The CSUN Black House and University Student Union ushered in Black History Month with the Welcome Black event, a resource fair for the Black community on campus.
The Welcome Black event was held in the Northridge Center at the USU from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The event brought in several university and community organizations, such as Project Rebound, CSUN Women’s Research and Resource Center, the university’s Office of Equity and Compliance and the San Fernando Valley Branch of the NAACP.
The event aimed to ensure students were aware of the resources on campus, according to Black House Black Male Scholars Leader, Miles Hughes.
“We have a history of not being seen, not having equality, so this gives a chance to get together and also gives a chance for students to learn about the Black resources that we have on campus,” Hughes said.
Black House is one of several Black resource groups on campus and offers services such as tutoring, CalFresh assistance for those with food insecurity, guest speakers and a space for students to hang out, according to Hughes.
This year’s Black History Month also marks the centennial anniversary of it being observed, started by Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in 1926. It was originally known as “Negro History Week” to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas, according to the association’s website.
The centennial also aligns with CSUN being one of three universities to recently receive the California Black Serving Institution (BSI) designation in December, with the two others being CSU Dominguez Hills and CSU Sacramento.
“This is history that we’re making right now, we’re one of the three CSUs that are considered a BSI,” Hughes said.
CSUN President Erika D. Beck attended the event and also highlighted the university’s BSI designation to the students.
The event featured a drumming performance by Curtis Byrd and invited people in attendance to perform as well, giving them various instruments. Toward the end of the event, music filled the room, and students were invited to dance near the stage.
The San Fernando Valley Branch of the NAACP was present at the event to aid in recruiting members in an effort to revive the CSUN chapter of the association. Treasurer for the San Fernando Valley NAACP Kathy Dixon felt that events such as these are important beyond their social aspects, assisting students in getting involved with organizations that have a cause.
Dixon highlighted that organizations such as the NAACP or others at the event are important because of their ability to empathize with the students, regardless of their ethnicity.
“There are a lot of us that are teachers, there are a lot of us that have gone to college, there are some of us who haven’t gone to college,” Dixon said. “We can empathize with the position they’re in, and we want to talk to them about what is going on in the world.”
Marketing major Isaiah Fortenberry said that for him, it is nice to be around a community who looks like him.
“It’s good to have that community,” Fortenberry said. “Coming from somewhere I didn’t have that at first, it’s good to have it now.”
Fortenberry believed the event helped inform people about the resources that are available to them and made them more visible.
Cinema and television arts major Darrell Horn said he attended the event for the culture and for similar reasons as Fortenberry.
“It’s good to be around your people. It’s good to be around people that not only look like you but think like you,” Horn said. “It’s always my favorite part about being here, is just being around my people.”
For additional Black History Month events happening at CSUN visit the University Library website or the news and events page.
