Celebrating Black History Change Begins with Education

When beginning to plan events to celebrate Black History Month in the Middle School, Holly Cercone, Assistant Director of the Chispa Program and Middle School DEI Coordinator, instantly thought of Zeneta Everhart. Cercone knew right away that she was the person needed to deliver a positive message of hope and inspiration to not only the Nichols community but the community of Buffalo as a whole.

Everhart serves as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for New York State Senator Tim Kennedy, working to ensure equity through legislation, community building, and the equitable distribution of resources. Everhart is also the mother of Zaire Goodman, a survivor of the Buffalo Tops Market mass shooting on May 14, 2022. A Tops employee, Goodman was helping a customer with her groceries when a gunman opened fire, allegedly choosing the Jefferson Avenue location because he wanted to kill as many Black people as possible.

The entire Nichols community kicked off Black History Month with “A Day with Zeneta Everhart.” Everhart shared her story, passionately conveying the importance of learning about the world and respecting all the different kinds of people in it. “The hardest part is that someone who didn’t look like Zaire wanted him to die because of the color of his skin,” stated Everhart. “Skin color is important—what we look like is important to us. We’re all different—and that’s a good thing. It doesn’t make anyone better, and it doesn’t make anyone less.”

After the shooting, Everhart and her son created a book drive called “Zeneta and Zaire’s Book Club” to start conversations about race and diversity. They’ve collected more than 20,000 books through their Amazon wish list and have partnered with Villa Maria College for distribution to broaden the impact of their efforts. By addressing the Middle School in the Pond and visiting individual classrooms in the Upper School, Everhart began conversations about racism that raised awareness of prejudice and hatred happening close to home—just ten minutes away from Nichols on Jefferson Avenue. “Zeneta and Zaire’s Book Club” sets an example for how to turn tragedy into community building. However, Everhart was careful to state that her efforts were not intended to detract from the horror and injustice of the attack but to do something rooted in love in response to it.

When asked what she hoped our students learned that day, Cercone shared that she hoped that our students ‘biggest takeaway was having someone from the community, who was personally affected by the horrific event of May 14, come in and share the importance of serving others through love, understanding, and education’. She is an inspiration to all and motivates us to be better humans!

Nichols seeks to provide students with an education that goes beyond ideas and translates into real-world impact. “You learn different things from different kinds of people,” stated Everhart. Change begins with learning— and continues throughout the lives and legacies of Nichols students, a diverse community committed to caring, respect, action, and—above all—respect. “At the end of the day, we’re all human beings,” Everhart said. n