1 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,700 Tim Lumas: Good morning, everyone. My name is Tim Lumas and 2 00:00:09,700 --> 00:00:11,860 I am an adjunct professor at Moorpark community 3 00:00:11,860 --> 00:00:14,680 College and I'm also the Basic Needs Specialist 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,510 for Raider Central. We're going to give everybody 5 00:00:16,510 --> 00:00:18,580 about a minute to get in and then we're going to 6 00:00:18,580 --> 00:00:21,250 start our Black History Month Kick Off today. 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:01:20,360 Jazz music, drums, piano, saxophone, guitar, Welcome to The Saint James Club by The Rippingtons 8 00:01:21,150 --> 00:01:23,850 Good morning, everyone. My name is Tim Lumas and 9 00:01:23,850 --> 00:01:26,010 I will be your host today for the Black History 10 00:01:26,010 --> 00:01:28,740 Month Kickoff. I'd like to get a couple of things 11 00:01:28,740 --> 00:01:31,680 cleared up. Number one, our Zoom manager is Michael 12 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,380 Ashton. As you can see from the screen, our 13 00:01:34,380 --> 00:01:36,630 schedule today, we'll have a welcome by Dr. 14 00:01:36,630 --> 00:01:39,390 Sokenu and Dr. Gebru. We'll also have a video 15 00:01:39,390 --> 00:01:41,910 presentation by Dina Pielaet with some of our students 16 00:01:41,910 --> 00:01:44,970 and faculty. And then Professor Ranford Hopkins 17 00:01:44,970 --> 00:01:46,890 will do a presentation on the history of Black 18 00:01:46,890 --> 00:01:49,470 History Month. We'll also announce that we have 19 00:01:49,470 --> 00:01:52,500 a special guest coming to Moorpark College on 20 00:01:52,500 --> 00:01:55,230 February 26. And at the end of this, we will have 21 00:01:55,230 --> 00:01:59,250 some closing remarks by myself, Professor 22 00:01:59,250 --> 00:02:01,930 Hopkins, and any questions or answer you may have. 23 00:02:01,930 --> 00:02:04,230 At this time I'd like to introduce the Interim 24 00:02:04,230 --> 00:02:07,050 President of our college, Dr. Julius Sokenu. Thank 25 00:02:07,050 --> 00:02:07,682 you, Julius. 26 00:02:07,682 --> 00:02:10,320 Dr. Julius Sokenu: Hi, everyone. Thank you so much for 27 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,250 joining us this morning to celebrate Black History 28 00:02:14,250 --> 00:02:18,510 Month. It is a, it's an honor and a pleasure to be 29 00:02:18,510 --> 00:02:23,130 here today to confirm for all of us not only why 30 00:02:23,130 --> 00:02:25,410 it is that we celebrate Black History Month, but 31 00:02:25,410 --> 00:02:28,530 that Black History Month should be every day. I 32 00:02:28,530 --> 00:02:30,360 mean, that's, the new message that we should 33 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,200 send out, is that all our histories, all our 34 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,920 experiences matter and that we need to value the 35 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:42,870 contribution of people of African descent in this 36 00:02:42,870 --> 00:02:45,600 country every single day, not just in the 37 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,110 month of February. Why is that important to us? 38 00:02:49,350 --> 00:02:53,250 Well, for many of us who are in this 39 00:02:53,250 --> 00:02:55,620 webinar and in this celebration and we'll go 40 00:02:55,620 --> 00:02:58,080 through the celebration this month, we know 41 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,230 there's a wealth of of history and a wealth of 42 00:03:01,230 --> 00:03:04,390 contributions and music, and entertainment, and 43 00:03:04,390 --> 00:03:07,950 in sports, and in science, and in business, and in 44 00:03:07,950 --> 00:03:10,860 all walks of life. And that those individuals, 45 00:03:11,220 --> 00:03:14,010 those individual stories are yet to be told. And 46 00:03:14,010 --> 00:03:16,230 so Black History Month is a way in which we remind 47 00:03:16,230 --> 00:03:18,960 ourselves and we bring out more stories, to share 48 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,480 more stories to affirm, to build into the 49 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:25,010 structure that we call our education system, and the 50 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,290 structure that we call a social narrative of who 51 00:03:28,290 --> 00:03:31,650 we are and what it means to be America. I 52 00:03:31,650 --> 00:03:34,860 appreciate the opportunity to be here with you 53 00:03:34,860 --> 00:03:37,260 today, but I value the work that everyone of this 54 00:03:37,260 --> 00:03:39,810 Black History Month Committee has put together. 55 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:46,230 You have a dynamic, inspiring, you have a really 56 00:03:46,230 --> 00:03:50,250 thought provoking program scheduled a program for 57 00:03:50,250 --> 00:03:54,090 this month of February. And it is in deep 58 00:03:54,090 --> 00:03:56,910 gratitude to the Black History Month Committee and 59 00:03:56,910 --> 00:03:59,910 particularly to our students and their advisors 60 00:04:00,150 --> 00:04:03,090 who put this program together. Black History Month 61 00:04:03,090 --> 00:04:06,180 is celebrated in Moorpark College as a way for us 62 00:04:06,180 --> 00:04:09,180 to not only acknowledge the contributions of our 63 00:04:09,180 --> 00:04:11,310 African and African-American brothers and sisters, 64 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:15,330 but it is a way for us to make sure that we keep 65 00:04:15,330 --> 00:04:18,330 telling the stories of what our present brothers 66 00:04:18,330 --> 00:04:21,480 and sisters, what our present community does to 67 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,750 keep this country, to keep this state, to keep this 68 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:28,320 county vibrant and relevant. I thank you so much 69 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,780 and appreciate the work that you all do. And I 70 00:04:30,780 --> 00:04:32,760 wish you a very, very happy Black History Month. 71 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:37,070 Tim: Thank you very much, Dr. Sokenu. I'd also 72 00:04:37,070 --> 00:04:42,200 like to give a shout out to Banea Sumpter for taking the 73 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,330 lead on the Black History Month celebration. She 74 00:04:44,330 --> 00:04:47,890 did a fantastic job. And without her and Michael 75 00:04:48,050 --> 00:04:51,390 Ashton this event could not have taken form. Dr. 76 00:04:51,500 --> 00:04:53,630 Gebru? Could you give us a welcome, please? 77 00:04:55,790 --> 00:04:58,790 Dr. Amanuel Gebru: Thank you, Tim Lumas, for including me. And also 78 00:04:58,790 --> 00:05:01,640 thank you, Julius, Dr. Sokenu, for the warm 79 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,090 welcome. Just excited to be a part, excited 80 00:05:05,090 --> 00:05:08,030 that our campus community and our college is 81 00:05:08,030 --> 00:05:11,450 putting on Black History Month. There's so much to 82 00:05:11,450 --> 00:05:14,480 recognize. There's so much technology in terms of 83 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:16,940 history that our students can learn from our 84 00:05:16,940 --> 00:05:19,880 community. So just excited to be a part of this. 85 00:05:20,900 --> 00:05:23,030 But my role today is I really just want to thank 86 00:05:23,030 --> 00:05:26,030 the people that really make this happen, because 87 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,150 without the staff, without the committee, without 88 00:05:29,150 --> 00:05:33,380 the faculty involved to celebrate the importance 89 00:05:33,380 --> 00:05:36,500 of Black History Month it's critical and I just 90 00:05:36,500 --> 00:05:40,280 want to take the time to say thank you to a few 91 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:43,310 people who are really making this happen for our 92 00:05:43,310 --> 00:05:45,840 college and our community. So starting off with 93 00:05:45,860 --> 00:05:48,740 Banea Sumpter, who is one of our lead people 94 00:05:48,740 --> 00:05:50,690 really helping, coordinating and planning all 95 00:05:50,690 --> 00:05:54,170 these efforts. Tim Lumas, as you can see, who is 96 00:05:54,170 --> 00:05:57,590 emceeing this event and helping put this event 97 00:05:57,590 --> 00:06:00,110 together. Gerald Richardson and one of our 98 00:06:00,110 --> 00:06:07,040 students, Ka Ren Mac Calla also, Analisa Jugan, Ranford 99 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:08,870 Hopkins. Professor Ranford Hopkins, who 100 00:06:08,870 --> 00:06:12,560 teaches History. Dina Pielaet, who helps with our 101 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:17,420 marketing efforts. Micaiah Satterwhite. Trinity 102 00:06:17,420 --> 00:06:21,140 Hooper. Tamarra Coleman our English faculty. Cynthia 103 00:06:21,140 --> 00:06:24,950 Barnett, our Sociology faculty. Lauren Snowden, 104 00:06:25,250 --> 00:06:28,160 another one of our faculty members, and Pauline 105 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,700 Nassar. And I'm sure there's other folks that it 106 00:06:30,710 --> 00:06:33,770 may not have listed, but just our huge gratitude 107 00:06:34,100 --> 00:06:37,010 from our executive team and everyone in our 108 00:06:37,010 --> 00:06:40,820 community for you putting on a wonderful agenda 109 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:43,850 for our faculty, our staff, and our students to 110 00:06:43,850 --> 00:06:47,450 benefit from this week. And also, I know there's a 111 00:06:47,450 --> 00:06:50,540 special announcement that Tim and other folks will 112 00:06:50,750 --> 00:06:53,720 let us know about towards the end of this, 113 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,810 presentation that I'm also excited about to bring 114 00:06:56,810 --> 00:06:59,810 to our campus and to bring a scholar who will 115 00:06:59,810 --> 00:07:02,990 really bring attention to the importance of Black 116 00:07:02,990 --> 00:07:04,910 History Month, but also to the importance of 117 00:07:04,910 --> 00:07:08,190 social justice and equity that we truly believe in. 118 00:07:08,420 --> 00:07:10,640 So, once again, thank you so much for all that you 119 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,910 do and keep fighting the fight in regards to 120 00:07:13,910 --> 00:07:16,460 equity and social justice. And we are here to 121 00:07:16,460 --> 00:07:18,800 support you and also celebrate this month with you. 122 00:07:20,230 --> 00:07:22,150 Tim: Dr. Gebru, thank you very much for your warm 123 00:07:22,150 --> 00:07:25,630 welcome. We'd like to start off this with a video 124 00:07:25,630 --> 00:07:28,090 presentation done by Dina Pielaet, and it's a 125 00:07:28,090 --> 00:07:31,330 presentation where she interviewed faculty, staff, 126 00:07:31,750 --> 00:07:33,940 and our students about the significance of Black 127 00:07:33,940 --> 00:07:35,950 History Month and a tribute to Black history. 