The very first Black Excellence Week (BEW) at the International School of Beijing was held in February 2024. It began in response to community data and observations highlighting a need for greater representation and belonging. Since then, it has grown into something much bigger than we initially imagined: a space for connection, learning, celebration and community. At the heart of the week is a simple belief: our students deserve more than single stories. Because representation is not simply about what hangs on a wall or appears in a curriculum. It is about what those choices communicate about whose knowledge matters, whose stories belong and who gets to be seen in the fullness of their humanity.