Black History Month: UCLA exhibit showcases black leaders, achievements

Ricardo Huicochea’s gaze was transfixed on Gordon
Parks’ portrait. Reading the caption, he learned Parks was
the founder of Essence magazine, a composer and a filmmaker who won
an Emmy Award in 1968 for his documentary, “Diary of a Harlem
Family.”

He also learned Parks received honorary degrees from 13
different institutions and received a notable book award from the
American Library Association.

After reading the long list of achievements and accomplishments,
Huicochea learned another important thing.

Gordon Parks is African American.

Sponsored by the mentors of the Academic Advancement Program,
one of the hallways of Campbell Hall has been transformed into a
walk-in exhibit spotlighting the events, leaders and
accomplishments of blacks in commemoration of Black History
Month.

With a theme of “Past!, Present and Future?” the
exhibit traces not only the events which led to Abraham
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, but also showcases other
blacks such as Tommie Smith, a sprinter who made the U.S. Olympic
Team in 1968, and Angela Davis, a black activist. Those featured
may not share the same popularity as Martin Luther King, Jr. and
Malcolm X, but have nonetheless made significant contributions in
the advancement of blacks.

And this is exactly the point, Huicochea, first-year math
student, said. The purpose of Black History Month is to help
educate those outside of the community learn more about the
culture.

“U.S. history books don’t tell you everything
everyone did, how everyone treated everyone else,” Huicochea
said. “If you’re from a different race, you learn about
what the other race has accomplished and you begin to realize its
importance,”

Ryan Smith, fourth-year political science student and curator of
the exhibit, believes black history “has been
tokenized.” Smith said outside the black community, Black
History Month is not taken seriously.

“It’s way more expansive than most people think. Not
everyone is truly aware of the contributions of the African
American community,” Smith said.

The African Student Union has five events planned for the month
of February to celebrate what they now call Pan-African month.

Jenifer Brown, fifth-year ethnomusicology student and the staff
support representative for ASU, said the shift from African
American to Pan-African was instituted to encompass not only the
accomplishments of African Americans in particular but those of all
African people.

“Black people built this country and we need to give
credit where credit is due,” Brown said.

With the passage of Proposition 209, which eliminated race as a
factor in college admissions, and the resurfacing of the
affirmative action issue in the recent University of Michigan case,
Brown said there is concern in the community about the dwindling
number of black students enrolled at UCLA.

Brown said the organization is active not only in celebrating
the month but also in pursuing issues which directly affect the
community, such as their support for the repeal of SP-1 and 2 in
2002.

The annual celebration of Black History Month started in 1926
when Carter Woodson, son of former slaves, wanted to change the
image of blacks in U.S. history books.

Woodson believed American history ignored the black contribution
to building the country, and when U.S. history did acknowledge any
black contribution, it was portrayed in a negative light.

Woodson launched the “Negro History Week” in an
attempt to educate the country. This later became known as Black
History Month.

Woodson picked the second week of February to celebrate Negro
History Week because it marked the birthdays of two prominent men
in the black community: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

Though it started as a means to educate the country about black
contributions, Black History Month has taken on, according to
Smith, a more profound role.

It highlights the need for institutions like UCLA to make a
conscientious effort to increase the number of black students,
Smith said.

“With the passage of Proposition 209, it diminished the
potentiality of future contributions of African Americans in the
legacy of Ralph Bunche in UCLA community,” Smith said.