128 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,520 Analisa Jugan: I think we can all agree that just as people and 129 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,800 as a campus, as a nation, we have a lot of work to 130 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,190 do when it comes to plenty of social issues. And I 131 00:07:53,190 --> 00:07:55,500 think Black History Month is a great opportunity 132 00:07:55,500 --> 00:07:57,930 to reflect on that and the initiatives that we 133 00:07:57,930 --> 00:08:00,270 want to have to cultivate a society, especially 134 00:08:00,450 --> 00:08:01,880 here at Moorpark College. 135 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:04,730 Ka Ren Mac Calla: I think it's important 136 00:08:04,730 --> 00:08:07,400 for everyone to be educated about history in 137 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,310 general and Black history, more importantly, 138 00:08:10,310 --> 00:08:13,850 because it's a topic that can sometimes be 139 00:08:13,850 --> 00:08:17,030 considered taboo. There's not a light shined on it 140 00:08:17,030 --> 00:08:17,760 directly. 141 00:08:17,814 --> 00:08:22,610 Trinity Hooper: Black history is about owning up to who 142 00:08:22,610 --> 00:08:25,640 you are. It's about expressing yourself in the 143 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:29,380 most creative way to being positively you. 144 00:08:31,470 --> 00:08:34,260 Tamarra Coleman: I think learning about Black history and learning 145 00:08:34,260 --> 00:08:39,180 about Black people and culture is critical. I 146 00:08:39,180 --> 00:08:42,480 think it's important. And I also think it's 147 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:47,880 important to learn about all of the different 148 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,640 people that are here on our campus, in our 149 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,360 community, in our country, in the world. Right? I 150 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:58,440 think the more we learn about who we are, where 151 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:02,220 we've come from, I think what we will learn is 152 00:09:02,220 --> 00:09:05,640 that we are one in many ways, right? 153 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:07,350 Dr. Sokenu: In our men and 154 00:09:07,470 --> 00:09:11,580 women of color, the more we're able to support our 155 00:09:11,580 --> 00:09:14,940 students and our colleagues in their striving for 156 00:09:14,940 --> 00:09:19,860 success, the more we're able to bring the vision 157 00:09:19,860 --> 00:09:23,040 and the dreams, and even in some instances dreams 158 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,400 that they could not have imagined the more we're able 159 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,740 to make that real. And that, to me, I think, is 160 00:09:28,740 --> 00:09:34,200 the, the message that we carry as we celebrate 161 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:35,130 Black History Month. 162 00:09:38,510 --> 00:09:42,710 The moral obligation that we have as we live 163 00:09:42,710 --> 00:09:45,440 in the world to do every day, not just in February, 164 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,520 but every single day, that we are living Black 165 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:53,900 History Month and that we are helping others up 166 00:09:54,500 --> 00:10:00,980 and helping others out, and that we are calling out 167 00:10:01,460 --> 00:10:05,420 when it needs to, but we're also calling in when it is 168 00:10:05,420 --> 00:10:06,300 necessary. 169 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:08,810 Tamarra: I mean, it's laughable that we take a 170 00:10:08,810 --> 00:10:12,260 history class at any level K through 12 or even in 171 00:10:12,260 --> 00:10:15,650 higher ed here in the U.S., and there's a section 172 00:10:15,650 --> 00:10:20,110 in the American history book on black history, as 173 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,790 if those people just popped up out of nowhere and 174 00:10:22,790 --> 00:10:24,950 then disappeared, and then we moved on to the next 175 00:10:24,950 --> 00:10:27,920 chapter, as if there's not an integrated history 176 00:10:28,220 --> 00:10:31,940 with the slave master and the slave, or whoever or 177 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:35,540 whatever point in history we were in. It's really 178 00:10:35,540 --> 00:10:37,970 silly, actually. Right? So until we get to that 179 00:10:37,970 --> 00:10:41,390 point where it's integrated in the culture and if 180 00:10:41,390 --> 00:10:44,000 we're talking about the antebellum South that 181 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,850 we're talking about those really clear, 182 00:10:47,150 --> 00:10:50,270 problematic relationships between Black and White 183 00:10:50,270 --> 00:10:52,400 people that existed on a daily basis in every 184 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,100 aspect of society. So Black History Month is 185 00:10:55,100 --> 00:10:57,860 important because we don't even fully know one 186 00:10:57,860 --> 00:10:59,390 side of that history yet, right? 187 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:00,320 Ka Ren: In high school, 188 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:02,900 when you're taught about in history classes, you 189 00:11:02,900 --> 00:11:05,870 only get a few pages of it and you don't even get 190 00:11:05,870 --> 00:11:08,870 the entire story of what happens. You know, you're 191 00:11:08,870 --> 00:11:12,140 not really educated on what's going on. So not 192 00:11:12,140 --> 00:11:15,090 being educated on certain topics might cause a 193 00:11:15,110 --> 00:11:18,230 certain individual to just say things that they 194 00:11:19,220 --> 00:11:20,160 don't mean. 195 00:11:20,170 --> 00:11:22,580 Trinity: Diversity and our actual 196 00:11:22,580 --> 00:11:25,100 accomplishments that we've done in the past, and 197 00:11:25,100 --> 00:11:28,310 even as of now, I think it's important that they 198 00:11:28,610 --> 00:11:32,060 update our textbooks and actually showcase what we 199 00:11:32,060 --> 00:11:35,280 really are about besides slavery. You know. 200 00:11:35,321 --> 00:11:36,080 Analisa: I 201 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,960 remember in my eighth grade class for U.S. History 202 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:42,920 seeing that the Black experience was limited to 203 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:46,250 two pages and these two textbook pages only 204 00:11:46,250 --> 00:11:50,210 discussed slavery. And I was confounded, you know, 205 00:11:50,210 --> 00:11:52,340 by the fact that when you really reflect on 206 00:11:52,340 --> 00:11:54,830 history, we have been doctors, we have been 207 00:11:54,830 --> 00:11:57,950 engineers, teachers, you know, just looking at 208 00:11:57,950 --> 00:12:00,560 this past month, you know, we can be the Vice 209 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:03,800 President, we can be presidents and we can be the 210 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,310 youngest inaugural poet. I think Black History 211 00:12:07,310 --> 00:12:10,790 Month is an amazing opportunity to reflect not 212 00:12:10,790 --> 00:12:14,600 only on, you know, the fact that we do have a 213 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,890 painful history, but that we can learn from. But 214 00:12:17,990 --> 00:12:19,440 all of the potential that we have. 215 00:12:19,487 --> 00:12:20,060 Dr. Sokenu: Those 216 00:12:20,060 --> 00:12:24,680 individuals who struggled, set the ground for our 217 00:12:24,710 --> 00:12:28,880 successes today, and it's incumbent upon us 218 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,520 to now do the same for those who will come after 219 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:33,740 us. And that's why I do think that, you know, the 220 00:12:33,740 --> 00:12:36,800 work that we do at the college to make sure that 221 00:12:37,010 --> 00:12:41,090 we have diverse faculty, and staff, and 222 00:12:41,090 --> 00:12:43,010 administrators available to our students and the 223 00:12:43,010 --> 00:12:45,650 students see the individuals who are like them, and 224 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:47,510 they are able to connect with those individuals, 225 00:12:47,660 --> 00:12:50,210 but at the same time that we work with allies 226 00:12:50,210 --> 00:12:53,150 from other communities so that they are better 227 00:12:53,150 --> 00:12:57,500 able to do the work of supporting us, you know, in 228 00:12:57,500 --> 00:13:01,520 our journeys They're able to understand and value 229 00:13:02,980 --> 00:13:05,950 our experiences, so that those experiences are 230 00:13:05,950 --> 00:13:08,020 integrated into the instruction, into the 231 00:13:08,020 --> 00:13:10,750 curriculum, and integrated into the ways in which 232 00:13:10,900 --> 00:13:13,210 people deliver information and deliver knowledge, 233 00:13:13,210 --> 00:13:14,080 and share knowledge. 234 00:13:14,311 --> 00:13:16,240 Tamarra: Normally I teach primarily 235 00:13:16,690 --> 00:13:19,120 writers of color, or women, or folks who identify as 236 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:19,750 LGBT, QI, 237 00:13:22,630 --> 00:13:26,440 And we were reading Fences set in the 1950s about 238 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:30,370 a Black family. Main character was a really good 239 00:13:30,370 --> 00:13:32,230 baseball player, but was not able to be a part of 240 00:13:32,230 --> 00:13:34,360 the major leagues because of segregation, right? 241 00:13:34,900 --> 00:13:37,270 So before we got into the text, I said to my class, 242 00:13:37,270 --> 00:13:40,360 here at Moorpark, "Tell me what's going on in the 243 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:43,270 1950s. Give me just a background of the history 244 00:13:43,900 --> 00:13:46,810 generally what's happening in the 1950s in America." 245 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:50,230 And inevitably every semester the students would 246 00:13:50,230 --> 00:13:52,720 say to me, so they knew there is a racial issue 247 00:13:52,730 --> 00:13:55,060 they just didn't know what they would say, "Slavery." 248 00:13:56,530 --> 00:14:01,990 And I would say to myself, "The 1950s?" but 249 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,100 it was clear to me that there was a disconnect in 250 00:14:06,100 --> 00:14:08,710 knowledge base that the students had coming out of 251 00:14:08,710 --> 00:14:10,780 our feeder schools in our district, and I suspect 252 00:14:10,990 --> 00:14:13,780 it's probably true outside of this area as well 253 00:14:14,170 --> 00:14:16,810 about the history, just American history in 254 00:14:16,810 --> 00:14:18,970 general, but in particular about Black people. 