anglophone East School District.
He said it is great to see a high school student organize an event like this. And he hopes it expands to students with other backgrounds as well.
Igwe said the need for an event like this felt very important to her, not just for the Black community but for students belonging to other minorities as well.
"It's important because a lot of times we don't have a voice at that upper table always. And you know, I think it all starts in here. It all starts with the students in this room."
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
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