Sophomore Jazmin Gonzalez won Honorable Mention for the annual BCPS Black History Month essay contest. Her essay is featured below to close out Black History Month:

As we steadily stand in Black History Month we are here to celebrate all of those black historical figures that helped shape the world which we are now in. We live our normal lives, or as normal as they could be during these times of the pandemic. But what might seem normal to us was a fight that took many lives.

For instance, Ruby Bridges was the first African American child that attended an all white school. She attended Frantz Elementary in the 1960. During this time an African American attending an all white school was rare; she was the one to desegregate this. Her getting to school was an overall fight itself.

She didn’t have it easy like most of us; it wasn’t a bus or car ride with music playing in the back. She along with her mother had to be escorted to school along with four federal marshalls. Their walk was full of hate as racial slurs were thrown at them left to right. They faced unimaginable oppression and yet still fought for what they believed. They fought for a fair education that should be given to all.

“You are where you are today because you stand on somebody’s shoulders. And wherever you are heading, you cannot get there by yourself.” Yes indeed. We didn’t get here with desegegrated education on our own. Just like Ruby pathed the path for us we have the chance to path the path for someone else.

Although I am not black, I see how Ruby pathed the path for us, the Mexican community, as well. The equality in this world is cut short and the inequality is too long. Diversity is what she brought to schools. Thanks to her African Americans, as well as other minorities, are able to get their education. She opened the door to things that seemed almost impossible at one time. The ones who once didn’t have opportunities now are lawyers, doctors, nurses, etc.

Unity is what makes us better as a whole. We remember those who helped us get where we are. This generation is where it’s at because of what was needed to get here.

Who will we help and where will we take them? Who can stand on our shoulders to get ahead?