255 00:14:18,970 --> 00:14:21,000 What they knew about Black people was slavery. 256 00:14:21,010 --> 00:14:23,080 That's it. They were slaves at some point. We 257 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:24,700 don't know the details, what that meant, but we 258 00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:28,060 know the bad thing that happened to Black people, 259 00:14:28,060 --> 00:14:31,600 right, was slavery. And I just thought we've got a 260 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:32,500 lot of work to do. 261 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:34,030 Ka Ren: I don't know. Growing up in 262 00:14:34,030 --> 00:14:36,540 L.A., I never looked at anyone with race or with 263 00:14:36,550 --> 00:14:38,050 color. I was just kind of like, "Oh, there's the 264 00:14:38,050 --> 00:14:40,630 person." And then moving out of that and seeing 265 00:14:40,630 --> 00:14:45,100 other people who just made the distinction between 266 00:14:45,100 --> 00:14:48,040 me and their friends kind of making me feel like, 267 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:52,770 "Oh, I'm noticing my color," when I just think that it's 268 00:14:52,770 --> 00:14:53,960 not all about color and race. 269 00:14:54,316 --> 00:14:55,650 Trinity: When it comes to 270 00:14:55,650 --> 00:14:58,890 family, usually people think it's only skin deep, 271 00:14:58,890 --> 00:15:02,760 but it's about relating on a different type of 272 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:07,590 level, making lifelong friendships, having a safe 273 00:15:07,590 --> 00:15:10,560 space that you probably wouldn't get if you're 274 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,730 just alone or by yourself. 275 00:15:13,750 --> 00:15:15,030 Dr. Sokenu: Our work is that we're 276 00:15:15,030 --> 00:15:18,090 moving towards justice. Our work is that we're 277 00:15:18,090 --> 00:15:22,050 moving towards equity. Our work and our lives, I 278 00:15:22,050 --> 00:15:25,980 would say is that we're moving towards celebrating 279 00:15:25,980 --> 00:15:28,680 and investing in one another's humanity. 280 00:15:28,700 --> 00:15:29,400 Tamarra: The 281 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:34,440 moments in which I feel most useful on the planet 282 00:15:36,090 --> 00:15:38,040 is really that moment, whether it's in the 283 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,310 classroom or it's in the community, organizing 284 00:15:41,430 --> 00:15:45,810 people, women, folks of color around issues, when 285 00:15:45,810 --> 00:15:50,220 I see that my voice, my willingness to be 286 00:15:50,220 --> 00:15:53,850 vulnerable and share my story actually impacts 287 00:15:53,850 --> 00:15:54,520 other people. 288 00:15:54,540 --> 00:15:57,480 Analisa: My ideal is that we have Black 289 00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,730 history awareness. And, you know, ideally we 290 00:15:59,730 --> 00:16:03,060 wouldn't have particular months where, you know, 291 00:16:03,060 --> 00:16:06,000 we've had to shine a light. At the end of the day, 292 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,480 I think we all want a time where we feel all of 293 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,850 our history is shared and we reflect on all of 294 00:16:11,850 --> 00:16:12,560 that history. 295 00:16:13,222 --> 00:16:17,550 Dr. Sokenu: I hope that in my own work and in 296 00:16:17,550 --> 00:16:20,640 the work that we do at this college, we model for 297 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,910 our students, all students, but in particular for 298 00:16:23,910 --> 00:16:28,140 our students who are from minority communities, 299 00:16:28,710 --> 00:16:32,040 that their voice matters, that we model for them, 300 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,190 that the potential within them is infinite. 301 00:16:35,430 --> 00:16:38,430 Trinity: Two years ago, when I didn't feel comfortable in 302 00:16:38,430 --> 00:16:41,780 my own skin or people made me feel as if I wasn't 303 00:16:41,790 --> 00:16:45,120 good enough, but you have to step out of your shell 304 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:46,960 and just showcase who you really are. 305 00:16:47,113 --> 00:16:48,030 Ka Ren: No matter 306 00:16:48,030 --> 00:16:50,910 what anyone else tells you, as long as you put 307 00:16:50,910 --> 00:16:53,760 your mind to it, you can do it, you can 308 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,970 carry it out, you can succeed and you can go 309 00:16:56,970 --> 00:17:00,090 beyond what anyone is telling you that 310 00:17:00,090 --> 00:17:02,370 you can do. There is no limitation except the 311 00:17:02,370 --> 00:17:04,320 limitations that you put on yourself and the 312 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:06,090 situation that you are in now, whether you can 313 00:17:06,090 --> 00:17:08,550 control it or you can't control it and it's 314 00:17:08,820 --> 00:17:12,480 out of reach, this is not forever, this is just 315 00:17:12,480 --> 00:17:15,780 a temporary moment, and in due time, you will be 316 00:17:15,780 --> 00:17:19,600 able to make that the steps that you need to take 317 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:20,440 to where you want. 318 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:22,170 Dr. Sokenu: This is particularly important 319 00:17:22,170 --> 00:17:24,510 to our young people and it's particularly important to our 320 00:17:24,510 --> 00:17:28,050 students because you will get voices and messages 321 00:17:28,050 --> 00:17:31,470 that might say you're less than and some of those 322 00:17:31,470 --> 00:17:33,870 voices might come from within yourself and they 323 00:17:33,870 --> 00:17:37,380 might come from outside. What is so important is 324 00:17:37,380 --> 00:17:41,130 to have that grounding, that belief and that 325 00:17:41,130 --> 00:17:44,130 understanding of the history and of the 326 00:17:44,130 --> 00:17:49,170 accomplishments, so that the negativity, so that 327 00:17:49,170 --> 00:17:50,210 the doubt... 328 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:54,800 is wiped away. We will have those moments of 329 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:59,180 doubt, but that those moments of doubt are erased 330 00:17:59,180 --> 00:18:00,350 because we know... 331 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:11,390 that we are worthy. Because we know that we make and have 332 00:18:11,390 --> 00:18:13,800 made this civilization what it is. 333 00:18:13,948 --> 00:18:15,680 Ka Ren: Making a change 334 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:16,640 starts with you. 335 00:18:17,235 --> 00:18:21,320 Trinity: Owning up to who you are and owning 336 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,280 just everything about yourself, and what you can 337 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:28,440 put into the world is important. 338 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:30,680 Analisa: The beauty, the pain, 339 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:34,730 the suffering. We can reflect on who we want to 340 00:18:34,730 --> 00:18:38,600 become and not just as the Black community, but as 341 00:18:39,290 --> 00:18:40,560 our whole entire community. 342 00:18:41,075 --> 00:18:42,860 Tamarra: We all are sort of 343 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:48,350 looking for the same things in terms of our lives, 344 00:18:48,350 --> 00:18:53,240 our purpose, our meaning, our gifts, being valued 345 00:18:53,780 --> 00:18:57,170 for whatever they are, right? So in many ways, I 346 00:18:57,170 --> 00:19:01,610 think diversity is, it is, right? It's not, "Do 347 00:19:01,610 --> 00:19:04,880 we like it or not?" It is... diversity is. The question 348 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,670 is, are we going to value that, right, in one 349 00:19:07,670 --> 00:19:09,560 another and help build upon that? 350 00:19:10,901 --> 00:19:12,860 Dr. Sokenu: I ask you to 351 00:19:12,860 --> 00:19:18,500 live Black History Month every day. Let Black 352 00:19:18,500 --> 00:19:23,360 History Month be the lens through which you live 353 00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:24,170 your life. 354 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:30,640 On screen text: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." By Martin Luther King Jr. 355 00:19:32,900 --> 00:19:39,800 On screen text: Black History Month Committee: Banea Sumpter, Timothy Lumas, Gerald Richardson the Third, Ka Ren Mac Calla, Analisa Jugan, Ranford Hopkins, Dina Pielaet, Micaiah Satterwhite, Trinity Hooper, Tamarra Coleman, Cynthia Barnett, Lauren Snowden, Pauline Nassar. Special thanks to Dr. Sokenu, Members of the Black Student Union. 356 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:41,500 On screen text: Moorpark College Presents A Tribute to Black History 357 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,620 Tim: Thank you very much Dina that was wonderful. 358 00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:50,310 At this point, I'd like to introduce the feature 359 00:19:50,310 --> 00:19:53,820 presentation, the future keynote speaker 360 00:19:53,820 --> 00:19:56,520 today, and that is Professor Ranford 361 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,310 Hopkins, who will be talking to us about Why Black 362 00:19:59,310 --> 00:20:01,200 History Month, Professor Hopkins? 363 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:05,790 You're muted. 364 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:08,650 You're muted. 365 00:20:14,890 --> 00:20:18,190 Ranford Hopkins: You think I'd know by now, right? Before I go any 366 00:20:18,190 --> 00:20:20,620 further, I've got to say that was an exceptional 367 00:20:20,620 --> 00:20:23,620 tribute to to black history and to Black History 368 00:20:23,620 --> 00:20:27,280 Month. Hats off to all the contributors. The 369 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:31,840 truth, the passion you shared, you so inspiring. I 370 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:36,820 appreciate that. Tim, I'm sure, you know, when 371 00:20:36,820 --> 00:20:42,190 you described me as emeritus, you mean that I'm old 372 00:20:42,190 --> 00:20:46,900 and retired. To all attendees thanks for your time 373 00:20:46,900 --> 00:20:49,390 and joining the webinar. Thanks to the Black 374 00:20:49,390 --> 00:20:53,290 Student Union and other entities for the invite. 375 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:58,450 This talk on Black History Month, or as I like to 376 00:20:58,450 --> 00:21:01,390 say, Black History Month and historical context 377 00:21:01,660 --> 00:21:05,620 has three parts. Part one, I'd like to look at the 378 00:21:05,620 --> 00:21:10,190 pejorative perspective of black history on Black 379 00:21:10,190 --> 00:21:15,050 people before Carter G. Woodson. Carter G. Woodson 380 00:21:15,050 --> 00:21:17,390 is considered the father of Black History Month. 