The Black Leadership and Opportunity Center (BLOC) hosted the Black History Month Kick Off Event at the Student Union Theater on Thursday.
The kickoff was the first of several events planned throughout February to celebrate this year’s theme, “Existence is Resistance,” which was chosen to empower Black voices and identities.
Attendees passed through a gallery walk featuring prominent Black figures such as Huey Newton, who was the Black Panther Party’s co-founder.
The event started with a program that explores visual and verbal concepts relating to oppression and violence towards Black bodies.
“We acknowledge with respect that this content is not the sole representation of experiences of the Black African diasporic community,” said BLOC Program Director Emerald Green.
The first guest speaker, Leon Beauchman serves as president of the Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators, an all-volunteer organization organizing events to prepare Black students for the present and future.
Beauchman led a libation, the act of pouring a liquid offering, for Black victims of police brutality.
“It is through community that we have survived. When we were brutally beaten, it was our love for each other that was the healing bond. When we were lost in the underworld of self loathing, it was our love for each other that was the guiding light of redemption,” Beauchman said.
He said it is important to acknowledge those who lost their lives as a way to combat public erasure of Black victims.
Travis Boyce, department chair of African American studies and director of Ethnic Studies Collaborative, shared his thoughts on the importance of Black history during the event.
Boyce condemned public schools that curtailed racial history for how it has affected the present.
“Today, parents can remove their children from Black History Month curriculum,” Boyce said. “School districts are considering banning or have already banned books by Black authors on topics that address systemic racism.”
Boyce says he advocates for teaching truth and education that’s inclusive of the full American experience.
Ada Ochuru, child and adolescent development sophomore with a double minor in African American studies and Black women studies, performed a dance at the event.
Ochuru performed a self-choreographed piece using elements of ballet, lyrical, contemporary and jazz.
Ochuru said she has been practicing ballet for 17 years and also teaches dance classes to youths at her studio and church.
African American studies junior Kiara Johnson performed a rendition of “Fight for You” by H.E.R., written for the 2021 film “Judas and the Black Messiah.”
The lyrics address racism, police brutality, and equality.
“I’ve been singing since preschool and I love jazz and R&B, which are the two main genres that I sing,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she is also a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and that her sisters were at the event supporting her.
“The sisterhood was a big part of why I joined. It is empowering to be around strong and caring Black women,” Johnson said.
Johnson said Black History Month is about celebrating Black joy and to be proud of the history and culture.
B.L.O.C. Program Coordinator MyShaundriss Watkins reinforced the overarching theme of “Existence is Resistance.”
“We exist here and now in this very moment. Today, we are here to uplift and center our collective rights to freedom,” Watkins said.
