Ep 13: On Being #BlackatBLS

In the winter of 2016, two Boston Latin School students posted a video on YouTube, entitled #BlackAtBLS, aimed at provoking a positive conversation about the growing racial tensions at BLS, and lack of administrative response to many students calls for a more supportive environment for all students. 

The YouTube video caught fire, leading to local and national media coverage, and an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and Boston Public Schools.  These investigations instigated changes to the school aimed at improving school climate and ending incidents of racism. The conversations and press provoked by #blackatbls shined a light on the environment of one of the nation’s top public high schools, and reinvigorated discussions about the importance of inclusive and diverse school communities.

Our exam schools, and most often Boston Latin, have come under scrutiny for their lack of diversity over the years, and the events that transpired around #blackatbls have brought even more attention to the lack of diversity at Boston Latin, and the importance of having a supportive and positive school climate.

Today we talk to Meggie Noel, who, as a senior at Boston Latin, spearheaded the Black at BLS movement, which eventually grew into the Black at BPS movement, illuminating the need for greater awareness and support of diversity and equity for students of color across the city of Boston.

This Bostonian of the Year winner in 2016 talks to us about growing up in Boston, her education journey to BLS, and her experience as a student of color in two low diversity schools.  She tells us why she felt the need to speak out, and the backstory on YouTube video. Meggie’s story and ideas help give insight into what it is like to be a student of color at an exam school, as well as the importance of diversity and why maintaining a supportive and positive school climate is critical.