381 00:21:19,150 --> 00:21:23,800 Secondly, Carter G. Woodson's efforts to change 382 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,190 the pejorative view of Black people and their 383 00:21:27,190 --> 00:21:30,490 history, and then finally, just a quick case study 384 00:21:30,790 --> 00:21:33,820 of the radical origins of Black History Month. 385 00:21:35,270 --> 00:21:36,720 Next slide, please? 386 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:42,640 I like to start my history classes with this 387 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:46,930 concept, "In history, there is no beginning, only 388 00:21:46,930 --> 00:21:52,280 the event that preceded in question." If we can 389 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:55,580 say that you can't understand the present without 390 00:21:55,580 --> 00:21:59,570 the past, then, for example, if we were to start 391 00:21:59,570 --> 00:22:03,230 next slide, please? If we were to start with the 392 00:22:03,230 --> 00:22:05,120 movement for civil rights, it's difficult to 393 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:07,340 understand the Civil Rights Movement without 394 00:22:07,340 --> 00:22:10,460 understanding the Jim Crow Era. It's difficult to 395 00:22:10,460 --> 00:22:12,860 understand the Jim Crow Era without understanding 396 00:22:12,860 --> 00:22:16,340 why there was reconstruction. Why was there a 397 00:22:16,340 --> 00:22:17,150 civil war? 398 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:23,840 What about antebellum slavery? And then finally, 399 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,230 William Tucker. We'll get to know William Tucker 400 00:22:27,230 --> 00:22:29,750 in just a moment. And of course, if we were to 401 00:22:29,750 --> 00:22:32,900 continue backwards and looking backwards in 402 00:22:32,900 --> 00:22:36,830 history, eventually we'd wind up and Olduvai Gorge 403 00:22:36,830 --> 00:22:40,280 in Tanzania with the beginning of Homo Sapiens. 404 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:45,560 Next slide? But we don't want to do that, right? 405 00:22:45,870 --> 00:22:48,840 So let's start with this gentleman. His name is 406 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,780 Urlich B. Phillips, professor of History, out of 407 00:22:53,780 --> 00:22:57,650 the University of Michigan. In the, at the turn of 408 00:22:57,650 --> 00:23:01,460 the century and through the early 30s and 40s, he 409 00:23:01,460 --> 00:23:05,900 wrote a very impactful work that was called 410 00:23:05,900 --> 00:23:11,390 American Negro Slavery. To his credit, Phillips 411 00:23:11,750 --> 00:23:14,750 did, in fact, write a history about Black people. 412 00:23:15,350 --> 00:23:19,670 To his discredit, he offered a very pejorative 413 00:23:19,670 --> 00:23:23,530 view of African-American people, especially slaves. 414 00:23:23,540 --> 00:23:28,010 in general. Next slide, please? 415 00:23:30,460 --> 00:23:34,690 So Philips' thesis was that slavery benefited the 416 00:23:34,690 --> 00:23:39,790 Negro. As far as he was concerned slaves were 417 00:23:39,790 --> 00:23:43,870 innately docile, submissive, ignorant and 418 00:23:43,870 --> 00:23:49,910 unstable. He believed that Black people were 419 00:23:49,910 --> 00:23:53,480 predisposed to be slaves, that in order for Blacks 420 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,000 to be successful in America, they needed to be 421 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,750 slaves, to be acculturated to the culture. And 422 00:23:59,750 --> 00:24:01,850 finally, he believed that Black people needed 423 00:24:01,850 --> 00:24:05,540 protection because they could not compete in a 424 00:24:05,570 --> 00:24:08,390 competitive world. Next slide? 425 00:24:14,970 --> 00:24:15,990 Major themes. 426 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,990 Of course...we would ask Phillips, "Did you consider 427 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:29,020 the forces that were oppressing Blacks?" Lack of 428 00:24:29,020 --> 00:24:32,950 meaningful economic opportunity, voting rights 429 00:24:32,950 --> 00:24:35,980 circumvented in the North and non-existent in the 430 00:24:35,980 --> 00:24:40,360 South. Victims of violence or threat of violence 431 00:24:40,750 --> 00:24:46,390 within which seldom legal recourse. Most lacked 432 00:24:46,390 --> 00:24:51,430 quality educational opportunities. And I want to 433 00:24:51,430 --> 00:24:53,710 concentrate just a moment on this last one, 434 00:24:53,830 --> 00:25:00,250 victimized by demeaning stereotypes. So for the next, I have 435 00:25:00,250 --> 00:25:02,860 three slides I'd like you to see and I'd like you 436 00:25:02,860 --> 00:25:05,890 to think and reflect upon each one. Next slide? 437 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:13,160 In the vein of stereotypes. This one is entitled 438 00:25:14,030 --> 00:25:15,170 How Ink Is Made. 439 00:25:18,110 --> 00:25:22,040 This is a postcard. Postcards like these were 440 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,520 thousands and can spread throughout the country 441 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:26,560 year after year. 442 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:30,460 Next slide? 443 00:25:35,950 --> 00:25:40,810 This placard it's called Not Particular. If you 444 00:25:40,820 --> 00:25:43,550 aren't able to read it because the print is so 445 00:25:43,550 --> 00:25:47,780 small, allow me. "I know you're not particular to a 446 00:25:47,780 --> 00:25:51,590 fault, though I'm not sure you'll never be sued 447 00:25:51,590 --> 00:25:54,830 for assault. You're so fond of women that even a 448 00:25:54,830 --> 00:25:59,570 wench attracts your gross fancy despite her stench." 449 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:05,910 Finally, the next slide? 450 00:26:10,670 --> 00:26:14,730 From this world renowned novelist...and major 451 00:26:14,730 --> 00:26:18,400 contributor to short stories is Agatha Christie. 452 00:26:19,170 --> 00:26:24,870 She wrote a book called Ten Little n-words, and 453 00:26:24,870 --> 00:26:26,860 she wrote another one called Ten Little Indians. 454 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:31,530 Unfortunately, the story ends with all ten of these 455 00:26:31,530 --> 00:26:33,880 people being killed. 456 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:36,910 Next slide? 457 00:26:38,980 --> 00:26:43,060 Now in building this look at stereotypes, I want 458 00:26:43,060 --> 00:26:45,560 you to imagine if you're a little Black boy, 459 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,540 scratch that a little White boy or little White 460 00:26:49,540 --> 00:26:52,630 girl growing up anywhere in the country, but let's 461 00:26:52,630 --> 00:26:55,900 say the Midwest and you've never seen or don't 462 00:26:55,900 --> 00:26:58,060 know Black people, and if you're constantly 463 00:26:58,060 --> 00:27:02,020 visited with these kinds of images, the ones we've 464 00:27:02,020 --> 00:27:04,150 just seen and what you're going to see, and what 465 00:27:04,150 --> 00:27:06,040 we'll talk about here in a minute in Birth of A 466 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,010 Nation, you can imagine how that might impact your 467 00:27:09,010 --> 00:27:12,460 view of the whole population of people. So The 468 00:27:12,460 --> 00:27:14,740 Birth of A Nation is the granddaddy of all 469 00:27:14,740 --> 00:27:18,040 stereotypes about Black people. First of all, the 470 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,400 film is largely based on the lost cause ideology 471 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:24,100 of the South. For those of you who don't know, 472 00:27:24,100 --> 00:27:27,850 with a lost cause of the ideology of the South was 473 00:27:28,780 --> 00:27:31,120 one perspective is to look at it is that the 474 00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:34,690 Confederacy was just and the Confederacy was 475 00:27:34,690 --> 00:27:37,870 heroic. The things they stood for, states rights, 476 00:27:38,740 --> 00:27:44,470 Blacks as subservient was one. Secondly, the film 477 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:49,540 and the whole notion of this lost cause ideology 478 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:54,430 is the notion that freedom, equality would ruin 479 00:27:54,430 --> 00:27:57,280 Black people. Black people need to be subjugated 480 00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:58,150 and taken care of. 481 00:28:00,390 --> 00:28:04,740 Also, this freedom and equal opportunity will ruin 482 00:28:04,740 --> 00:28:07,530 the nation. The nation will spend too much time 483 00:28:07,530 --> 00:28:11,160 and energy trying to help Black people. And 484 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:15,960 finally, one of the most coveted pieces in white 485 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:21,060 supremacy is protection of white womanhood. So The 486 00:28:21,270 --> 00:28:25,170 Birth of A Nation film repeatedly makes clear 487 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,860 that black equality would undermine the security 488 00:28:28,860 --> 00:28:34,290 of White women. Black men should not touch, speak, or 489 00:28:34,290 --> 00:28:38,160 provide even the slightest suggestion of sexual 490 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:43,230 interest in White women. Many of you may remember 491 00:28:43,380 --> 00:28:47,100 the case of Emmett Till back in 1955. 492 00:28:47,100 --> 00:28:51,660 This is a perfect example of recent times, 493 00:28:51,660 --> 00:28:53,910 and there have been I mean, the history is replete 494 00:28:53,910 --> 00:28:57,270 with this kind of activity, but Emmett Till was a 495 00:28:57,270 --> 00:29:01,070 14 year old boy from Chicago who had come to Money, 496 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,890 Mississippi. He met his two cousins. They go into 497 00:29:04,890 --> 00:29:08,250 a little country store. And one of the things 498 00:29:08,250 --> 00:29:12,180 that Emmett had told his friends is that I have a 499 00:29:12,180 --> 00:29:15,750 girlfriend in Chicago who is white and they 500 00:29:15,750 --> 00:29:18,810 couldn't believe it. So then they dared him to go 501 00:29:18,810 --> 00:29:21,990 into that store and just say something to that 502 00:29:21,990 --> 00:29:24,720 White woman. Well they got their candy and were on 503 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,220 the way out and and Emmett turned 14 year old boy, 504 00:29:29,220 --> 00:29:32,440 turned to this grown woman and said, "Bye, baby." 505 00:29:33,690 --> 00:29:37,290 Well, next, we find that Emmett Till was shot in 506 00:29:37,290 --> 00:29:41,520 the head, body, mutilated and tied to a cotton gin 507 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:45,060 fan. So these are the kind of activities that can 508 00:29:45,060 --> 00:29:49,320 occur with this concept of the lost cause of the 509 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:51,720 Confederacy. And we're beginning to see some 510 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:54,510 activity like that. We've seen activity like that 511 00:29:54,510 --> 00:29:56,940 throughout history, and it seems to be escalating 512 00:29:57,330 --> 00:30:00,660 here in the last, shall I say, eight years. Next 513 00:30:00,660 --> 00:30:01,310 slide, please? 