The Colors of Black Legacy
Stories of black students and the people that influence them
Intro by Alejandro Ramos Editor-in-Chief
Throughout history, there have been countless men and women that contributed to the development of society. Some gave us art. Some gave us science. Some gave us laws and others a way to fight laws that were unjust.
Every year, in the month of February, we remember and honor black men and women that shaped this history. From Martin Luther King, Jr. to Rosa Parks. From Marcus Garvey to Angela Davis. From Jim Brown to Bill Russell. These individuals were instrumental to the growth and development of our society. We have all benefited from their contributions.
And yet, the ones that benefited the most are the ones that receive the least recognition. These black men and women have looked up to these figures since they were young are now working to carry on their legacies.
Xavier Rogers
By R. Ray Robinson Staff Writer
Why honor black history? Because celebrating our partner with hugs, kisses and chocolate in February is not enough. Black History Month is to remember the accomplishments of those who came before us.
The month commemorates Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and the former President Barack Obama. Or does it?
The president of Cal State Long Beach’s Black Student Union (BSU) Xavier Rogers thinks otherwise. He claims that these people do not personify the entire month and what it stands for. Xavier, a senior double majoring in Political Science and Africana Studies, instead gains consciousness through his education and by working with the BSU to rebuild his community.
Xavier works hard to honor his people. While leading BSU, he successfully organized the Black Consciousness Conference last fall. The event’s keynote speaker, Br. Polight, spoke about helping communities live better by improving education. A panel with radio personality Zaza Ali also occurred as well as workshops on eating healthy, money management and other useful topics.
Xavier also reaches out to Long Beach high school students at Millikan, Wilson and Long Beach Polytechnic High School to help encourage them to continue their education.
“Many students don’t have outreach advisors that look like them offer organizational skills to become leaders so I wanted to inspire them to become kings and queens in academia and the world,” said Xavier.
Xavier has expressed his love for Marcus Garvey. Garvey was a leader who emphasized worldwide unity for all African peoples, also known as Pan-Africanism. He was also the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Committee League (UNIA-ACL) during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance.
Garvey’s teachings from “The Philosophies and Opinions of Marcus Garvey” include self-reliance, global financial stability for black communities and black pride. He encouraged resourceful black men and women to journey back to the motherland in Africa to build a utopia for themselves. However, due to debt, controversy with the law and the white community, Garvey’s movement disbanded.
Nevertheless, Garvey’s legacy inspired many leaders and organizations to fight for freedom, including Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah, psychologist Dr. Umar Johnson, Kendrick Lamar, and Xavier himself.
“As BSU president, I want to implement more organizational skills to provide more events for students to succeed,” said Xavier.
Xavier’s goal is to help continue the legacy of human rights and black self-esteem.
When asked about Black History Month, Xavier said:
“Black History Month is every day. Everyone should learn about our ancestors paving the way for us to be here today. America gave us this month. However, don’t let America fool you into not celebrating black excellence every day. Try to read books from prominent black people, then use black history to educate the world.”
Xavier wants people to change for the better. To do this, he encourages learning about his history and about diverse groups of people.
Although Black History Month centers on black people, it should be celebrated by all. It should never be limited to key figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks or Barack Obama.
The month represents so many more people: astronomer Benjamin Banneker, businesswoman Madam C.J. Walker, African King Mansa Musa and others.
It represents the sacrifices made by freedom fighters for the pursuit of the American dream.
So instead of celebrating Black History Month as just a “month,” celebrate it as a way of life as it is — American history from the African American experience.
Andre Ajibade
By John Mueller Graphics Illustrator
There are tens of thousands of students attending Cal State Long Beach this year, and these are the last few months that Andre Ajibade will be counted in their numbers.
Graduating in May with a Bachelor’s degree in Drawing and Painting, he is about begin something new. Unlike others getting their degree however, Andre has already spent decades in a career that he loves.
Andre was a designer. He created clothing in the 80s and, after that, he worked in the toy development department for Mattel. On the side, he painted, something he had enjoyed his whole life. But in the mid-2000s, like many people during the recession, he was laid off.
With employers favoring young college-educated people, his search for employment was tremendously difficult. Then a close friend of his convinced him to go back to school. Andre was reluctant at first, thinking himself too old.
