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On campus today, USC students are celebrating the beginning of Black History Month through a celebration at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. The celebration began with speakers from black organizations on campus, and announcements from the speakers on what events are happening this month.
Kymia Freeman, the cultural ambassador for the CBCSA, states that the months activities are centered around the university’s Black and other students, staff, and faculty, and their shared history.
Kymia Freeman: I think one of the major things, like you said, that it’s really important that celebrations of black students aren’t just confined to these events. I think it’s really important that there are opportunities throughout the academic year for black students, black faculty to share their voices, to voice their concerns.
Freeman continues to state the importance of such institutions and cultural awareness months at USC, and draws attention to the importance of Black institutions and safe spaces on campus. Bringing up the Martin Luther King Jr. exhibit that was featured at the USC Fischer Museum earlier last month, as well as a number of the university’s black oriented groups.
Kymia Freeman: So I think the MLK exhibition, for example, is honestly a really great start in having student LED stories be showcased at institutions like the Fisher here on campus.
Kymia Freeman: I’m really glad that spaces like the CBCSA exist here on campus because they’re kind of reliable spaces here for black students in my community, but also to air grievances, to be able to speak about the really hard realities of being a black student at a predominantly white institution.
Other students, like Ezi Obula, want to remind others that Black History Month focuses more on the larger diaspora of Black peoples, including those who come from immigrant communities.
Ezi Obula: It’s all encompassing, it’s like a celebration of history, culture, just impact that Black Americans and and honestly, the larger diaspora have an influence in terms of history, culture, style, music, and so on and so forth.