9TH ANNUAL MLK BREAKFAST CELEBRATION
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10, 2024
Student Center 212 (SC212)
Breakfast
Welcome and Speaker

Guest Speaker: Dr. David B. Green Jr. 

When Black Queer People Remember The Civil Rights Movement
by Dr. David B. Green Jr.

Black queer people hold profound memories of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. In this talk, I mine those memories with the hope of advancing how Black queer folx ideas of freedom, liberation, community, and justice are all crucial to resisting and dismantling today's regimes of oppression that entrench Black folks, broadly, and Black queer, trans, and women folx in particular. In the face of such political depravities, I turn to the Black queer ancestors and contemporary cultural workers in search of inspiration, truth-speaking, empowerment, and ways to thrive and flourish, unapologetically, fearlessly, and fiercely—despite, indeed, the haters.

David B. Green Jr. (he/ him) is an Assistant Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. His teaching, research, and writing have appeared in major academic and pop cultural journals in the US and he lectures widely on social justice education as he insist that Black queer people not only matter, but have long intellectual and cultural histories that, when engaged deeply, can radically transform our heart, mind, and move us close to the freedom we all dream of today. He's also a seasoned Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Practitioner and was recently named a "Top Higher Education Voice" on Linked-In, reflecting his broader commitments to social change in and beyond higher education.

The GCC Multicultural & Community Engagement Center, Cultural Diversity, and Faculty Development present the 8TH Annual MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. BREAKFAST

January 17, 2023
9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
SC 212

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.

This event is open to the community

A True Revolution of Values: King Confronts our "Thing Oriented" Society
Todd Leonard, Senior Pastor, Glendale City Church

Todd Leonard is dedicated to building a radically-inclusive congregation at Glendale City Church devoted to community transformation in the city of Glendale.

Tuesday, January 18, 2022
10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
zoom.us/my/gccmcec

Sponsored by the Multicultural & Community Engagement Center and the Black History Month Organizing Committee

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Tuesday, January 19, 2021
10:00 to 11:30 a.m. (PST)
12:00 pm to 1:30pm (CST)

Glendale Community College
Multicultural & Community Engagement Center &
the Cultural Diversity Program
in partnership with Black History Month Task Force Presents

6th Annual
MLK Breakfast Celebration

This program is open to the community and GCC students, staff, and faculty.

Student Musical Performance
Natalia Rael, Amazing Grace

Welcome and Opening Remarks
Destinee Blackmon and Eric Hemeng

Student Reading of Selected Text
Jorge Castillo - Excerpt from "The Other America" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nicole Garrett - Excerpt from “Our God is Marching On” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jeannie Presley - Selected quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Featured Speaker Mr. Billy "Che" Brooks
in conversation with GCC Librarian Aisha Conner-Gaten
guided conversation with Q&A chat throughout
(please see biography of Mr. Brooks below)

Closing Remarks
Destinee Blackmon and Eric Hemeng

Student Musical Performance
Natalia Rael, Lift Every Voice and Sing

The informal Black History Month taskforce included participation from campus groups including: Multicultural & Community Engagement Center, Cultural Diversity, Student Equity and Achievement program, Black Scholars, Black Student Union, Academic Counseling, GCC Library, and the Student Affairs Office.

Funding for this event was provided through the GCC Foundation.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Billy Ché Brooks

Billy Ché Brooks was Former Deputy Minister of Education for the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and the Former Director of YouthLAB@1521 through the Better Boys Foundation, retiring in 2015.

In 1968, Ché worked closely with BPP Chairman Fred Hampton who was the Chairman for the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Ché also worked closely with the Young Lords through the Rainbow Coalition.

Ché has facilitated living history projects at the Oak Park Library and commemorated the fifty-year inception of the founding of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party in 2018.

Join us in a guided conversation and Q&A chat facilitated by GCC Librarian Aisha Conner-Gaten

MLK Breakfast flyer 2020 (pdf)

5th ANNUAL MLK BREAKFAST

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 | 9-11 a.m.
Student Center Conference Room