In 2015, a current LBCC Trustee filmed a video of Kamala Harris’ then opponent in the senate election performing a racist gesture at the California Democratic Convention, which ultimately led to Harris becoming a senator and her subsequent rise to Democratic Party presidential nominee.
Harris’ opponent, Loretta Sanchez, was addressing the Indian American Caucus when Uduak-Joe Ntuk, who has since become a Trustee for LBCC, began filming Sanchez as she spoke about her confusion as to which “Indian Americans” she was speaking to.
“I’m going to this office thinking that I’m going to go meet with…,” Sanchez said, before performing a stereotypical warcry gesture as a way to refer to Native Americans.
The video quickly went viral, and several major news organizations picked up the story including CNN and NBC.
“That was my 15 minutes of fame,” Ntuk said when asked about how he remembered the incident.
The election ended in a victory for Harris with over 60% of the vote, making her the second Black woman ever elected senator, and the first in California.
This senate position is what allowed Harris to be picked as Joe Biden’s vice president, and now finally being nominated as the Democratic Party’s candidate for the presidential race.
If Harris is elected in the upcoming 2024 election, this would make her the first female president, and only the second Black president in history.
Most of Ntuk’s fellow Trustees seem to be entirely unaware of this history, as when asked, they responded with surprise.
Virginia Baxter, a fellow Trustee, said that Ntuk had never brought it up to her before.
“I hadn’t heard about this, he never told me about it, not that he would.” said Baxter.
Baxter and Ntuk have a tense history on the Board, as in 2022 Ntuk stated to the Long Beach Post that Baxter “traffics in QAnon conspiracies and misinformation,” leading to a rough relationship between the two ever since.
Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Munoz stated that he was also unaware of the video.
However, president of the Board of Trustees Vivian Malaaulu, who was previously a journalism professor for LBCC, said that she used to use Ntuk’s video to teach her students.
“I used to show that video to my students and have him come in and talk about it to my class.” Malauulu said.
Harris is projected to win by various different polls by a slim margin, while some project a tie with her opponent Donald Trump. If she won, the victory would come with the aid of a current LBCC trustee.