The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: umoja center

  • Doug Smith curates space for Black liberation

    Doug Smith curates space for Black liberation

    by Lex Valtenbergs

    Growing up as a Black person who attended a predominately white school in his hometown of Palmdale, California, Doug Smith learned early on how to code-switch, or alter his behavior to fit white societal norms. Still, his peers expected him to act a certain way because he was Black.

    “People had perceptions of what it was like to be Black; they have their own ideas,” Smith said. “I remember one time a new Eminem song had come out and some white dudes in my P.E. class knew the lyrics and I didn’t know the lyrics, and they’re like, ‘Oh, so we’re Blacker than you are.’”

    Smith’s formative lived experiences with code-switching and microaggressions – subtle statements or actions that are discriminatory against members of marginalized groups – made him very cognizant of other peoples’ perceptions of him early on.

    “That was really my first understanding of code-switching,” Smith said. “I would totally present differently because I was really conscious of how people were perceiving me.”

    As a Cal Poly Humboldt international studies alumnus, staff member and graduate student majoring in English, Smith has been involved in the campus community since 2013. Today, he is the coordinator at the Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence at Cal Poly Humboldt, a position that he has held since July 2019.

    “It’s such a rare opportunity for Blackness to be centered,” Smith said. “So I really want Black students to be able to make it theirs.”

    Smith’s vision for the Umoja Center going forward is to foster Black student development, including but not limited to publishing their writing, and foster Black liberation by curating spaces that are made for and by Black people. Amplifying Black voices that often get silenced or ignored is key.

    “[I’m] always visible because I’m a Black person, because you stand out,” Smith said. “But then at the same time, I think that oftentimes my voice isn’t always audible or isn’t always heard.”

    Although the Umoja Center is first and foremost a space for Black students, faculty and staff, it’s open to everyone on campus.

    “I think it’s so cool that we have an educational, Black-centric space [at] a university that really has an opportunity to educate our campus and local community,” Smith said.

    To learn more, visit the Umoja Center in Room 206 at Nelson Hall East, follow @umojahumboldt on Instagram, or go to umoja.humboldt.edu. To get involved, attend an event listed on the website or volunteer with the Umoja Center on Fridays from 11 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Bayside Park Farm on Old Arcata Road.

  • Basketball hosts Black Out Night

    Basketball hosts Black Out Night

    by Angel Barker

    Students lined the Redwood Bowl Plaza for food, music, games and a performance on Feb. 24 for the Black Out Basketball pre-game rally. Organized by the Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence, it was a celebration of Cal Poly Humboldt’s Black faculty and staff.

    Photo by Angel Barker | From left: students Demi Ogunwo, Joy Mehn, Douglas Smith, and Gloria Thompson at the Black Out Rally on Feb. 24 that took place at the Redwood Bowl Plaza.

    The celebration was not just for the faculty and staff, but for the black student community. Douglas Smith, coordinator of the Umoja Center and masters student in English, was a critical part in making the event successful.

    “It means a chance to have community,” Smith said. “A chance for Cal Poly Humboldt to support our Black student community like we would in society.”

    The Umoja Center’s mission is to support the pan-African student community. Lots of students were in attendance for the pre-game tailgate, to support and celebrate community and the campus.

    “I came out to support the game and the celebration that’s going on right now,” said Joy Mehn, a political science major.

    The center is very important to Mehn.

    “To me the center means family,” Mehn said. “So many good friends are in the Umoja Center. It is a place to just relax and come together.”

    Gloria Thompson, a child development major, was attending the rally to celebrate Black excellence. Thompson found her people at the Umoja Center.

    “I was a student at home dealing with a toxic family,” Thompson said. “I found my community and family there [the center].”

    Photo by Angel Barker | Drummer Bongo Sidibe and dancer Joti Singh perform at Blackout Rally on Feb 24.

    The rally featured Southern food and a drum and dance performance by the Duniya Dance and Drum Company. The San Francisco-based company was formed in 2007 to create dance and music.

