“Black people need people who believe in black people enough not to believe every bad thing they hear about black people,” says Marilyn Ruffin, Sun Prairie School Board Member, and the organizer of the first-ever Sun Prairie B.E.A.M (Black Excellence Achievement Makers) Awards, held to honor and recognize African-American students who are making achievements in our schools and community.
Over 150 African-American students were recognized at the Sun Prarie Performing Arts Center April 28 in an inaugural ceremony and event that was modeled after the Madison Metropolitan Links’ African American Student Recognition Program, which has been honoring outstanding students and parent volunteers in the greater Madison school district attendance area for decades.
(Susan Elizabeth Photography )
“I’ve always wanted to do something of this nature, but in my own way,” Ruffin tells Madison365. “The Links have been doing the [African American] Student Recognition for more than 30 years, so we felt like it was high time we do something in Sun Prairie given that our [black] population is growing.”
There are so many African-American students doing so many positive things out in Sun Prairie that never really get recognized for their hard work and their brilliance, Ruffin says. However, Ruffin and others in Sun Praire have witnessed and read way too many stories that describe African-American students negatively.
“Particularly, code words and stereotypes like ‘those kids,’ ‘unruly,’ ‘lack of discipline,’ ‘behavior issues,’ ‘low-income,’ ‘single-parent,’ ‘not raised properly,’ …. All of these social media comments and news reports piled up,” Ruffin says. “I thought that it was high time that we as a community to dispel some of this. There are so many students who are doing positive things that seem to be swept under the rug and not being recognized because of all of the negative stories and adjectives.”
B.E.A.M. was an effort to challenge that narrative by “shining a beaming light” on the positive examples of black excellence and achievement in Sun Prarie.
“Shining a light on our students and radiating. That’s where the beam comes in,” Ruffin says. “Making sure that our students know that we see that they are achieving.”
(Susan Elizabeth Photography )
“My sons, who graduated in 2016 and 2018, were known in the community for playing basketball, which is huge, of course,” Ruffin says. “What I did not see was an opportunity for my sons to get recognized for other achievements besides basketball.
“Why should Sun Prairie students have to go to Madison to get recognized at the Madison Links or the Urban League MLK Breakfast when we can do it right here at home in Sun Prarie?” she asked.
Ruffin had a star-studded list of Sun Prairie city officials at the event to root on the students including the mayor, the police chief, the fire chief, city alders, school board members, and more.
“They were all there to shake the hands of our 150-plus students who were nominated by their teachers,” she says.
Students won awards after teachers nominated them based on the following categories:
◉ Modeling Black Excellence in Academics
◉ Modeling Black Excellence in Teamwork ◉ Modeling Black Excellence in Growth
◉ Modeling Black Excellence in Responsibility
◉ Modeling Black Excellence in Peer Leadership
“What was beautiful about that is that they were nominated by their teachers, their principals, and whoever decided to nominate them,” Ruffin says. “Kindergarten to 12th grade. In addition, we recognized outstanding adult volunteers in the Sun Prairie community.”
The first African-American person ever to graduate from Sun Prairie High School in 1965, Cynthia Wilson-Tolson, was a special guest at the event. There was a video presentation by Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes congratulating the students. In between the categories, students performed spoken word, performed dances.
“What was really cool was that we utilized the entertainment of our middle school and high school students in between the categories,” Ruffin says.
The event was streamed live and had its own hashtag. Afterward there was cake and ice cream and cookies and people stayed to mingle with Sun Prairie city officials.
“For our first year, it went pretty awesome,” Ruffin says. “All of the dignitaries and all of the elected officials at the event could not believe the great turnout of black families and interracial families that were there in support. Everyone was just smiling and talking about how this is exactly what the community needed.”
A group of six volunteers put this whole event together.
“Our team did a wonderful job putting this together and we already have ideas and eyes on next year,” Ruffin says. “We’re starting a tradition here in Sun Prairie. It’s exciting.”