514 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:11,480 Here is just a picture of Lillian Gish. She is the 515 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:16,280 kind of person that, if this lost cause, is trying 516 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,340 to protect and to generate the most emotional 517 00:30:19,340 --> 00:30:20,810 feeling. Next slide? 518 00:30:24,340 --> 00:30:29,950 Now, contrary to the thinking of the lost cause 519 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:35,230 and to the thinking of Professor Phillips is 520 00:30:35,230 --> 00:30:38,920 Carter G. Woodson. Carter G. Woodson, an American 521 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:43,780 historian, journalist, author, founder of Negro 522 00:30:43,780 --> 00:30:47,680 History Week. He becomes the precursor for Black 523 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:53,290 History Month. To my mind mindset, Woodson set the 524 00:30:53,290 --> 00:30:56,170 platform for the beginning of African-American 525 00:30:56,170 --> 00:30:59,110 studies in this country in a serious way. Little 526 00:30:59,110 --> 00:31:03,010 wonder he is called the father of African-American 527 00:31:03,010 --> 00:31:03,460 history. 528 00:31:05,710 --> 00:31:06,340 Next slide? 529 00:31:08,580 --> 00:31:14,220 So Woodson had a dream, he had goals, and his 530 00:31:14,220 --> 00:31:17,010 goal was through the study of African American 531 00:31:17,010 --> 00:31:19,950 history, not too dissimilar for many of the things 532 00:31:19,950 --> 00:31:21,960 that were shared in the tributes. The tributes 533 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:27,000 nailed that was shown earlier. The 534 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:31,940 tributes nailed many of the goals that Carter G. 535 00:31:31,950 --> 00:31:35,670 Woodson hope to accomplish. To create racial 536 00:31:35,670 --> 00:31:40,260 harmony, to reduce prominence of racial 537 00:31:40,260 --> 00:31:44,400 stereotypes, and to inspire African-American youth 538 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:48,210 to achieve. He believe that if Black kids knew 539 00:31:48,450 --> 00:31:51,930 what their ancestors had done, they would feel 540 00:31:51,930 --> 00:31:55,290 pride and a sense of accomplishment and 541 00:31:55,290 --> 00:31:59,160 achievement for their own future. Okay, next slide, 542 00:31:59,160 --> 00:31:59,550 please? 543 00:32:05,610 --> 00:32:06,590 Next slide, please? 544 00:32:11,740 --> 00:32:16,270 Woodson's view. I'm sorry, can we go back? No, 545 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:19,890 that's right. You don't have to. His solution was, 546 00:32:20,670 --> 00:32:24,690 okay, I'm sorry, Michael, yeah, you could go back. I 547 00:32:24,690 --> 00:32:26,580 didn't know how easy it was to go back. All right. 548 00:32:26,940 --> 00:32:31,560 So Woodson's solution was to found an organization 549 00:32:31,770 --> 00:32:35,070 that would coordinate, develop, and promote the 550 00:32:35,070 --> 00:32:38,040 study of African-American history. This 551 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,280 organization was called the Study of Negro, 552 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:44,250 The Association for the Study of Negro Life and 553 00:32:44,250 --> 00:32:49,440 History. Then he also created in 1916 a scholarly 554 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,870 journal, The Journal of Negro History, which is 555 00:32:51,870 --> 00:32:54,300 still published today under a different name. The 556 00:32:54,300 --> 00:32:56,010 Journal of African-American History, 557 00:32:58,290 --> 00:33:03,030 to help bring scholarship and scholarship could be 558 00:33:03,030 --> 00:33:05,610 contributed from any group of people Whites, 559 00:33:05,610 --> 00:33:08,130 Blacks, no matter what your stripe, you were 560 00:33:08,130 --> 00:33:11,520 welcome to contribute to the scholarship. And of 561 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:15,570 course, all populations did. Next slide? 562 00:33:18,250 --> 00:33:21,070 Woodson wrote a book, a very famous book called The 563 00:33:21,070 --> 00:33:25,210 Miseducation of the Negro, and one of his lines 564 00:33:25,210 --> 00:33:28,600 that I like best was his view of why history is 565 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:33,040 important. He said, "If a race has no history, it 566 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:36,730 has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a 567 00:33:36,730 --> 00:33:39,490 negligible factor in the thought of the world and 568 00:33:39,490 --> 00:33:44,550 it stands in danger of being exterminated." From 569 00:33:44,550 --> 00:33:47,760 his work and the work of the association, we have 570 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:51,360 the beginnings of Negro History Week in February 571 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:58,450 of 1926. Carter G. Woodson admired Lincoln, 572 00:33:59,690 --> 00:34:03,080 loved Frederick Douglass and their birthdays were 573 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:06,140 respectfully, respectfully on the 12th and the 574 00:34:06,140 --> 00:34:10,100 14th of February, and that's why Negro History 575 00:34:10,340 --> 00:34:15,110 Week and Black History Month remain to this day in 576 00:34:15,500 --> 00:34:17,360 February. Next? 577 00:34:20,950 --> 00:34:24,020 Now, Woodson did not work alone. What you see on the 578 00:34:24,020 --> 00:34:28,610 screen is the so-called Divine Nine. These are the 579 00:34:28,610 --> 00:34:32,780 original nine fraternities and sororities, the 580 00:34:32,780 --> 00:34:36,260 original nine black fraternities and sororities 581 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:41,420 and each one of these groups in their own way, 582 00:34:41,630 --> 00:34:45,680 even before Woodson's were those that were 583 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:48,230 established before 1926, each one 584 00:34:48,230 --> 00:34:53,510 of them celebrated the black experience, if not in 585 00:34:53,510 --> 00:34:57,620 a formal history week or history month. Those 586 00:34:57,620 --> 00:35:00,800 divine nine included, first of all, the Alpha, 587 00:35:01,820 --> 00:35:04,640 Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which was the first 588 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:09,500 Greek organization, the AKA's, the Alpha Kappa 589 00:35:09,890 --> 00:35:15,710 Alpha sorority, first black sorority, the nation's 590 00:35:15,710 --> 00:35:20,660 VP, as you well know, is a member of the esteemed 591 00:35:21,470 --> 00:35:25,760 Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Kamala Harris makes 592 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:30,190 that clear often when she is speaking. Next slide? 593 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:36,810 And then there's the Omega Psi Phi. Woodson was a 594 00:35:36,810 --> 00:35:40,860 member of the Omega Psi Phi and this organization 595 00:35:41,930 --> 00:35:45,740 held annually, celebrated literary achievements of 596 00:35:45,740 --> 00:35:49,250 the race before 1926. So there 597 00:35:49,250 --> 00:35:53,450 already is we can see folks working and trying to 598 00:35:53,450 --> 00:35:56,460 save the history of Black people. Next slide? 599 00:36:01,620 --> 00:36:05,160 This person we don't often hear but George 600 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:08,280 Washington Williams wrote the first truly 601 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,320 scholarly History of The Negro Race in America. 602 00:36:12,750 --> 00:36:17,940 His work predated that of Professor Phillips out 603 00:36:17,940 --> 00:36:21,570 of Michigan and was much more accurate and well 604 00:36:21,570 --> 00:36:27,670 researched than Phillips was. Next slide? And of 605 00:36:27,670 --> 00:36:32,080 course, no mention of African-American history or 606 00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:35,650 African-American studies or culture can leave out 607 00:36:35,890 --> 00:36:40,780 the work of W.E.B. DuBois. DuBois, sociologist, 608 00:36:40,780 --> 00:36:43,570 historian, writer, civil rights and eventually a 609 00:36:43,570 --> 00:36:47,560 Pan-Africanist, his doctoral dissertation out of 610 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:51,930 Harvard. And by the way, he was the first Ph.D. 611 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:54,780 out of Harvard was The Suppression of The African 612 00:36:54,780 --> 00:36:57,390 Slave Trade to the United States of America. This 613 00:36:57,390 --> 00:37:02,260 was the first scholarly work on the slave trade, 614 00:37:02,270 --> 00:37:06,170 then The Philadelphia Negro, a sociological study, 615 00:37:06,170 --> 00:37:09,920 The first sociological study on an urban community, 616 00:37:10,070 --> 00:37:14,030 certainly the first sociological study of the 617 00:37:14,030 --> 00:37:17,300 Black community. And then his famous book, I urge 618 00:37:17,300 --> 00:37:19,610 everyone to read this book, The Souls of Black 619 00:37:19,610 --> 00:37:23,270 Folk. It says so much. But one of the major themes we 620 00:37:23,270 --> 00:37:26,240 all take away from it and we still quote and talk 621 00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:29,180 about this to this day, he wrote the book in 622 00:37:29,180 --> 00:37:32,390 1903. How prophetic was the notion 623 00:37:32,390 --> 00:37:35,420 that the 20th century brought the problem of the 624 00:37:35,420 --> 00:37:38,510 20th century is the problem of the color line? 625 00:37:39,380 --> 00:37:40,450 Next slide, please? 