Educating through History

By Marcelle Richards
Daily Bruin Reporter

February marks Black History Month, a time when grocery ads
flash “Black History Month special,” cutouts of Martin
Luther King Jr. grace classroom walls and a token African American
display may find itself in a bookstore.

“I think that quite often people tokenize the events.
Black History Month should be a time where we not only celebrate
our history but we reflect on our current social condition,”
said Karren Lane, chair of the African Student Union. “If we
did that, we would recognize the struggle continues, there is still
a lot of work to be done.”

Despite the celebration of Black History Month, many current
problems are still often overlooked during this month of
reflection. According to Lane, the concern for UCLA students
relates to dropping numbers in admissions and the lack of emphasis
on African and African American history in classrooms.

“The controversy over affirmative action is not settled.
There need to be continued efforts to make sure the diverse
community is given access,” said Richard Yarborough, director
of the Center for African American Studies and an assistant English
professor.

“The key to that is not necessarily the students or the
makeup of the students, but the faculty and administration ““
we’re just at the beginning of where we could be going with
that,” he continued.

The celebration of Black History Month, Yarborough says, is a
positive event as long as it is not the exclusive effort made to
recognize the trials and successes of the African and African
American community.

On campus, the center and ASU work to bring films, speakers and
events to students as a part of their efforts to promote the study
of black history, not only on campus but also in the larger
community.

“We’re concerned with this issue year-round,”
Yarborough said. “As an event, Black History Month probably
gets more play among the general public. For the community at
large, Black History Month mobilizes interest in something people
should be interested in.”

Though Black History Month commemorates historical leaders such
as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and other civil rights giants,
people tend to overlook less well-known, “unsung
heroes” of the African American community, according to Kelly
Wynn, sergeant of arms for ASU.

“Black History Month is devoted to one month, and the
shortest one at that,” Wynn said. “It should be
celebrated year-round. Contri-butions made by people of African
descent continue to be overlooked by not only the university, which
fails to acknowledge the contributions made by student initiated
groups, but by society in general.”

Though many issues still exist beneath the surface of Black
History Month, along with controversies with admissions and
curriculums at UCLA, Lane said people have made progress in trying
to reflect on the contributions of the African American
community.

Black History Month was started in response to the lack of black
history in classrooms, she said.

“I think people have definitely learned more about the
African culture, the African students who sit next to them in
class, and about themselves,” she said. “But I think we
need to take it a step further and actualize it in our everyday
life.”

Wynn said to her, the African American culture is unique in that
its roots are entrenched in 400 years of slavery, and African
Americans throughout history have have been pressured to abandon
the culture.

“Our community has had to build ourselves from nothing.
It’s an everyday struggle,” Wynn said. “Our
ability to maintain our culture and resist the attempts to destroy
our culture is unique in itself and that is what makes our
community so dynamic.”

For some students, the difficulty involved in tracing family
history has lead to a heightened path of self-discovery. The
answers did not come to Wynn from the classroom, but through
involvement with student groups, including the Black Pre-Law
Society and ASU.

“Not being able to trace my history really affects me as
an individual. You have to know where you come from in order to
move forward,” she said. “UCLA prides itself on being a
prestigious institution of higher learning, but personally, my
education comes from the experience I receive outside the
classroom.”

A recent hurdle for African American students has been SP-1 and
SP-2, measures passed in 1997 eliminating race and gender
considerations from college admissions processes, according to
Wynn.

“I think the civil rights movement included several
significant achievements for social justice but within the last
year a lot of those achievements are being threatened by
legislation such as Proposition 209,” Lane said. “The
American education system is very Euro-centric and as a result it
causes students of color to feel the education they receive is
irrelevant to their actual social experience.”

After the passing of SP-1 and SP-2, the African American
population on campus reflected a 50 percent drop, according to
Wynn.

“The lack of diversity is reflected in the classroom, but
that’s not a new experience for me,” Wynn said.
“It not only affects students of color, it affects other
students as well because they’re not exposed to our
perspective.”

This year, Wynn is the only African American student in her
French 100 class, and one of very few in Microbiology 6 as well as
English 10A.

Wynn said the university should work to repeal SP-1 and SP-2 as
a step toward correcting the problem of low diversity, while
working with student organizations on campus to institute
change.

But universities may not be the place to start in addressing
these issues.

The problem begins in primary school, where black history is
overlooked. Black history is continuously overlooked at UCLA
because there is not a diversity requirement, Wynn said.

“If you look at our campus, in no way does it reflect the
makeup of the surrounding area,” she said. “The fact
that there is not a diversity requirement is a detriment to the
construction of the campus.”

Guest speakers, a debate on affirmative action and a film on
Marcus Garvey are highlights of CAAS’s agenda.

This spring, CAAS plans to host a reparation conference on the
accomplishments of Ralph Bunche.

Additionally, ASU has proclaimed this month
“Pan-African” month, to include all people of African
descent and those who identify with the historical struggle.

The student-run organization also works to keep the African
Education Project ““ which works to bring African-related
curriculum to schools in the surrounding L.A. area”“ and the
African Arts Ensemble ““ which performs to add more cultural
influence to UCLA ““ running year long.

Nonetheless, until the university takes a more active role, the
progress will be slow, according to Yarborough.

“My sense is that for UCLA, just like at most schools,
curriculum change tends to be slow. There is certainly room for
more elaboration on programs and courses related to people of color
in general,” he said. “The conversations that take
place and the questions that are asked tend to be different if
there is little diversity.”

AFRO-AMERICAN STUDIES Courses offered for
spring 2001. Afro-Am 6 Trends in Black
Intellectual Thought: Overview of major intellectual
trends shaping the way in which African American thinkers have
interpreted the experience of blacks in Africa and the African
Diaspora. Afro-Am C101 Special topics in
Afro-American studies: Topics vary. Concurrently scheduled
with Afro-Am 201. Afro-Am M102 Culture,
Media and Los Angeles: Role of media in society and its
influence on contemporary cultural environment, specifically in Los
Angeles. Afro-Am M103E African American
Theater History: Depression to the Present Exploration of
extant materials on history and literature of theater as developed
and performed by African American artists in America.
Afro-Am M104A Early Afro-American
Literature: Introductory survey of Black American
literature from the 18th century through World War I, including
oral and written forms. Afro-Am M110A
African American Musical heritage: Study of
African music and its impact on the Americas. Afro-Am
CM112D African American Art Inquiry into work of 20th
century African American artists whose works provide commentary on
major features of American life and society. Concurrently scheduled
with CM 212D. Afro-Am M158B/C Survey of
Afro-American experience, specifically focusing on the transition
from Africa to New World slavery, the transition from slavery to
freedom, and the transition from rural to urban milieus.
Afro-Am M200C Selected Problems in Urban
Society:–Same as Sociology M262. Afro-Am
M240 Assessment and Treatment of African American
Families: Helps mental health professionals and trainees
in the evaluation and treatment of African American families in
terms of their cultural milieu, historical background and economic
status. SOURCE: UCLA schedule of classes Original graphic by VICTOR
CHEN/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by TIMOTHY MIU