By An icon of the Civil Rights movement and a clinical psychologist/Pan-African activist both spoke at Long Beach State in March.
While both speakers are well-known activists in the Black community, their recognition within the community is vastly different.
The Black Consciousness Conference, held on March 15 by the Black Student Union, was an all-day event that provided students with networking opportunities, career advice and motivational speakers, such as Dr. Umar Johnson.
Transformed into an event space, The Horn Center held different events in each room.
Between the music, food and buzz of mingling was BSU Board Member and intern, Jadyn Giles.
Giles, a second-year journalism major at the Beach, felt that inviting Johnson was a good decision. Given Johnson’s social media popularity, Giles was confident he would attract a large audience.
“I went to Dr. Umar not really expecting to take anything seriously because everything he says is super extreme – it’s almost satire,” Giles said.
As Johnson closed the conference, he greeted a packed auditorium in the University Student Union with one of his most viral lines.
“BLACK QUEENS FOREVER,” Umar projected through the mic.
“SNOW BUNNIES NEVER!” listeners roared back.
On the other hand, An Evening with Ruby Bridges, occurred at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center on March 19, the following Wednesday.
This event had a different atmosphere, as it was open to the public and welcomed families, elders and students.
This was a significant contrast to the audience present at the Black Consciousness Conference, which generally welcomed college students.
Ruby Bridges, an author and activist known for being the first child to attend an integrated public school in the United States, centered her event around her experience through the eyes of her childhood self and the difficult lessons she learned at a young age.
“You could leave this room today and walk right outside, alone, and be attacked by someone who looks just like you. You could be judged by someone who looks like you,” Bridges had said at the event. She stressed against racial division and instead told the audience to focus on the content of one’s character as opposed to the color of one’s skin.
Jada Riggs, a third-year psychology major, attended both events and said she preferred Bridges’ overall message and speech more than the BSU event featuring Johnson.
“I understand the conference was more for students, and we were there to have a good time, but I felt motivated and went in wanting to learn something when I saw Ruby Bridges speak,” Riggs said.
The differences in crowds that Riggs mentions does not only speak to the nature of each event, but what each speaker means to the community.
While laughter and cheers echoed throughout the building when Johnson spoke, parents who brought their children were also prompted to step out at times.
At one point in his speech, Johnson covered the topic of sexually transmitted diseases spreading on college campuses and mimicked the sound of herpes sores popping into the mic.
A mother and her two daughters stormed out of the auditorium while many CSULB students erupted in laughter.
Inversely, Bridges made it a point to emphasize the importance of teaching children about the dangers and harm of racism and spoke directly to those in the room with children encouraging that practice.
Johnson highlighted how he feels a responsibility to speak at predominantly white institutions because that was his experience during his undergrad.
CSULB has experienced a 20% surge in the Black student population this past school year, thanks to efforts by Black student organizations, like the Black Consciousness Conference and ASI’s An Evening With series.
Despite the stark contrasts between both events and speakers, the two illustrated a spectrum of voices for a campus with a growing BIPOC population and ended with standing ovations.
Bridges closed out her evening with a sentiment she has used in her writing: “When we are born, we all are born with a gift – a clean heart.”
