City College Celebrates Black History Month and Lunar New Year
The Student Union buzzed with delicious food and lively performances on the evening of March 2 for the College's second annual Black History Month and Lunar New Year celebration.
Students and community members filed into the room, donning their Sunday best and red attire in honor of the cross-cultural event.
Jing Shi, a mental health peer advocate, and Brianna Smith, president of the Black Student Union (BSU), organized the event, ensuring there was enough food for everyone.
“It was absolutely a team effort,” Shi said.
Shi highlighted the contributions of the many volunteers who helped organize the event, as well as the students and community members who signed up to perform, making the night unforgettable.
CCSF Students 4 Justice brought together different student clubs and unions, such as BSU, Chinese Culture Club, English Together, and Anakbayan – a Filipino youth and student organization for democracy – to host the event.
“Brianna from BSU contributed the stellar flyer art. And we have much to thank our fellow City College student and Professor Chen for the Chinese calligraphy station she put on,” Shi said.
Students from various groups attached information to tables and adorned the space with posters. Anakbayan taped their flag to the wall as the mics were being set up for the event.
The food was also secured from a Chinese-owned local business, “Do Eat,” and a Black-owned business. When the rice, tofu, green beans, broccoli, catfish and fries ran out, Smith brought boxes of pizza. There were egg rolls as well.
“The Black History Month and Lunar New Year event was a powerful piece of connection and solidarity,” student Malaya Redondiez shared.
“In a country that has used migrants and then thrown us away, taking our culture for profit, this event was refreshing,” they said.
Redondiez highlighted the family-like nature of the event by sharing meals and cultural traditions with City College's Black and Asian communities.
In addition to food, the attendees could also enjoy creative, lively performances.
“Anakbayan practiced our song day-of, but we also understand that we share music to share the story and not a perfect song,” Redondiez said.
“I hope to attend more events like this in the future," they shared, adding that Anakbayan CCSF is always open for more collaboration.
“The Lunar New Year and Black History Month were a delightful, spectacular event,” shared Abraham KaLā Hall, a Native Hawaiian student who performed in the event.
“Everyone was delighted with pride and joy and a sense of purpose,” he added.
Kalā Hall reflected on the solidarity in supporting voices that are often silenced and in using poetry to contribute to a broader musical and melodic cause. Everything from spoken word to a ukulele performance to karaoke occurred during the celebration, in addition to the different organizations tabling. Next year's third annual joint celebration will build on the progress and success of the past two years.
“This event should happen every year if not more often throughout the year to continue to heal and make the bonds of our communities stronger,” Kalā Hall said.
