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Inviting Perspectives: Bush Upper School Celebrates Black History, Wellness, and Joy
The Bush School aims to create an inclusive learning environment that invites perspectives from all backgrounds and cultures. By uplifting multiple voices, we highlight students’ personal and collective successes and build mutual understanding through meaningful conversations that can lead to even deeper connections. This February, Bush celebrates the Black activists, artists, inventors, and philanthropists who have blazed trails in the Seattle community and throughout history.
Bush Upper School students Dylan K. ’25, Dagi H. ’26, along with Coordinator of Community, Equity, and Inclusion Delia Tran, and Upper School Dean of Students Sara Fischer, are the dreamers and creators of Bush’s Black History Wellness and Joy, the Upper School’s Black History Month Celebration hosting various Black-owned organizations and student speakers from Bush’s Black Student Union (BSU). This program, held on Friday, February 14, aspired to inform students about the positive social and cultural impacts of Black history and culture while encouraging them to nurture an open mind towards thought-provoking topics of systematic inequalities and racism.
“We had a great balance of different speakers this year,” shared Sara. “We invited a candle-maker from Noir Lux Candles, Art Therapist Dalisha Phillips, and Hip-Hop is Green, an organization that used recycled goods to make Valentine’s Day art. Not only did we bring in Seattle community members, but we also had students who hosted their own workshops.”
Before the event, students reviewed a list of panels to rank which topics they were most interested in viewing during a fifty-minute window. Over ten interactive workshops were dispersed around the Upper School campus, filled with engaging and informative activities such as making candles and sweet potato pancakes, reciting poetry, celebrating Black cinema, elevating mental health awareness, and more. This year’s Black History Wellness and Joy involved several Upper School students who heavily contributed to the program's success.
“Black History Wellness and Joy allowed BSU students to share what they are passionate about with their classmates,” Dylan said. “Giving Black students a voice and allowing them to control the narrative of how they celebrate important parts of their culture is essential.”
Upper School students experienced a wonderful mix of educational and hands-on activities, leaving with enlightening takeaways and handmade items to commemorate the day.
“Anytime you get to learn from someone else’s experiences, it’s a win-win,” Sara said. “I loved the student workshops they hosted because it’s important for them to share their lives with the community. Students chose to attend and chose to learn from their classmates. We need to model behaviors like these and bring more kindness and engagement in the world, because it’s all of the things I love that we do here at The Bush School.”
“Anytime you get to learn from someone else’s experiences, it’s a win-win,” Sara said. “I loved the student workshops they hosted because it’s important for them to share their lives with the community. Students chose to attend and chose to learn from their classmates. We need to model behaviors like these and bring more kindness and engagement in the world, because it’s all of the things I love that we do here at The Bush School.”
The Bush School is an independent, coeducational day school located in Seattle, WA enrolling 735 students in grades K–12. The mission of The Bush School is to spark in students of diverse backgrounds and talents a passion for learning, accomplishment, and contribution to their communities
3400 East Harrison Street, Seattle WA 98112 (206) 322-7978
The Bush School does not discriminate in matters of employment, recruitment, admissions, or administration of any of its programs on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. In addition, The Bush School does not discriminate in matters of employment on the basis of age or marital status