626 00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:46,190 So all of the authors that I've talked about 627 00:37:46,190 --> 00:37:48,830 before, including the fraternities and sororities, 628 00:37:48,830 --> 00:37:52,610 were busy in their own way, recording, writing, 629 00:37:53,640 --> 00:37:57,540 African-American history. None more than the 630 00:37:57,540 --> 00:38:00,480 various names you see some of the great scholars 631 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:02,940 of the 1940s, 50s, and into the 632 00:38:02,940 --> 00:38:07,920 60s, from DuBois to Buckmaster, to Hofstadter, 633 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:11,880 to Aptheker, to Benjamin Quarrels, both Black and 634 00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:15,720 White historians and none more than the dean of 635 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:18,090 African-American history. We call him John 636 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:23,100 Franklin, the historian. All of these people 637 00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:26,670 contributed to trying to piece together this 638 00:38:26,670 --> 00:38:30,000 history that was 180 degrees 639 00:38:30,300 --> 00:38:34,590 opposite of the themes and the thesis that Dr. 640 00:38:34,590 --> 00:38:35,790 Phillips put forward. 641 00:38:38,970 --> 00:38:45,660 Now, a major paradigm shift occurs in the writing 642 00:38:45,660 --> 00:38:49,170 of American of African-American history through this 643 00:38:49,170 --> 00:38:51,570 book that you see in the center between Kenneth 644 00:38:51,570 --> 00:38:55,980 Stampp, University of California at Berkeley, and 645 00:38:55,980 --> 00:38:58,680 Franklin. The book is entitled The Peculiar 646 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:03,860 Institution. Stampp aggressively refuted Phillips' 647 00:39:03,860 --> 00:39:07,580 conclusions about enslaved African-Americans. His 648 00:39:07,580 --> 00:39:10,790 research, unlike Phillips' was based on data, was 649 00:39:10,790 --> 00:39:14,660 based on the actual words and testimony of slaves, 650 00:39:14,670 --> 00:39:17,540 so he knew more accurately... 651 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:24,280 how the enslaved felt about their 652 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:26,800 conditions and much more research, of course, have 653 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:31,480 been done since his work. But Stampp argued that 654 00:39:31,780 --> 00:39:35,680 African-Americans found slavery, found subtle ways 655 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:41,280 and not so subtle means to fight...slavery. 656 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:45,510 African-American found ways to maintain various 657 00:39:45,510 --> 00:39:50,010 aspects of their African heritage and to 658 00:39:50,010 --> 00:39:54,180 develop new traditions based on their experiences 659 00:39:54,870 --> 00:39:58,260 and under unspeakable oppression. 660 00:39:58,980 --> 00:40:02,160 African-Americans found ways to maintain family 661 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:05,370 systems or more commonly they found ways to 662 00:40:05,370 --> 00:40:08,880 create new ones based on the rigid and demeaning 663 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:12,530 system under which they were forced to exist. 664 00:40:17,020 --> 00:40:21,430 The seeds that Woodson had planted are now 665 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:25,170 beginning to bloom. Next slide, please? 666 00:40:27,950 --> 00:40:32,490 Of course, Woodson believed proper education 667 00:40:32,490 --> 00:40:37,440 would fix any social societal ills with education, 668 00:40:38,670 --> 00:40:42,060 could change the hearts and minds. If people knew 669 00:40:42,060 --> 00:40:45,030 the contributions of Black people to the nation 670 00:40:45,570 --> 00:40:48,330 and knew the contributions of those to the world 671 00:40:48,630 --> 00:40:52,380 than stereotypes and ignorance would perhaps 672 00:40:52,380 --> 00:40:55,230 wither. I'd like you to meet some friends I 673 00:40:55,230 --> 00:40:59,730 brought with me to the presentation. These are the 674 00:40:59,730 --> 00:41:02,970 kinds of people that Woodson believed would change 675 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:07,530 preconceptions and would change attitudes about 676 00:41:07,530 --> 00:41:13,080 Black people. These folks are personalities from 677 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:16,590 the 17th through the 19th century. Many of us, 678 00:41:17,100 --> 00:41:20,040 when we talk about African-American history, we 679 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:23,220 rightly talk about people like Martin Luther King, 680 00:41:23,220 --> 00:41:26,610 or Jackie Robinson, or Ida Wells Barnett, or Aretha 681 00:41:26,610 --> 00:41:29,670 Franklin, but there is so much more to 682 00:41:29,670 --> 00:41:32,700 African-American history in these early period. So 683 00:41:32,700 --> 00:41:35,730 what I'd like to share with you a few of the folks 684 00:41:36,090 --> 00:41:39,150 that Carter Woodson would point to and say, "See, 685 00:41:39,300 --> 00:41:41,460 look what we've done, look what we've accomplished," 686 00:41:41,460 --> 00:41:43,950 and they're from all aspects of life. So next, I'm 687 00:41:43,950 --> 00:41:46,770 sorry, let me stay there with William Tucker. So 688 00:41:46,770 --> 00:41:49,890 William Tucker has the distinction of being the 689 00:41:49,890 --> 00:41:56,340 first person of African descent, born in the 690 00:41:56,340 --> 00:42:00,600 United States. His parents, along with 18 other 691 00:42:01,020 --> 00:42:05,340 Black people, were brought from Africa to America 692 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:10,020 in 1619. But they did not come as slaves. They 693 00:42:10,020 --> 00:42:13,530 came as indentured servants. And when they arrived, 694 00:42:13,530 --> 00:42:16,470 by the time they had served their terms as 695 00:42:16,470 --> 00:42:19,890 indentured servants from five to seven years, most 696 00:42:19,890 --> 00:42:25,060 of them went on to acquire the property that was 697 00:42:25,060 --> 00:42:29,530 due them, and especially Isabell and Antoney. Next 698 00:42:29,530 --> 00:42:29,850 slide? 699 00:42:32,570 --> 00:42:35,330 Paul Cuffee, have you heard of Paul Cuffee before? 700 00:42:35,330 --> 00:42:39,140 Wealthy businessman, shipbuilder, merchant, he 701 00:42:39,140 --> 00:42:41,960 aided the American Revolution. He's the first 702 00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:46,550 Black person to sue for the right to vote. Sued 703 00:42:46,550 --> 00:42:48,850 the state of Massachusetts for the right to vote. 704 00:42:49,460 --> 00:42:52,490 He sought to establish a colony of free 705 00:42:52,490 --> 00:42:57,140 African-Americans in Sierra Leone. Unfortunately, 706 00:42:57,530 --> 00:43:05,000 that effort was really designed to colonize the 707 00:43:05,870 --> 00:43:09,620 populations living in Sierra Leone, believing that 708 00:43:09,860 --> 00:43:12,800 Western culture, American culture would help them 709 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:15,560 to achieve more than their own culture. Next? 710 00:43:17,620 --> 00:43:22,510 David Walker. David Walker, first freedom fighter, 711 00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:26,780 as far as I'm concerned, he predated the stances 712 00:43:26,780 --> 00:43:30,170 taken later by Malcolm or the Black Panther Party. 713 00:43:31,030 --> 00:43:33,280 He wrote a famous book, you may have heard of it, 714 00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:36,820 called Walker's Appeal. The full title of that 715 00:43:36,940 --> 00:43:40,060 book was Walker's Appeal to the Colored Citizens 716 00:43:40,060 --> 00:43:42,940 of the World, but in particular and very expressly 717 00:43:43,240 --> 00:43:46,630 to those of the United States of America. This is 718 00:43:46,630 --> 00:43:49,780 the first sustained written assault upon slavery 719 00:43:50,050 --> 00:43:54,040 and racism to come out by a Black man. One of the 720 00:43:54,040 --> 00:43:55,960 points that we should know about this book, if you 721 00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:58,000 don't remember anything else about it, remember 722 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:03,460 that his audience was not the black elite, not 723 00:44:03,460 --> 00:44:06,850 those Blacks who found a way to scratch a decent 724 00:44:06,850 --> 00:44:10,870 living either in the north or the south and not to 725 00:44:10,870 --> 00:44:13,990 the white liberals are the anti slavers. His book 726 00:44:14,530 --> 00:44:17,860 was written to the masses of Blacks to try to help 727 00:44:17,860 --> 00:44:21,220 to teach them that they do not need to take this 728 00:44:21,220 --> 00:44:25,570 system and try to survive in it. They need to 729 00:44:25,570 --> 00:44:28,150 find other ways. Okay, next slide? 730 00:44:30,430 --> 00:44:32,350 Harriet Tubman, we all know Harriet Tubman, 731 00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:37,600 you cannot talk about sacrifice, you cannot talk 732 00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:40,960 about the drive for American freedom without 733 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:43,870 mentioning Harriet Tubman. Prolific conductor of 734 00:44:43,870 --> 00:44:47,560 the Underground Railroad. She was successful in 735 00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:51,010 commandeering some two hundred, as she called 736 00:44:51,010 --> 00:44:54,730 charges out of slavery. Two hundred Black men, 737 00:44:54,730 --> 00:44:58,910 women and children out of slavery. And she wasn't on 738 00:44:58,910 --> 00:45:01,360 a horse most of the time and she wasn't in a wagon, 739 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:04,940 they literally walked from various states, 740 00:45:05,150 --> 00:45:09,290 especially in the southeast there up to north to 741 00:45:09,860 --> 00:45:12,710 to freedom or even as far as Canada where they 742 00:45:12,710 --> 00:45:16,220 were taken. She was a Union army spy, a scout, a 743 00:45:16,220 --> 00:45:22,640 nurse, and one of her most ardent friends and 744 00:45:23,270 --> 00:45:26,300 someone she trusted with her life as he trusted 745 00:45:26,300 --> 00:45:29,000 with her life was John Brown. John Brown, of 746 00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:32,030 course, was the man who led to famous or infamous 747 00:45:32,720 --> 00:45:36,530 raid on Harpers Ferry. She helped to finance him 748 00:45:37,010 --> 00:45:40,940 in that episode in Harpers Ferry. 749 00:45:41,060 --> 00:45:43,780 Unfortunately for him and maybe for all of us, 750 00:45:43,780 --> 00:45:45,410 it didn't work. Next? 751 00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:51,290 Then as William Lloyd Garrison. William Lloyd 752 00:45:51,290 --> 00:45:51,920 Garrison... 753 00:45:54,380 --> 00:45:57,410 says it all with this quote about himself. He 754 00:45:57,410 --> 00:46:01,160 wrote this, the most popular and the most infamous 755 00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:05,690 antislavery newspaper called The Liberator, and he 756 00:46:05,690 --> 00:46:09,020 also founded a regional organization called the 757 00:46:09,020 --> 00:46:12,560 New England Anti Slavery Society. And then it went 758 00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:15,770 national. It was the American Antislavery Society. 