This month in history, 1988: A candlelight procession and the struggle for Black Studies at Pomona

The following articles were originally published in TSL’s first Black History Month spread in 1988.

A Candle Light Procession

by Antoine Moore

February 1st marked the commencement of Black History Month, a celebration of the past and present contributions of Blacks in America.

The Candlelight Procession, the first of a series of events scheduled to take place this month, heralded in this celebration on Monday night. Over 50 people assembled in front of Carnegie Hall at Pomona where the Procession began. Students, faculty, and administration took part in the march that extended over the 5 college campuses. At each campus, the procession stopped as students from several of the campuses shared their talents to captive audiences.

Misha Faustino, senior at Pitzer College and president of the Black Student Union, began the Procession by introducing Professor Agnes Jackson, who read an excerpt from James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son. Leaving Carnegie hall, the Procession made its way to Big Bridges where Sharianna Rice (Pomona, ‘90) read the poem “A Black Woman Speaks,” by B. Richards. From there, the Procession proceeded to Flamson at CMC, where Shawn Barton (Pitzer, ‘91) and Derrick Mitchell (Pomona, ‘88) presented “Ballot of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall. Then everyone make [sic] a beeline to Pitzer, where Angie Campbell and Peter MacDonald sang “Everything Must Change” and Monica Betts sang “And This Day”. Claudette Hatcher (Pitzer ‘91) performed next at HMC, singing: Close to Thee,” and finally, the Procession ended with a group song.

“Kumbaya,” at Scripps. The evening was completed with a reception at the Office of Black Student Affairs.

“If I had started out with a blank slate,” explains Consuella Lewis, head of the Office of Black Student Affairs, “I’d be in deep yogurt! It’s important for us to know our history.” She adds, “I look back and see all the people who have persevere before me, and I get strength from knowing that they could achieve. If they could do it, so can I.” This is, I think the embodiment of the purpose of Black History Month.

It is a period of time set aside specifically to recognize the various achievements of Blacks, achievements that otherwise would probably go unnoticed by Mainstream America. It may be shameful, but it is true. Despite the many contributions Blacks have made, they are rarely observed. Black History Month serves to inform as well as to inspire.

Consuella Lewis believes that the Candlelight Procession was a very positive act. She observed that Black History Month is not the celebration of a month but is the celebration of a lifetime. “It is really something that should be observed year-round,” she said.

“The Candlelight Procession is something that former students of the Claremont Colleges started years ago,” explains Lewis. “It’s a legacy that has been past down over the years.” That the Candlelight Procession continues today is a telling example of students’ continued commitment to the ideals of Black History Month, the recognition of the contributions of Blacks in the United States. “Black achievement can be found in all areas. Our contributions to this country have been wide and diverse. We have changed our destinies more than once. We have been faced with challenges, and we have met them. No other groups’ strength has been tested as much as ours has,” avers Lewis. “None else can make that claim.”

The Struggle for Black Studies at Pomona by Haley J. Sloan

“Winston M.C. Dickinson was in Pomona’s graduating class of 1904. He was the president of four honorable on-campus clubs, in Cajole club fraternity, and won second place in the Oratorical Contest. Upon graduating from Pomona, he entered Harvard Law School. Winston M.C. Dickinson was also Pomona College’s first black graduate. Dickinson is assumed to be the first black graduate due to the fact that Pomona kept no records of the race of enrolled students. Over the years, black students who attended Pomona College were primarily Africans studying abroad or from the exchange program with Fisk University, a predominantly black schools in Nashville, Tennessee.

The struggle for black rights at the Claremont Colleges reflected the intensity of the struggle at the national level, including bomb explosions, boycotts, rioting, and the takeover of the Pendleton Business office. It wasn’t until the late 60’s that the College made a strenuous effort to recruit minorities. The admissions office, along with the faculty set out to find qualified minority professors and students to join Pomona College.

The College established the

Black Student Union in the Fall of 1967, in the hopes of building a student body that reflected the ethnic distribution of the nation. The BSU proposed the idea, which became an academic reality, of the Black Studies Program integrated throughout the five colleges. The program’s main functions were designed to give a broader dimension, an increased awareness of heritage, a development of ethnic pride, and a special sense of purpose for the black community of Claremont. The BSU organized a rally in order to make their proposed Black Studies Center a reality. On March 5, 1969, they issued a bulletin announcing the beginning of a rally at 8:30 am. All students and faculty were asked to refrain from attending and conducting classes. The rally was a success and set the wheels in motion for a Black Studies program.

In 1969, the BSU participated in the great movement of the Black Student Unions across the nation. After weeks of demonstrations, a new committee was formed to work towards the establishment of a Black Studies Center. In September 1969, the 5-college Black Studies program had officially begun. The program started with ten courses offered first to black students and seniors; one of the new courses was entitled “Reconstruction and Its Aftermath: 1867-1900,”

The system was not without some bugs. Donald Cheek, the first Director of the Black [Studies] Center was dismissed in 1972 because of his dishonesty with students and administrators. He had allegedly been hired to keep black students in line and to smother any political activity which might interfere with the colleges’ operation. Dr. Egambi

Dalizu became acting director of BSC for one year until James Garrett was hiring as the new director in 1973.

Rioting and organized demonstrations began during the spring of 1974 due to an attempt to cut the BSC budget, in particular, the funds provided for the summer pre-freshman program, an important facility of the BSC. The student and faculty activists hoped to change the budget priorities of the college admissions through action. Although two bombs exploded, one at Scripps and the other at Pomona, and Pitzer’s dining hall was seized, such measures failed to prevent the budget cut.

The funding issue resurfaced in 1975, during the last two months of the school year, along with a demand for the recognition of the BSC staff by the colleges, and the development of a tenure tract [sic] and promotion within the center. BSU organized speeches, rallies, marches, and even the takeover of Pendleton Business Office. The efforts of the BSU and the Chicano Studies Center (CSC) administrators and counselors were [not] successful. The College [did not meet] their demands. Unfortunately, James Garrett and Mimi Brown, director of the Office of Black Admissions were dismissed from their offices for their participation in the Pendleton affair. Presently, Consuela Lewis is the acting [Dean] of the [Office of Black Student Affairs]. A few of the services of the Office of Black Student Affairs are as follows: the Black Student Union, Career Resource Center, Freshman Retreat, Social Activities, Tutoring, and academic advising. For more information on these programs call extension 3369. Pomona College, as part of the Claremont Colleges, has progressed remarkably since 1904.”

South Africa

May 1979 Pomona faculty demand divestment in open letter

May 1981

Pomona class of ‘81 graduated with only one Black female student

June 1978

Supreme Court ruled racial quotas in admissions unconstitutional in Regents of University of California v. Bakke (1978)

May 1979 BSC reached its tenth anniversary; published its last bulletin

May 1984 Civil Rights Activist Coretta Scott King spoke at Pomona College commencement

July 1979 BSC dissolved to Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies (IDBS) and The Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA)

Oct./Nov. 1986

Coretta Scott King returned to Scripps’ and declared support for student antiapartheid demonstrations

Feb. 1983 Robert Cooper ‘83 won ASPC elections, making him the first Black senior class president

Nov. 1988 BSU conducted 12-hour sit-in to protest racist fliers targeting Black women dispersed on campus

Feb. 1988

Sept. 1984

5C Black students rose to 200 out 5,000 students

The Student Life published first Black History Month spread under the “Insight” section