Correction: an earlier edition of this story included a photo caption misidentifying the order of appearance of The Debrembrah brothers in the image, the caption has now been corrected.
Long Beach City College hosted its annual Black history kick-off event celebrating black heritage, culture, and music in the LAC quad on the afternoon of Feb 9.
The event kicked off with traditional African music with performances by the Dembrebrah Drummer group, and the LBCC dance group and choir club, The Lyrical Workers.
Alisia Kirkwood, who is the new dean of student affairs, gave a powerful speech on African American learning, as well as the damage of police brutality incited on African Americans.
Many other speeches were given by Lee Douglas, the appointed LBCC VP of academic affairs and Erainin Freeman, who is Associate Dean of Student Support Services at Long Beach City College, as well as board president Herlinda Chico.
Speeches included a prayer of silence for the victims of police brutality, including a lengthy list of names. Students and faculty all took a moment of silence out of respect for the victims, including the very recent death of Tyre Nichols.
During the event, The Lyrical Workers did a cover of Sam Cooke’s, “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
This performance invoked the emotions of everyone. As the heartfelt lyrics said, “It’s been a long time coming, but I know change is coming.”
A taste of soul food and the culture brought a huge line to the stand. Food stands served barbecued chicken, with a side of macaroni and cheese, bread, and barbecued baked beans to eagerly awaiting attendees.
“Black history represents pride. It represents a legacy to, not only remind people of our past, but to teach people of our culture.” said financial aid advisor Michelle Bowen when asked what Black history means to her.
Dancers opened their act with a traditional African dance that had bursts of energetic movement and flexibility. Despite the hot sun shining down on the dancers, their illuminating happy expressions managed to finish out strong while honoring dance and tradition.
The Dembrebrah Drummers are a three-man band that play traditional African beats on drums. They proudly wore colorful, traditional African clothing as they performed. With the strong sound of the drums and the uplifting atmosphere of the event, some say Black history month is not only for Black people, but for all ethnicities.
“Black history means the forward progression of Black people. It means a coming together, not only of African Americans, but those that can come together under any circumstance despite race, ethnicity, gender, etcetera. It’s a celebration of Black music, Black culture, Black food, and the support of Black owned businesses. I celebrate Black history month every day, I wake up Black, I am Black. My life pretty much is history in general.” said Celeste Farrah who was working at the financial aid booth.
“Black history, to me, is the overall celebration of what we as a culture have gone through since our existence in America. Not necessarily the restoration that we have gone through. We have to celebrate that for our new generation so they understand what we have overcome to get to where we are at. We still have a long way to go.” said Viking athletics advisor Marcus Carroll.