759 00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:19,130 And they did good work in trying to help liberate 760 00:46:19,130 --> 00:46:21,500 the slaves. They often helped and financed the 761 00:46:21,500 --> 00:46:24,860 Underground Railroad. But to understand Garrison 762 00:46:24,860 --> 00:46:28,820 and what he stood for, let me read a quote that he 763 00:46:28,820 --> 00:46:31,640 had given just before he launched the Liberator 764 00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:37,010 newspaper. "A few white victims must be sacrificed 765 00:46:37,010 --> 00:46:40,130 to open the eyes of this nation and show the 766 00:46:40,130 --> 00:46:43,880 tyranny of our laws. I expect and I am willing to 767 00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:48,230 be persecuted in prison and bound for advocating 768 00:46:48,230 --> 00:46:52,190 African rights. And I deserve to be a slave myself 769 00:46:52,190 --> 00:46:54,620 if I shrunk from that duty or danger." 770 00:46:56,780 --> 00:46:59,390 People like Garrison have always existed in 771 00:46:59,390 --> 00:47:03,350 American history. Garrison was trying to help 772 00:47:03,350 --> 00:47:05,930 people that didn't look like him because it was 773 00:47:05,930 --> 00:47:08,840 the right thing to do. We've had people throughout 774 00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:12,980 history of all stripes, black, yellow, brown. 775 00:47:16,190 --> 00:47:21,620 The epitome of that whole notion is embodied in 776 00:47:21,620 --> 00:47:25,760 one of our dear colleagues that we recently lost 777 00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:28,460 last month, Kathryn Adams of the English 778 00:47:28,460 --> 00:47:31,700 Department. Kathryn would give her life to help 779 00:47:31,700 --> 00:47:36,140 others. And so I just want to pay tribute to her. 780 00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:39,140 Let's move on to the next slide. 781 00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:48,810 This is Mary Ellen Pleasant, another one of these 782 00:47:48,810 --> 00:47:51,540 African-American women who were millionaires in 783 00:47:51,540 --> 00:47:55,230 their lifetime. She was called the Harriet Tubman 784 00:47:55,230 --> 00:47:58,140 of the West because she worked so hard not to end slavery, 785 00:47:58,140 --> 00:48:03,180 but to raise up those Blacks who were injured or 786 00:48:03,180 --> 00:48:05,790 who had difficulty surviving. And she brought a 787 00:48:05,790 --> 00:48:10,110 number of legal suits in San Francisco against 788 00:48:10,740 --> 00:48:14,750 discrimination and unfair treatment, next. Oh, 789 00:48:14,970 --> 00:48:17,520 also, one other thing I'd like to remember about 790 00:48:17,520 --> 00:48:20,730 her, she is said to have given close to five 791 00:48:20,730 --> 00:48:26,010 hundred thousand dollars to John Brown also in 792 00:48:26,010 --> 00:48:32,400 his pursuit to the activity he did down in 793 00:48:34,050 --> 00:48:37,050 Harpers Ferry in Virginia. Okay next slide? 794 00:48:39,500 --> 00:48:42,140 Now, I've become an avid golfer, so I took a 795 00:48:42,140 --> 00:48:45,230 little liberty here, but this liberty is important 796 00:48:45,230 --> 00:48:49,160 to understand. Many, many people sometimes 797 00:48:49,460 --> 00:48:54,890 categorize sports or activities based on a race. 798 00:48:55,140 --> 00:48:59,210 So White people search, White people ride skateboards, 799 00:48:59,540 --> 00:49:01,550 but that's not for Black people. That's no longer 800 00:49:01,550 --> 00:49:04,940 true in 2021. But for much of our 801 00:49:04,940 --> 00:49:06,710 history, there are certain things Black people did 802 00:49:06,720 --> 00:49:08,600 and certain things White people do. One of the 803 00:49:08,600 --> 00:49:10,550 things Black people don't do is play golf. That's 804 00:49:10,550 --> 00:49:13,070 a White man's sport. Well, let me tell you this. 805 00:49:14,120 --> 00:49:20,630 The first time that an American played in the 806 00:49:20,630 --> 00:49:26,450 United States Open Golf Tournament was this man on 807 00:49:26,450 --> 00:49:29,450 the left, John Shippen, he becomes the first 808 00:49:29,450 --> 00:49:31,820 African-American golfer to play, but he wasn't 809 00:49:31,820 --> 00:49:34,490 only the first African-American golfer to play, 810 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:38,810 but he was the first American golfer to play in 811 00:49:38,810 --> 00:49:44,480 the US Open. His friend, a Shinnecock Native 812 00:49:44,480 --> 00:49:48,350 American by the name of Oscar Bunn also played. So 813 00:49:48,350 --> 00:49:52,790 the first Americans to play in the U.S. Open were 814 00:49:52,790 --> 00:49:56,810 both people of color. You might say, "Well, what do 815 00:49:56,810 --> 00:50:00,140 you mean? Who else was playing if they if these 816 00:50:00,140 --> 00:50:02,030 were the only people?" Well, there were no 817 00:50:02,030 --> 00:50:05,240 Americans. The people who brought golf to America 818 00:50:05,240 --> 00:50:09,500 were Scottish people, or English, or the Irish they 819 00:50:09,500 --> 00:50:13,430 played. But at the first term in 1895 820 00:50:13,430 --> 00:50:15,470 and then this tournament that these 821 00:50:15,470 --> 00:50:18,440 gentlemen first participated in 1896, 822 00:50:18,440 --> 00:50:19,850 and 823 00:50:22,050 --> 00:50:26,490 Shippen becomes the first American golfer to win 824 00:50:26,490 --> 00:50:30,120 prize money in the U.S. Open. Shippen 825 00:50:30,120 --> 00:50:32,220 unfortunately, also becomes the last golfer 826 00:50:32,220 --> 00:50:35,880 allowed to play in the U.S. Open until the 827 00:50:35,880 --> 00:50:38,570 1940s. Next slide? 828 00:50:41,500 --> 00:50:44,330 Real quick, I know our time is short and I don't 829 00:50:44,330 --> 00:50:50,200 want to go over, but this dentist, George Franklin 830 00:50:50,200 --> 00:50:56,750 Grant receives all kinds of platitudes and 831 00:50:56,750 --> 00:51:01,160 respect as a dentist. His specialty was cleft 832 00:51:01,700 --> 00:51:06,350 palate patients, and he created and patented a 833 00:51:06,350 --> 00:51:11,480 prosthetics that would help cleft palate patients 834 00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:14,120 to eat well. He was also the first 835 00:51:14,120 --> 00:51:17,780 African-American faculty member at Harvard. We 836 00:51:17,780 --> 00:51:20,330 have Woodson, who was the second Ph.D., we have 837 00:51:20,330 --> 00:51:22,880 DuBois who is the first Ph.D., but the first 838 00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:27,470 African-American faculty member at Harvard was, 839 00:51:27,960 --> 00:51:32,450 was George Grant, and he invented the first 840 00:51:32,780 --> 00:51:35,210 golf tee, the first modern golf tee. There have 841 00:51:35,210 --> 00:51:38,180 been many iterations of it, but he is the one that 842 00:51:38,180 --> 00:51:43,180 received a patent for the golf tee in 1899. 843 00:51:43,370 --> 00:51:47,090 Unfortunately, he didn't profit from this tee, not 844 00:51:47,090 --> 00:51:49,550 that he was particularly interested in it, in that 845 00:51:49,550 --> 00:51:51,170 anyways. Next slide? 846 00:51:53,880 --> 00:51:56,970 Finally, of those that have contributed, I'm going 847 00:51:56,970 --> 00:51:59,940 to skip into and delve into the 20th century 848 00:51:59,940 --> 00:52:03,480 with this man, John James Weldon Johnson, I think 849 00:52:03,480 --> 00:52:05,430 we've all heard of him. And if you haven't heard 850 00:52:05,430 --> 00:52:08,310 of him, you've heard of his song, Lift Every Voice 851 00:52:08,310 --> 00:52:13,190 and Sing. James supplied the lyrics, his brother 852 00:52:13,250 --> 00:52:18,290 Jay or John Rosamond Johnson, he supplied the music 853 00:52:18,650 --> 00:52:22,340 and by 1905, Lift Your Voice and Sing 854 00:52:22,640 --> 00:52:26,390 became very quickly the Black National Anthem. And 855 00:52:26,390 --> 00:52:30,320 to this day, most African-Americans recognizes as 856 00:52:30,320 --> 00:52:34,010 the Black National Anthem along with the American 857 00:52:34,010 --> 00:52:34,430 Anthem. 858 00:52:36,590 --> 00:52:40,310 Of late, there's been more than just talk that 859 00:52:40,310 --> 00:52:43,370 Lift Every Voice and Sing will become the American 860 00:52:43,370 --> 00:52:46,730 national hymn. Don't get me wrong on this, not the 861 00:52:46,730 --> 00:52:51,350 new American National Anthem, but the new American 862 00:52:51,530 --> 00:52:56,210 national hymn. Next slide, please? 863 00:52:59,000 --> 00:53:03,050 So I want to end this talk very briefly with just 864 00:53:03,050 --> 00:53:09,540 a quick case study of what I call the radical 865 00:53:09,540 --> 00:53:14,280 path to Black History Month, but radicalism is in 866 00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:17,260 the eyes of the beholder, right? Little background. 867 00:53:17,460 --> 00:53:20,310 The 1940s, the 50s and the 60s 868 00:53:20,790 --> 00:53:24,210 witnessed the uneven expansion of Black History 869 00:53:24,210 --> 00:53:27,570 Week in the study of black history in general. So 870 00:53:27,570 --> 00:53:29,910 all the work that had been done is beginning to 871 00:53:29,910 --> 00:53:33,600 grow throughout the country. But let's take a much 872 00:53:33,600 --> 00:53:36,330 too brief chronology of one of the paths that 873 00:53:36,330 --> 00:53:40,320 Black History Month took. By the mid 1960s in 874 00:53:40,320 --> 00:53:44,100 places like San Francisco, in Oakland, throughout 875 00:53:44,100 --> 00:53:47,670 the Bay Area, in Chicago, and yes, Virginia. Even 876 00:53:47,670 --> 00:53:51,120 in Kent State University in the Midwest, college 877 00:53:51,120 --> 00:53:54,690 students were leading the activism against 878 00:53:54,690 --> 00:53:58,590 political, social, economic, and racial injustices. 