The newly founded Black Student Union (BSU) took a field trip to Topeka, Kansas, to learn about an important topic in African American and Kansas history.

They traveled to the Brown v. Board of Education Museum (BBEM), where they learned about what happened in the 1940s and 1950s and the challenges black people in America faced.

Junior MJ Wash recounts the process leading up to the field trip.

“I was the founder of BSU so the organization is very important to me. I started it, then I talked to Officer [Darion] Hillman. When he was on board [and] we made it happen,” Wash said.

While at the BBEM, senior Alex Grace took in a lot of knowledge.

“[Tour guides] talked about the history [of Brown v. Board of Education] and how black people went on marches throughout different cities in the United States to try and get equality in schools, Grace said “They ultimately ended up in Kansas where they got equal schooling. The black kids ended up testing higher than white kids, because their teachers had better connections with the [black] kids, showing it was the circumstances they were put in, not because of their race.”

Wash thinks it is important that the landmark case in Brown v. Board of Education is highlighted in schools.

“[Brown v. Board of Education] is an important topic and students should learn and understand the struggles that came with it,” Wash said.