I want to give a shout out to San Diego State University’s Black Resource Center, the Latinx Resource Center and San Diego State University’s administrative staff for hosting the 2024 Black History Month forum on February 1, 2024. On the panel was David Rica Jr. of the San Diego Brown Berets, myself, representing the San Diego Original Black Panther Party for Community Empowerment and several other panelists.
The forum was filled with students who eagerly focused on the history of both organizations and their actions in history. There were five panelists. Three of them asked questions about the role these two great organizations played in the modern civil rights movement. We also brought to light how ethnic studies became a part of the educational curriculum. In the 1960s, the Black Panther Party addressed the lack of cultural education within the school system, through our 10-point platform. We demanded education reform! Number 5 of our platform reads:
“We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society. We believe in an educational system that will give our people a knowledge of self. If you do not have knowledge of yourself and your position in society and the world, then you will have little chance to know anything else.”
Not long after these demands, the higher educational system began making cultural education for Black people a priority. Soon, other ethnic groups and cultures were included in the educational system.
The forum was successful, thanks to the dedicated staff of the San Diego State University Black Resource Center and the Latinx Resource Center. Special thanks to Assistant Director Donnae Prather and Director Brandon Gamble of the Black Resource Center.
These types of student and community forums are needed on a regular basis, so that our future leaders of this great nation and world will be able to bond through our cultural exchanges, which will produce a collective understanding of our global humanity.
