A RAD events was held in the commons area on Feb. 24 to celebrate Black culture. It featured the jazz band, Irie tea, sweets, poems, a Barnes and Noble book fair, and more. RAD celebrities many cultures throught the school year and it is worth coming to them.
Annalisa Renghini is a sophomore who has been apart of RAD since the beginning of the school year and finds ways to promote the events on social media. Joining RAD has been a great experience for her.
“I learned more about other peoples cultures and widen my mindset a lot,” Renghini said. “You get to learn more about your peers around you and history in general.”
This specific RAD event was organized partly by Barbara Alvarez and held in Febraury because it is also Black History Month. RAD events bring great importance to her.
“When I was growing up, there was a lack of representation of people who look like me, especially in school- I felt very unrepresentented and the representation that I do remember was kind of bad,” Alvarez said.
Celebrating Black Culuture allows people to expand their knowledge on different backgrounds and has also become just as important to students to see that voices are heard.
“Black voices are very important, especially in Huntley as, seeing in the past, that a lot of black voices have been dimmed down or not taken seriously enough,” senior Samiyah Sheperd said. “I love how diverse it is and a lot of people can come together to celebrate different minorites that have been previously oppressed.”
According to Alvarez, for anyone who is interested in being apart of RAD, they can sign up on Schoology by searching RAD student committee into the search bar and see when meetings take place, which are always held in C2012.
The next RAD event will be held on Saturday, March 11 at Marlowe Middle School to celebrate Women’s Empowerment. According to Alvarez, it is a bigger event with many different vendors and woman-owned businesses.
“It’s important for my students of color and students of LGBTQ+ to feel comfortable in their schools and it’s super important to have these events to see themselves being represented,” Alvarez said.