BLACK HISTORY MONTH

"CELEBRATING BLACKNESS"

Special Thanks to Our Black History Month Planning Committee 2023: Aisha Conner-Gaten, Alexandra Evans, Carla Ruiz, David Crawford, Diana Carrillo, Dr. Eric Hanson, Hoover Zariani, Kelly Andrade, Dr. Kristyl Smith, Nicole Tran, Nusha Shishegar, Rita Zobayan, Shellie Stamps, Shelby McIntyre, Sharis Davoodi, & Sangita Dube.

These programs are brought to you by the Black History Month Planning Committee, Multicultural & Community Engagement Center, Disabled Student Programs and Services, Cultural Diversity, and sponsored by Student Equity and Achievement.

ALL EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY

3/1/2023: Elevating Voices of Black Women via Storytelling in Entrepreneurship, Activism, & Advocacy

Title: Elevating Voices of Black Women via Storytelling in Entrepreneurship, Activism, & Advocacy

Presenters: Tamika Lewis & Candis Welch

Date: March 1st, 2023

Time: 12:20pm-1:40pm

Event Description: This event focuses on celebrating the voices of two Black women that are advocates in their community giving us an opportunity to learn about their personal background, educational journey, career trajectory, and future goals. This opportunity hopes to educate, inspire, and engage those that want to better understand the Black/African American women experiences within the context of the world of work.

FLEX & CPGU APPROVED

2/28/2023: Black Student Voices in Conversation

Black Student Voices in Conversation

Dates: Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Time: 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm

Location: Sierra Vista (SV) 233

Event Description: The purpose of the panel will be to create a discussion about how students identify themselves according to their community or background and what that means to them. It is the hope of this panel that individuals will be able to learn about the variety of backgrounds and intersectionality among the Black/ African American community. While many individuals in the Black African American community have things in common, they also have differences that make them unique. The discussion is meant to create a relaxed environment for those present to share thoughts and experiences and to grow as individuals.

FLEX & CPGU APPROVED

2/23/2023: Black + Mental Health + Matters

Black + Mental Health + Matters

Date: Thursday, February 23rd, 2023

Time: 12:30am-2:30pm

Location: Sierra Vista (SV) 233

Event Description: Black + Mental Health + Matters is a workshop designed to be a place of refuge for Black students. Knowing that Black humans in North America face unique and specific barriers to mental wellness, this workshop provides a place for them to be seen and heard, both collectively and individually. Equipping participants with tools to help them heal and thrive, using creative practices to center and uplift. While this event centers around supporting Black students, all campus community members who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) are invited to attend. However, comments or participation from allies that pull focus away from Black mental health will be respectfully redirected.

FLEX & CPGU APPROVED

2/22/2023: Black Professional Panel

Black Professional Panel
Presenters:

Christopher Ellison, Production Supervisor, Verco Decking Inc.

Loena Rodgers, Founder,The Egg-cellent Company

Norma Williams, Owner of Williams & Associates Law Firm

Latasha Ford, Social Media Manager & Associate Editor -- Penske Media 'Gold Derby'

Date: Wednesday, February 22^nd, 2023
Time: 12:20pm-1:45pm

Event Description: Learn first-hand from career professionals about their career journey, challenges along the way, and tips for your future success. A panel of Black/African-American professionals will share their personal experiences navigating their own unique career journey and the professional workspace. This professional panel hopes to educate, inspire, and engage those that want to better understand the Black/African American experience within the context of the world of work.

FLEX & CPGU APPROVED

2/1/2023: Intersectionality of the African American/Black Experience & Disability

Intersectionality of the African-American/Black Experience & Disability

Presenter: Jessica Stewart

Event Description: Jessica Stewart joins us to discuss her educational and career journey, challenges that she has faced and how she overcame them, as well as her personal experience of her intersecting identities.

Speaker Biography: Jessica Stewart is a Glendale Community College alumna and an adjunct instructor in the English division. After earning degrees in English and Arts and Humanities at GCC, she pursued and earned bachelors and Masters degrees in literature and taught beginning, intermediate and advanced rhetoric and composition at California State University, Northridge. In addition to her work at GCC, she works as a writing assessment specialist as part of the Onramps program at the University of Texas at Austin. Her areas of interest include but are not limited to the rhetoric of horrors, subversive music, & multi-modal composition.

Wednesday, February 1st, 2023

Time: 12:30pm-1:30pm

CULTURAL DIVERSITY ZOOM

FLEX & CPGU APPROVED

Closed captioning and ASL interpreting will be provided. Please contact Kim Weissman, Lead interpreter and coordinator, at kweissman@glendale.edu if you have any questions.

FLEX APPROVED

1/18/2023: Spoken Word/Poetry Event

Spoken Word/Poetry Event

Presenters: Dr. Kristly Smith and Professor Shellie Stamps

Location: Sierra Madre (SM) 267 @ The Exchange

Event Description: GCC is proud to host its third Black History Month Spoken Word Event. Poetry and literature have been a healing and empowering form of expression for African Americans throughout our journey in the United Stated. Many of the late legends of literature like Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston began in college. GCC is proud to offer a stage for our own future legends to share their gifts. Join us and celebrate the Black Voices of Glendale Community College as they share poetry, prose, short essays, and more lyrical oration.

FLEX APPROVED

1/17/2023: GCC’s 8th Annual MLK Breakfast Celebration

GCC’s 8^th Annual MLK Breakfast Celebration

Presenter: Tiara Mercius, JD.

Date: Tuesday, January 17^th, 2023

Time: 9:30am-11:30pm

Event Description: GCC’s 8th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Celebration. Honoring the work and service of Dr. King. We will be joined by speaker Tiara Mercius, JD. Breakfast will be served. First come, first served.

Speaker Biography: Tiara Mercius, J.D.

Tiara Simmons Mercius, born and raised in New York, is a disability activist/advocate in Long Beach, California. Tiara is also a wife, mother, and entrepreneur. While her plan is to become a public defender, Tiara has shifted much of her focus to rights of disabled parents, anti-ableism, and what is known as "medical misogynoir". Tiara received her Juris Doctorate in 2018 from Southwestern Law School. There, she became a member of the Trial Advocacy Honors Program, Immigration Clinic, Delta Theta Phi, Law Fraternity, Black Law Student Association, Latino Law Student Association, and the Public Interest Law Committee. She has sat on the executive board of organizations including Hermandad de Sigma lota Alpha, Inc., Autism in Long Beach, La Mirada Volunteer Center, and Community Heroes. Tiara was also a founding member of The Charter Legal Clinic in Long Beach. Tiara holds a B.A. in Psychology/Spanish, M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction, and a B.S. in Forensic Psychology.

PAST EVENTS

Black History Month Profiles