879 00:53:59,130 --> 00:54:03,990 Not to mention the exploding anti-war sentiment 880 00:54:03,990 --> 00:54:06,840 that was blossoming and of course, the freedom to 881 00:54:06,840 --> 00:54:11,310 smoke a little dope. In November of 1967, 882 00:54:11,310 --> 00:54:15,780 a group of men came to Kent State on the 883 00:54:15,780 --> 00:54:21,220 invitation of some of these activists Black 884 00:54:21,220 --> 00:54:25,720 students, this group was called the Deacons for 885 00:54:25,720 --> 00:54:28,720 Self-defense. They were founded or established in 886 00:54:28,990 --> 00:54:32,230 Louisiana to protect Black people who wanted to 887 00:54:32,230 --> 00:54:36,340 vote, who wanted to just live a normal life, to 888 00:54:36,340 --> 00:54:40,420 keep from being hung, from getting murdered. They 889 00:54:40,450 --> 00:54:44,230 were armed and they were dangerous to anyone that 890 00:54:44,230 --> 00:54:49,750 tried to encroach upon black rights. By the winter 891 00:54:49,750 --> 00:54:52,330 of 1968, they spoke in the fall of 892 00:54:52,330 --> 00:54:54,460 1967, they were on the quarter system at 893 00:54:54,460 --> 00:54:58,120 Kent State. They spoke in the fall of 1967 and 894 00:54:58,120 --> 00:55:01,450 then by the winter of 1968 Black 895 00:55:01,450 --> 00:55:05,770 students organized themselves into a student club. 896 00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:10,270 This student club was called the Black United 897 00:55:10,270 --> 00:55:14,410 Students and it remains that name today. Most 898 00:55:15,970 --> 00:55:19,630 black organized clubs are called the Black 899 00:55:19,630 --> 00:55:22,090 Student Union. We have obviously a Black Student 900 00:55:22,090 --> 00:55:24,490 Union at Moorpark College, and many of you have 901 00:55:24,490 --> 00:55:26,830 attended universities where you've always heard 902 00:55:26,830 --> 00:55:30,190 BSU, with this group then and even now, called 903 00:55:30,200 --> 00:55:34,180 themselves the Black United Students. With a death 904 00:55:34,330 --> 00:55:39,070 in '68 with key national figures. Our beloved 905 00:55:39,070 --> 00:55:42,040 Martin Luther King in April of '68 and the equally 906 00:55:42,040 --> 00:55:47,290 beloved Bobby Kennedy in June of '68, students here 907 00:55:47,290 --> 00:55:51,120 and elsewhere throughout the country began to 908 00:55:51,120 --> 00:55:55,020 anticipate what Obama would later phrase, and, "We 909 00:55:55,020 --> 00:55:59,960 are the change we seek." So students begin to 910 00:55:59,960 --> 00:56:04,160 develop solidarity with the Black Panther Party at 911 00:56:04,160 --> 00:56:07,340 Kent State, and the reason for that is that the 912 00:56:07,340 --> 00:56:10,610 Black Panther Party was calling attention to in 913 00:56:10,610 --> 00:56:13,670 California to that the most racist, and the most 914 00:56:13,670 --> 00:56:17,120 violent, and the most brutal police force that they 915 00:56:17,120 --> 00:56:20,430 know of are the police are the police from 916 00:56:20,430 --> 00:56:23,470 Oakland, California. And as far as they were 917 00:56:23,470 --> 00:56:26,290 concerned, they needed to be stopped. Well, to add 918 00:56:26,290 --> 00:56:29,680 insult to injury to the time, Kent State 919 00:56:29,680 --> 00:56:34,180 University allowed officers or recruiters from the 920 00:56:34,180 --> 00:56:37,150 Oakland Police Department to come to Kent State 921 00:56:37,150 --> 00:56:38,200 and recruit 922 00:56:40,450 --> 00:56:43,570 students to become police officers in Oakland. 923 00:56:46,750 --> 00:56:50,680 When these recruiters came to campus, both Black, 924 00:56:50,860 --> 00:56:54,220 White and other students of color began to protest. 925 00:56:55,430 --> 00:57:00,740 Many students led by the B, by the B-U-S, they 926 00:57:00,770 --> 00:57:04,340 decided to take over the campus center and then 927 00:57:04,340 --> 00:57:06,830 once they were expelled from the campus center, 928 00:57:06,830 --> 00:57:09,890 they then walked from the campus twenty four miles 929 00:57:09,890 --> 00:57:14,570 away, or some of them drove to to Akron, where 930 00:57:14,570 --> 00:57:17,620 they set up what they called a university in exile. 931 00:57:18,140 --> 00:57:20,840 And while they were in exile, they began to talk 932 00:57:20,840 --> 00:57:24,950 about and to address racial, how to end racial 933 00:57:24,950 --> 00:57:28,370 discrimination, how to promote social injustice, 934 00:57:28,730 --> 00:57:33,260 and to promote a respect for black history, for 935 00:57:33,260 --> 00:57:35,180 black history and culture. Next slide? 936 00:57:39,330 --> 00:57:42,300 During these meetings at this at this exile 937 00:57:42,300 --> 00:57:46,080 university, the question kept coming up, germane to 938 00:57:46,080 --> 00:57:49,380 what we're talking about. "Why is it that only one 939 00:57:49,380 --> 00:57:53,190 week is given to the study of black history and 940 00:57:53,190 --> 00:57:58,480 51 weeks are given to white history?" The 941 00:57:58,480 --> 00:58:00,580 better solution, of course, as we all know, as 942 00:58:00,580 --> 00:58:02,530 Tammy mentioned earlier, is to have it all 943 00:58:02,530 --> 00:58:05,020 integrated, and when you read history, you would 944 00:58:05,020 --> 00:58:09,170 read about everyone black, brown, yellow. The 945 00:58:09,170 --> 00:58:12,980 university sanctioned, finally, after much 946 00:58:12,980 --> 00:58:16,220 haggling and protest, they finally sanctioned the 947 00:58:16,220 --> 00:58:20,390 celebration of Black History Month. And so Kent 948 00:58:20,390 --> 00:58:22,910 State becomes one of the first, if not the first 949 00:58:22,910 --> 00:58:25,520 that's in dispute. Kent State becomes 950 00:58:27,530 --> 00:58:32,780 the first university to offer Black History Month 951 00:58:33,080 --> 00:58:38,030 every month from February to 1970. Last point here 952 00:58:38,030 --> 00:58:41,210 is that the Kuumba house that you see to the left 953 00:58:41,480 --> 00:58:44,300 with the brothers standing on top of the roof was 954 00:58:44,300 --> 00:58:46,370 founded in 1968 during these 955 00:58:46,370 --> 00:58:49,670 years of protest. They fought for and got this 956 00:58:49,670 --> 00:58:52,910 center. The center becomes the college is the 957 00:58:52,910 --> 00:58:55,610 university's first Black Student's Cultural Center. 958 00:58:56,150 --> 00:59:00,070 And then in time it will become the African 959 00:59:00,110 --> 00:59:05,270 American Studies Center or today, the Pan African 960 00:59:06,020 --> 00:59:11,870 Cultural Center. Next slide. Finally, do the work 961 00:59:11,870 --> 00:59:15,080 of the National Association for the Advancement of 962 00:59:15,080 --> 00:59:20,660 Colored People and other lobbyist and promoters, 963 00:59:21,110 --> 00:59:27,530 Gerald Ford signed into law a decree, I'm sorry he didn't 964 00:59:27,800 --> 00:59:31,070 a law he signed a decree and essentially he said 965 00:59:31,220 --> 00:59:34,700 we can seize the opportunity to 966 00:59:34,700 --> 00:59:38,000 honor the two often neglected accomplishments of 967 00:59:38,000 --> 00:59:42,140 Black Americans in every area throughout our 968 00:59:42,140 --> 00:59:44,930 history. Thank you, folks. I think I ran over just 969 00:59:44,930 --> 00:59:47,330 a bit, but thank you so much for the opportunity 970 00:59:47,330 --> 00:59:50,630 to share some thoughts on Black History Month. 971 00:59:51,830 --> 00:59:53,810 Tim: Professor Hopkins, thank you very much for your 972 00:59:53,810 --> 00:59:58,280 presentation, it was wonderful. Next slide, please? 973 00:59:59,640 --> 01:00:02,940 We've been able to ask you to save the date 974 01:00:03,360 --> 01:00:07,650 because on February 26, there will be a 975 01:00:07,650 --> 01:00:11,610 conversation lecture with Dr. Cornel West, who is 976 01:00:11,610 --> 01:00:14,400 a philosopher and a published practice professor 977 01:00:14,400 --> 01:00:16,470 at Harvard University and Professor Emeritus at 978 01:00:16,470 --> 01:00:21,450 Princeton University. He will be here on the 979 01:00:21,450 --> 01:00:25,470 26th. The exact time is to be determined, 980 01:00:25,470 --> 01:00:28,020 but this is one of those ventures where there will 981 01:00:28,020 --> 01:00:31,980 probably be some sort of webinar followed by 982 01:00:32,520 --> 01:00:35,040 probably something on YouTube. But we just want to 983 01:00:35,040 --> 01:00:37,290 make sure you save that date. There are also a series of 984 01:00:37,290 --> 01:00:40,290 other events that are occurring throughout Black 985 01:00:40,290 --> 01:00:43,590 History Month that are being hosted by faculty, 986 01:00:43,590 --> 01:00:47,570 staff, and our students as well. Next slide, please? 987 01:00:48,640 --> 01:00:50,530 I'd also like to take this time introduce you to 988 01:00:50,530 --> 01:00:53,740 the Black family of Moorpark College who are here on 989 01:00:53,740 --> 01:00:55,870 this particular slide and every aspect of the 990 01:00:55,870 --> 01:00:59,110 college, from the administration to staff, to 991 01:00:59,110 --> 01:01:04,660 faculty to admin. Also, we will be offering 992 01:01:04,660 --> 01:01:10,510 soon an African-American Studies course at 993 01:01:10,510 --> 01:01:14,010 Moorpark College, and we look forward to that. Dr. 994 01:01:14,020 --> 01:01:16,690 Hopkins, or excuse me Professor Hopkins is there anything else 995 01:01:16,690 --> 01:01:21,170 you'd like to add before we close out? [Ranford]: No, not at 996 01:01:21,170 --> 01:01:23,540 this time, I know we have a couple other things to 997 01:01:23,540 --> 01:01:27,560 do before we do. I'm fine. Thank you so much. Okay Tim. Next 998 01:01:27,560 --> 01:01:31,910 slide, please? So we're going to end this today 999 01:01:32,210 --> 01:01:35,030 and like everything else in my class. Please 1000 01:01:35,030 --> 01:01:37,040 have fun today. Enjoy yourselves, take care of 1001 01:01:37,040 --> 01:01:39,170 your families. Welcome to Black History Month at Moorpark 1002 01:01:39,560 --> 01:01:41,990 College and above all else, continue to be the 1003 01:01:41,990 --> 01:01:43,720 positive difference in the lives you touch each 1004 01:01:43,730 --> 01:01:45,740 day. And we're going to leave you with the Black 1005 01:01:45,740 --> 01:01:48,150 National Anthem. Have a nice day. 1006 01:01:50,180 --> 01:02:13,920 (Acapella sounds, ooh... do... dah) Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring Ring with the harmonies of Liberty 1007 01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:31,400 Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies Let it resound loud as the rolling sea 1008 01:02:31,500 --> 01:02:49,440 Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us 1009 01:02:49,500 --> 01:03:06,040 Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory is won 1010 01:03:06,060 --> 01:03:22,720 Stony the road we trod Bitter the chastening rod Felt in the days when hope unborn had died 1011 01:03:22,740 --> 01:03:40,600 Yet with a steady beat Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? 1012 01:03:40,700 --> 01:03:57,240 We have come over a way that with tears has been watered We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered 1013 01:03:57,280 --> 01:04:15,240 Out from the gloomy past Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast 1014 01:04:15,240 --> 01:04:32,600 (Acapella sounds, ooh...doo...aah...dah...) 1015 01:04:32,800 --> 01:04:51,240 God of our weary years God of our silent tears Thou who has brought us thus far on the way 1016 01:04:51,260 --> 01:05:10,880 Thou who has by Thy might led us into the light Keep us forever in the path, we pray 1017 01:05:11,000 --> 01:05:29,600 Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee Lest, our hearts drunk of the wine of the world, we forget Thee 1018 01:05:29,620 --> 01:05:48,080 Shadowed beneath Thy hand May we forever stand True to our God True to our God True to our God... 1019 01:05:48,090 --> 01:06:06,440 True to our native land True to our native land 1020 01:06:07,930 --> 01:06:10,660 Tim: Thank you very much, everyone. Enjoy your day and 1021 01:06:10,660 --> 01:06:11,840 welcome to Black History Month.