    Before the men’s basketball game, a video was played in honor of Black History Month and featured student athletes and what the month means to them and who they look up to.

    All throughout the men’s game, free t-shirts were given to every person featuring the hashtag #LoveIsTheNewBlack and Black Out Game 2022. During half time of the men’s game, many of Cal Poly Humboldt’s Black faculty and staff were honored with flowers and a gift bag. The drummers from Duniya Dance and Drum Company were also in attendance and helped hype up the crowd with their music.

    Thursday Feb. 24 was just one of the days to celebrate the Black community on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus.

    “It is to celebrate school spirit, hang out and enjoy each other,” Smith said. “To enjoy good food and Black culture.”

    Photo by Angel Barker | Dancers for Duniya Dance and Drum Company at the Redwood Bowl Plaza on Feb. 24
    Bongo Sidibe, artistic director for Duniya Dance and Drum Company, plays drum in performance at the Redwood Bowl Plaza on Feb. 24 for Blackout Tailgate
  • Umoja Center hosts Black History Month Art Exhibit

    Umoja Center hosts Black History Month Art Exhibit

    by Lex Valtenbergs

    Student-made poster boards detailing the lives and legacies of Black artists and activists filled the Gold and Green Room in Founders Hall during the Black History Month Art Exhibit hosted by the Umoja Center on Feb. 17.

    The exhibit was an opportunity for Cal Poly Humboldt’s Black students to express themselves and celebrate their African heritage, much as their forebears did before them in a self-determined push to resist the injustices of slavery, segregation and ongoing oppression.

    “It is a creative way to show our unity and stand for everyone who identifies as Black,” said Demi Ogunwo, a Masters student at Cal Poly Humboldt and Charter President of the National Society of Black Engineers. “It’s a lot of activists, a lot of people who broke out of the norm of oppression to make a name for themselves.”

    Photo by Abraham Navarro | Asia Anderson, a Cal Poly Humboldt chemistry senior stands next to a photo of her great aunt Marion Anderson.

    Biochemistry senior Asia Anderson comes from a line of radical Black women who defied the norm during their lifetimes. She made a poster board about her late great aunt Marian Anderson, a renowned Black opera singer. It was a popular exhibit among the attending students.

    “I don’t sing worth beans, but I do chemistry,” Anderson said. “I still think about her strength and not letting a ‘no’ close doors. That was passed down through the line of women in my family.”

    Jovie Garcia-Diaz, a senior majoring in Environmental Engineering, was a student attendee at the exhibit. Her favorite poster board detailed the appropriation of Black culture in popular social media culture.

    “That’s something that I see a lot on social media that stands out to me,” Garcia-Diaz said. “People who aren’t Black get praised and get popular for [appropriated elements from Black culture.]”

    Cal Poly Humboldt students and faculty alike visited the exhibit as the evening went on. Frank Herrera happens to be both. He is a student pursuing a Masters degree in Business Administration and the Coordinator of the Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion Center on campus.

    A collage poster board about the life of Fredrick Allen Hampton, former Chairman of the Black Panthers, stood out to Herrera. Herrera was alive in the final years of the Black Panthers’ existence before it dissolved.

    “I had met folks who were involved, I just remember the guys in leather jackets and the energy,” Herrera said. ”It’s amazing what they were doing, the bravery and courage they had during the time.”

    Photo by Abraham Navarro | Students look at posters of black leaders and events in history during the Black History Expo in the Green and Gold room in Founder’s Hall on Feb. 17.

    According to Ogunwo, the art exhibit in general characterized three of the seven guiding principles of the Nguzu Saba, or African heritage, that the Umoja Center stands They are Kuumba (creativity), Umoja (unity) and Kujichagulia (self-determination).

    “The pillars reinforce what we stand for and how we want people to see us,” Ogunwo said.

    Anderson feels a deep connection to her great aunt and to her heritage that empowers her. To her, the exhibit was a chance for Black students to see themselves in the trailblazers before them.

    “They weren’t the first,” Anderson said. “You’re not going to be the last. It feels good because one day, those boards are going to be about you.”