Black History Month
Viterbi Black Employees Group's Mission
To retain, mentor, and empower USC Viterbi African American employees; building a supportive community through social, educational, cultural awareness, and professional development programming.
2022 Celebrating Black Excellence
This year, we will be celebrating African American Cuisine and discussing its origins. We will look at how building of the interstate system disrupted thriving Black communities' excellence. We will also share the efforts underway to attract Black engineering students to Viterbi.
Previous Black History Activity
In 2021, the Viterbi Black Employee Resource Group Presented a Black History Month 4 Part Discussion Series of The New York Times' 1619 Project
Celebrating Black Excellence Series (virtual)
RSVP Here
Week 1 - 02/02/2022
12 Noon - https://usc.zoom.us/j/92821256922 (must use USC netID)
African American Cuisine Part 1
- High on the Hog - a Study of African American Cuisine based on the Netflix special (Click here for a link to the special)
- Heather will lead a live cooking demonstration of one of the dishes.
- Click here for a list of ingredients
- There will be a moderated discussion afterwards
Week 2 - 02/9/2022
12 Noon - https://usc.zoom.us/j/92821256922 (must use USC netID)
Racism and the Highway System
- Darin will give a presentation on racism and the highway system
- Some of the readings that will guide the discussion
Week 3 - 02/16/2022
12 Noon - https://usc.zoom.us/j/92821256922 (must use USC netID)
Recruiting African Americans to Viterbi
Join Kevin Henry, Viterbi’s Director of Graduate Diversity Outreach, as he discusses the past, present and future of Viterbi’s ever evolving graduate diversity recruitment plan. He will be joined by Danielle White, Ph.D. Materials Science, and Detravious Brinkley, M.S. Computer Science, to take an in-depth look at why they chose to pursue their graduate degrees at Viterbi and what their experience has been like since leaving their respective Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This session will include a presentation, panel discussion, and time for Q&A.
Week 4 - 02/23/2022
12 Noon - https://usc.zoom.us/j/92821256922 (must use USC netID)
African American Cuisine Part 2
- High on the Hog - a Study of African American Cuisine based on the Netflix special (Click here for a link to the special)
- Heather will lead a live cooking demonstration of one of the dishes.
- Click here for a list of ingredients
- There will be a moderated discussion afterwards
Other Black History Celebration Events
USC Black History Month Calendar
Please click on the calendar link below to know more about the USC Black History Month Events.Â
Link: https://calendar.usc.edu/USC_
USC Liabraries
- Explore a wide variety of streaming media, including documentary films, educational videos, and feature films.
- eBooks:
- Search the USC Libraries catalog directly to find ebooks like Changing the Face of Engineering: The African American Experience, Kimberly Bryant: Founder of Black Girls Code, and Making Black Scientists: A Call to Action
- Library Displays
- Remarkable Women in Engineering: Learn about female scientists and engineers, featuring Wanda Austin, Stayce Harris, and Mae Jemison
- Revealing Hidden Figures: Meet the Women Who Put Man on the Moon: The exhibit celebrates the contributions of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson to NASA's space exploration program. It also includes reports from the library's collections about women in STEM.
38th Annual Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Convocation
Host: Â UC Santa Cruz
Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Time: 5:30 p.m. (virtual event)
Details and Registration: https://specialevents.ucsc.edu/events/mlk/2022
The annual convocation celebrates the life and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by presenting speakers who discuss the civil rights issues of equality, freedom, justice, and opportunity. The convocation also seeks to build partnerships and develop dialogue within the campus community and with the local communities served by the university.
This year we welcome Ruha Benjamin, professor in the Department of African American studies at Princeton University where she studies the social dimensions of science, technology, and medicine. Dr. Benjamin is also the founding director of the IDA B. WELLS Just Data Lab, and a faculty associate in the Center for Information Technology Policy, Program on History of Science, Center for Health and Wellbeing, and Program on Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Feedback from 2021 Black History Month Presentations
Learn More about last year's celebration Here
“Through the reading, I learned about many more important historical figures: Robert Hemings, William Goodell, Martin Delaney, Hiram Revels, etc. That "The United States is a nation founded on both an ideal and a lie." While I was aware that the systems of oppression against Black people were there, I didn't know that they were so far-reaching and sinister.”
“Working to eradicate racial inequities requires consistent awareness. We can't do one thing and think we are done. This is a deep-seated issue and requires unity and vigilance if we are to remove this stain from the future of this nation. We can't give up or show complacence. I also came to realize I was raised by truly wonderful people who were excellent role models on what it means to show humanity and kindness to all people.”
“There is so much history that was left out of what they taught in school, so I enjoyed learning. It is always good to be exposed to new information. Learning of what others have gone through and their experiences.“
Testimonials
"I thought the open mic worked just fine as everyone was very respectful and patient. Big shout out to Rhesa and presenters for this courageous move. "
"You could see that as people grew more comfortable there was more participation. I think as people see this as a safe space then it will continue."
"These were the first discussions/presentations on this matter that I have attended where I didn't feel bad/guilty for being born white. "
Published on January 24th, 2022
Last updated on May 4th, 2022
