USC kicked off its Black History Month celebrations with the Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs Thursday. Students, faculty and staff gathered at Tommy’s Place in the Tutor Campus Center to socialize, enjoy food and listen to guest speakers.

The event’s highlight was a video featuring prominent Black figures from the USC and greater South Central community. Assistant Vice President and Chief of the Department of Public Safety Lauretta Hill, Executive Director of the USC Black Alumni Association Jasmine Taylor and California Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas were among the many speakers who appeared throughout the video.

The video played on a large projector screen fixed above the main stage of Tommy’s Place. Red and green ceiling lights brightly illuminated the projector screen in an otherwise dimly-lit room, and the entire venue showcased decorations to emphasize the official colors of Black History Month — black, red, yellow and green. 

The colors can be traced to the Ethiopian flag and the Pan-African Flag, which was created in 1920 as a symbol of unity of the African diaspora.

The University’s theme for this year’s Black History Month is “Empowering Excellence: Celebrating Black History through the Arts.” Aligning with the theme, the video featured a dance performance from the Cardinal Divas, a majorette team at USC. 

Majorette dance is a mixture of multiple dance styles such as hip-hop and ballet, which was popularized in the American South and is a huge element of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

For those unable to attend the event in person, the center livestreamed the video on Zoom.

During her brief speech, Smallwood-Cuevas discussed the importance of uplifting and preserving South Central as a cultural landmark for Black artists despite the threat of urban renewal and gentrification that has displaced many artists and cultural spaces.

“To preserve and expand the cultural fabric of our community, I am working with community stakeholders to establish a bicultural arts district in Historic South [Central] Los Angeles,” Cuevas said. “By creating this cultural arts district, our community can transform into a major cultural destination for the world.”

Smallwood-Cuevas hopes her efforts will result in South Central receiving recognition across the world for its cultural arts scene.

“My hope is that South [Central] will serve as an iconic destination for international travelers familiar with the many movies, athletics, entertainments, architecture [and] political movements synonymous with the community over the past century. USC, with a deep dedication to community in the arts, has become an important partner in this endeavor.”

The Rev. Brandon Harris, associate dean for Religious and Spiritual Life, said he enjoyed the community and companionship that came with attending the Black History Month Kickoff.

“It was great to connect with so many faculty, staff and students and be able to celebrate as a community, eat good food and just think about our contributions to this campus and this world,” Harris said. 

Desa Philadelphia — a communications strategist as well as the head writer and editor at the School of Cinematic Arts — said she valued USC hosting events such as the kickoff to acknowledge and celebrate Black history and culture. 

“I came out today because I wanted to say to the University that I appreciate that this is happening,” Philadelphia said. “I think it’s important, not just to the Black USC community, but to the greater Black Los Angeles community, that USC recognizes where it sits and the importance of the community around here that supports the University.”

The center also offered food and drinks to the attendees. Volunteers served chicken sandwiches, pulled pork sandwiches, mushrooms, collard greens, and macaroni and cheese to guests at a food station located in the corner of the venue. 

LaVonna Lewis, the vice dean for diversity, equity and inclusion and a professor of public policy, was among the volunteers serving food. She explained that the food choices were intentionally picked for their deep roots in the Black community.

Lewis had nothing but praise when she spoke about the kickoff. 

“It was great for me. I love the variety of speakers. Everything from the students, the faculty, the staff and the performance by the divas, I enjoyed it all,” Lewis said. “I mean, it just shows how present we are all over campus, which I think is an important message for people to get.”