On Feb. 23, California State University, Stanislaus, (Stan State), held a Black History Month event called “Black History in the Making” that featured keynote speaker Tia Oso, a community activist and social justice leader from Arizona, and spoken word poet, Kinara Sankofa.
The event opened with the Black American National Anthem, called “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” performed by vocalist Karen Ridley and pianist Charles Ware, Jr. Then Souls of the Rising Sun, a professional African dance group, performed next. The dance group was directed by Khemya MitRahina.
Kinara Sankofa performed several spoken word pieces that touched on topics such as white supremacism, mental disorder and fatherless families- all gravitating toward a black cultural center.
Tia Oso delivered a lecture titled “Chaos or Community, the Persistent Question in Achieving Racial Progress and Human Rights,” in which she discussed Martin Luther King, Jr.’s fourth and final book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, and related it back to the current condition of black people and other minorities in America.
The event was put on by Dr. Kilolo Brodie, Chair of the Department of Social Work, and Dr. James Tuedio, Dean of the College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
“It’s important to hear these voices speak from the heart of a history that we only hear in bits and pieces, and this is a way to start filling in some gaps for a lot of people who have experienced things that need to be remembered,” Dr. Tuedio said.
During the event, President Ellen Junn made an appearance and delivered a brief speech about the new Commission on Diversity and Inclusion, which was previously the Committee on Affirmative Action and Diversity.
Dr. Kilolo Brodie is the chair of this new commission. Brodie explained that the previous committee primarily sponsored events, whereas the commission will look at how Stan State is teaching culture throughout the campus.
“I’m enlarging the scope and the visibility and the charge to the committee,” President Junn said.
“We want to have a very comprehensive approach to ensuring that all aspects of university life is reflective of the strength and the diversity that we have in our student body and in our region.”
President Junn is currently working on ways to outreach to minorities in the community in order to promote diversity at Stan State.
The California State University (CSU) chancellor’s office has created an outreach event in February called “Super Sundays” in which every CSU president goes out to at least two African American churches to recruit more African American students to their universities.
President Junn went to two African American churches in Stockton this February to outreach for Stan State.
“Altogether, 23 presidents, I believe I was told, reached over 100 churches throughout the state of California and are getting the message out to have more students come and become Warriors,” President Junn said.
President Junn believes that cultural events should not be limited to Black History Month, but rather occur year-round.
“If you’re a student, why don’t you start an organization that reflects your cultural or identity group? We can work together to have more funding so that you can access funding to do workshops, seminars, social activities as well,” President Junn said.
“Together, I know we can build an even stronger, more inclusive campus community and experience for all of us.”
The “Black History in the Making” event was livestreamed and can be viewed again here.