Black Leadership Awareness and Culture Club (BLACC) participated in their annual retreat at the school Aug. 24. Members of BLACC visited The Broad Museum to see the “Mickalene Thomas: All About Love” exhibit and were later given the opportunity to donate books to The Book Truck, an organization that donates books to disadvantaged teens in LA.

BLACC Co-Leader Dashiell Sparks’26 said the retreat aimed to strengthen the community within the club.

“Going into the retreat, we were hoping to foster a sense of community among black students, allowing everyone to feel seen and heard.” Sparks said. “One of our main goals was to strengthen the bonds of members between both the upper and lower campuses as that can be difficult during the school year.”

Director of the Learning Center and co-advisor of BLACC at the Middle School Jennifer Gabrail said the club hopes to create a focus on mentorship and wellness on both campuses.

“This year, BLACC members will do activities to get to know one another, thinking about how to support each other during the school year while taking care of themselves,” Gabrail said. “We are piloting a new mentorship program where students across campuses will be matched with one another. We also want students to have the opportunity to envision what wellness looks like for them this year, and we will be doing activities to build upon that theme.”

As the school year begins Sparks said BLACC hopes to bring in more members and continue celebrating Black student life and culture.

“Going into the school year, we hope to increase student engagement and put on fun events for the school, continuing to hold a space for us to celebrate our black culture.” Sparks said.