One Day by Jackson

One Day by Jackson - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

As a high school freshman, my biggest thought was who would I sit with during 4th period lunch, not whether I felt welcome at school. I was excited to be there, I formed friendships and blended in as we walked to class. My entire grade, all dressed in our navy blazers and khaki pants, cheered for the school team from the rows of the gym reserved for freshmen.

And then it all changed. Flashed across all local news stations- “Loyola Blakefield cancels school after racial threat found on bathroom stall.” How could this be? The community service retreats, the football game pep rallies, the homeroom discussions about being brothers, were those all lies? From day one, we are taught we are Loyola Dons, men for others, but now a million questions raced through my mind . We recite the St. Ignatian prayer, committing to diversity of thought and tolerance of others, but now I questioned that commitment. I questioned if this was the school for me.

My phone began to buzz and everything spiraled downwards. There was tension, animosity, hatred, and fear of what comes next. Classes were canceled as if this would make the event go away or even eliminate the racist event. This one act contradicted everything we had been taught at school and many of my friends wanted to transfer schools. I felt rejected. The racist remarks and threats were etched into the bathroom stall, but also etched into my memory forever.

Did I want to stay at this school, where my brothers, fellow people of color, and I have been threatened to be killed? Why would I want to be associated with this school if things like this happen? I’d only been at the school for a couple months and this was my reality.

If I left, I would be feeding into what the coward who wrote on the bathroom walls would want and only helping his goal. This challenge affected me negatively at first, but then I realized it also positively affected me. If I left the school, that wouldn’t have proven or solved anything. The biggest challenge was to stay and try to make a difference. The President of our school admitted our sense of security was breached. Administrators and faculty members committed to regaining our trust. After many talks, assemblies, and community meetings, the whole school began to heal. We will not give the words and actions of one, or a few, the power to define who we are as a school community

It was from then on that I realized that everyone isn’t going to like me. Everyone isn’t going to look at me the same way they look at others. I learned I must stay true to myself. This experience was a defining moment in my life.

I decided to get more involved and to be a role model for future students. I was selected to research and interview Black alumni of Loyola Blakefield. We organized and archived a digital narrative of trailblazers who first integrated Loyola. We created a living history exhibit which is now permanently displayed on campus. I was part of the solution.

What that individual etched on a bathroom stall is now erased with our collective efforts to display a wall of honor celebrating black Loyola Blakefield alumni. I plan to be on that wall one day.