“He said something interesting,” said Andre, “He said education is for life, and so I decided hey, let’s go.”
Andre loved his late mom and dad, Gloria and Olubumni. They have always been his role models and personal heroes, it’s not something he shies away from saying. Some of his paintings openly display this adoration.
His parents met at UCLA, where they went to college. Andre’s father was Nigerian, and had to go back to his home country after he graduated. Because of this, Andre didn’t meet him until he was four when he and his mom moved to Nigeria. His dad worked for IMBM, while his mom was an educator, and Andre’s first teacher.
“My parents had class and that would mean traveling and reaching out and thinking outside (with) more of a world eclectic style mentality,” said Andre. “And I am very grateful to them for that.”
Andre says he had the best childhood because of them and that he wants to emulate their generosity by helping others. He wants to lend his assistance and experience to anyone in need, especially those younger than him pursuing artistic careers. He has helped one of his fellow students, Elmer, gain recognition in Los Angeles.
Andre is quite involved in the L.A. art scene himself, which is how he is able to provide assistance to others. Since 2006 he has been sending in his work to the town hall for Black History Month for the city’s annual booklet “The African American Cultural Guide.”
When Andre was younger, he painted about sports. That started to change after he read a TIME magazine on the Lost Boys of Sudan in the 90’s. Since then his work reflects more about his heritage. Most recently, he has been working on a series of paintings titled “Black Lives Too.”
“I’ve traveled the world, and people here have this America number one, freedom democracy, and sometimes as an American my experience has not been that. And so that’s become some of the areas that I want to express myself in my art,” said Andre.
In these paintings, he expresses his anger for the killings of unarmed African Americans by police.
Andre’s work will be on display for one week in May for the Bachelor of Fine Arts group show, in the Gatov gallery at CSULB.
Justin Bradley
By Jordan Daniels Opinions Editor
Along the way, we’ve seen criticism of Black History Month range from being too limiting, to exclusionary, to outright racist. We’ve also seen praise of it range from necessity to it being an integral part of history itself. But one student sees it transcend the restrictive idea of history.
In fact, he calls it, “Black Legacy Month.”
Justin Bradley, a senior majoring in both African Studies and Religious Studies, defines this month as the “origin and essence of life,” and believes black lives are ancestors of humanity.
“Through all the racism, oppression and negative things we witness, the resiliency of black people is very profound. There’s an innate desire to just keep going and keep growing,” said Bradley, who claims this as his reasoning to believe in this month as a legascy as opposed to history.
As president of the Black Student Union in the 2015–16 academic year, Bradley helped install a library system in the BSU resource center on campus and submitted the proposal to host the 2017 Afrikan Black Coalition Conference at California State University, Long Beach. The ABC conference serves to unify black students acorss California in order to discuss and resolve issues they face on campus and in the world.
After being hosted on every Unversity of California campus, Long Beach State is the first CSU to host the ABC Conference.
Another reason why Justin prefers black legacy over “history,” is because he feels that the root, “his-story” excluded the presence of other black presences besides men.
“I’ve been awakened by the effort to create equality with the representation of black history. Many just think of the great men attached to it, but don’t appreciate the black women who have led the struggle in many ways, which are just as significant,” he said.
When it comes to contributors to this black legacy, Bradley says that Louis Farrakhan, the current leader of the Nation of Islam, an African American political and religious movement, as someone who has impacted him the most.
“Being able to meet him and talk with him at the ABC conference was just amazing. Though some don’t always agree with him, I think he is someone that people in the black community at least take the time to listen to and hear his perspective,” said Bradley. “His dedication to serve to the black people is irrefutable and I cannot appreciate that enough.”
Farrakhan is notable for organizing and leading the Million Man March in 1995, which served to unite black men in self-help and defense against the economic and social inequities that the black community faced. He also organized the 20th anniversary march, “Justice or Else,” which Bradley attended, in response to the rise of police brutality in 2015. He’s been speaking about black community since his 20s.
“To have the strength to contribute to this legacy for the past 60 years is powerful and inspiring.”
In terms of his own contribution to the black legacy, Bradley wants to be a leader in the levels of healing for the black community and especially work in creating spaces for black men to be vulnerable and honest about their lives and experiences.
