During the month of February, a light is shined on the essence of black history, and at Mesa College different events take place to do so. The kickoff to these events took place just after the month began, wasting no time to highlight a part of America’s culture.
On Feb. 2, an event was held at the Rosa Parks Transit Bus Stop, located on Mesa College Drive and Mesa College Circle. This event was held to commemorate the life of Parks and to celebrate her birthday, as a notable contributor and activist during the Civil RIghts Movement.
“We established this wonderful relationship with Rosa Parks when our chancellor, Constance Carroll, was president of Mesa,” said current President of Mesa College Pam Luster. She continued to say, “to have someone who is so iconic in the Civil Rights Movement spend her time here with us is really important to the legacy of our institution. So every year on her birthday we come back to this beautiful spot, that we dedicated to her, to remember how important civil rights, social justice, and equitable rights to education is for everybody.”
During the event, speakers who attended included students within the Black Studies department, who worked with the Student Equity Project In Action (SEPIA).
“I’m not just the black kid in school,” said Jeffrey D. McKennie, a student speaker pointing out the significance of racial representation within Mesa’s campus.
Other students who felt the same way towards the sense of inclusion on campus included Izay Harris. “The people give me my strength,” Harris stated in regards to the “beautiful black people on a positive message.” As it can be seen, representation does matter to those who classify in more of a minority community.
Students being able to exchange ways in which their inclusion at Mesa College, as black students, was a vital part in the overall diversity factor of the campus.
“In order for us to come together, and come and be unified, and come in solidarity, we need to diminish and destroy the system of colorism that is in ethnic communities today, that you would not guess there is,” said Clifford Smith, a student at Mesa College. This sense of inclusion is important for students of color, due to recent standings of how people of color are represented in news media.
After the speakers and closing statements, the ceremony ended with a tribute to African culture through the chanting of Harambees. This consists of chanting the word “Harambee,” and pulling your hand down at the same time. This is a common custom of African-American culture in the celebration of Kwanzaa.
As the month continues, more events involving Mesa College are scheduled to take place, and the continuing installment of black history, and its culture, will continue on as well.
For more information on where and when Black History Month events will be held, visit sdmesa.edu/calendar or contact Dr. Judy Sundayo at jsundayo@sdccd.edu.