Cal State Long Beach will celebrate Black History Month by advocating equality in education and music.
The campus will hold its 11th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration Thursday. Additionally, there will be a performance titled “Out of the Margins” at the Daniel Recital Hall on Monday.
In Honor of King
The celebration on Thursday will take place at the Speaker’s Platform by the bookstore from noon to 1 p.m. CSULB faculty, staff and students will take part in this year’s theme “King on Education.” The theme will tie in King’s dream with the struggle for equal educational opportunity and the educational challenges students face today, such as increased costs and decreased access to education, said Valerie Bordeaux, director of university outreach and school relations.
“Our goal is to encourage our audience to have the audacity, like King, to hope for, expect and continue the struggles for a better tomorrow,” Bordeaux said.
Faculty speakers will include Africana studies professor Erylene Piper-Mandy and James Sauceda, director of the Multicultural Center, according to Bordeaux.
Students will also give speeches at the platform. Associated Students Inc. President Chris Chavez, who is participating in the event for the first time, said he will “emphasize the need for diversity, that we should not just tolerate it, but also embrace it.”
In addition, Avis Atkins, vice president of the Black Scholars Student Association, plans to highlight parts of the famous speech King gave at Morehouse College.
Also new to this year’s event is CSULB’s Gospel Choir, Dominic McDonald from the Long Beach Slam Team and a CSULB student known as the “LB Slam Poet,” Bordeaux said.
To conclude the celebration, American Indian studies professor Craig Stone will lead a community drum performance, according to Bordeaux.
Also a first for the event is an educational resources fair, Bordeaux said. It will be at the platform during the celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Departments such as Multicultural Center and Learning Assistance Center will provide services at the fair.
Bordeaux said this year’s celebration will also be different from previous years because the budget cuts have allowed CSULB to invite only one local school, Hill Middle School.
A campus volunteer planning committee of students and staff members used donations to coordinate the event, Bordeaux said.
With the newly added features, Bordeaux expects this year’s turnout to be at least 200 people.
Music for Equality
“Out of the Margins” at the Daniel Recital Hall on Monday will feature Darryl Taylor, countertenor and founder of the African American Art Song Alliance, and Mario Granville, a CSULB music performance major.
Long Beach Central Area Association and Long Beach State’s BSSA will sponsor the event.
According to Brett Waterfield, faculty adviser for BSSA, Taylor will sing various selections by under-appreciated black composers. Additionally, Granville will perform modern versions of classical works on the piano.
“I am always looking for new and unique programs to bring to the CSULB students,” Waterfield said.
Taylor said he hopes to send a message about equality through his music.
“I wish to let the audience know that the world of classical music extends beyond what many have assumed to be its natural borders¬¬¬ — that is, Caucasian male composers of the 19th century,” Taylor said.
Admission to the performance is free. For more information, call 562-436-4352.