Oak Park High School Grassroots Club is an outreach group led by students within the district’s Diversity and Equity Task Force. Grassroots Club meets every other Thursday to discuss education, allyship and activism to spread awareness across the school. The purpose of this club is to create a comfortable school environment for every student at OPHS.

“I hope the club will have an impact on the student body as a whole – to make OPHS a more welcoming and inclusive place where students of all backgrounds feel they belong. Also, I hope students will feel empowered because there is a club in place for students to learn about and take action on issues that matter to them,” said English teacher Jennifer Hankins, adviser of the Grassroots Club.

The club has already been able to reach out and touch base with many of the areas they talk about. For instance, one of the students from the club was able to educate others by writing an article about Indigenous people during Native American Heritage Month. As for allyship, students came together and had the idea to give the staff at OPHS a small chocolate token to show their appreciation. For activism, Aliza Lam, a senior in the club, has created a Holocaust education program this year and has invited teachers, students and the Oak Park community to come and visit this program.

“This year Mrs. Hankins and I are working on bringing Labkoviski’s art to OPHS for a weeklong exhibit,” Lam said.

Holocaust remembrance day is officially celebrated on Friday, Jan. 27, and to commemorate Holocaust survivors, the Ronald Reagan Library is holding an exhibit named “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away” in March 2023.