Long Beach City College’s Umoja Scholars Club and program aims to create a sense of community for Black students through cultural and educational experiences such as meetings, events, and college tours.
Umoja, a Kiswahili word meaning unity, is a grounding principle for both the club and program.
The Umoja Scholars Program oversees the academic portion while the Umoja Scholars Club acts as the social and community engagement of the overall program.
Both entities encourage students to focus their energy on developing an authentic and supportive learning community that honors the voices of students.
Umoja strongly promotes high academic achievement for all scholars on their educational journey.
“Umoja’s values are based on unity and a family feel. I often felt like a minority in classrooms and faced discrimination, and I was looking for a place that felt like home with no judgment,” said Kyshia Hearns, Umoja Club President.
Umoja Club President Kyshia Hearns leads the Umoja club meeting. Hearns has been active in Umoja since 2022 and stresses that Umoja is for everybody. (Sofia Hopkins)
The community that the club brings to campus is felt by many of its members.
Umoja club member and LBCC student Aahiner Davis said, “Some of us don’t really have family. I treat these people like they’re my brothers and sisters.”
Umoja has a key role in the creation and implementation of the Long Beach City
College’s Black History Month celebrations.
Using culture as a key component, Umoja continues to host and collaborate on events for the remainder of this month.
“There will be a Marsha P. Johnson luncheon as part of our Black and LGBTQ programming. We’ll also be at Join a Club Day at the TTC campus on Feb. 27,” Hearns said.
In addition to events, the Umoja Scholars Program offers the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Tour, which allows students to travel and explore campuses across the country to physically experience their ancestral legacies and histories of an ever-expanding African diaspora.
“A lot of Black kids lack opportunity, the HBCU tour really opened my eyes. It gave a lot of students the idea that they could go to other colleges and move out of California,” Davis said.
The HBCU tours also introduced some students to the Umoja club.
“It’s my first semester on the board. I joined last year after the tour because I wanted to get more involved,” Umoja Club Secretary Marty Triplett said.
Along with the HBCU tours, the Umoja Scholars Program has both counselors and classes specifically for Umoja members.
Although Umoja is designed to serve students identifying as Black, Hearns said, “All students are welcome to participate in club membership.”
Umoja Scholars Club meets weekly on Tuesdays in the B-Building (B-206) between 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.