On January 17th, during advisory, MESU (Multi-Ethnic Student Union) held a student panel featuring creators of BlackVoicesHeard, Aniyah Franklin and Hallie Crockett with the goal of promoting a diverse environment and recognizing students of color and their efforts. BlackVoicesHeard is an ICCSD student-organized Instagram account with the objective of being an outlet for people of color, but specifically Black voices. At the panel, Franklin and Crockett talked about their experiences as Black students in the academic environment and the process by which BlackVoicesHeard was created.

“BlackVoicesHeard can be used in such a great way, so I am glad that our community and other communities can also join us in that and show awareness and unity towards everybody,” said Crockett.

The panel had the theme of using one’s voice, and the two speakers spoke about how they use their voices and the future of their accounts. Both Franklin and Crockett plan to continue to bring more awareness to BlackVoicesHeard in the future. 

“BlackVoicesHeard is important to me because it gives people a place to feel safe and a platform to speak out for themselves, other people, and what’s right,” said Franklin, a senior at Liberty.