FULLERTON : A Time to Find ‘Who We Are . . .’

About 40 students gathered Thursday at an outdoor ceremony to open Black History Month at Cal State Fullerton. On a campus that is less than 3% African-American, students said the celebration of their heritage gives them strength.

“It’s a time for us to find out who we are, through our ancestors’ lives,” said Donna Gough, a 19-year-old sophomore from Compton who came to the ceremony. “We’ve been omitted for so many years.”

After the brief ceremony, African-American students said the month’s activities give them a chance to draw together for the support they need to flourish in a multicultural society. Students said they hope to teach African-American students and others about black contributions and struggles that have been overlooked in the history books.

“The reason we set out this month is because we never had our own history taught,” said Sigmund Crews, president of the Afrikan Student Alliance, after the ceremony.

“All through high school and grade school, we are never taught about anything that black people did, except being in slavery,” Crews said. “You’d find students doing a whole lot better if they were taught about black achievements,” he said.

The monthlong celebration features an African-American art exhibit, a jazz performance, plays, lectures and workshops.

Most of the month’s events are free, and some of them are specifically aimed at the off-campus community. On Feb. 20, students will lead workshops for African-American high school students and their parents about applying to and attending college.

Cliff Harrison, a 23-year-old senior from Inglewood, was at the opening ceremony and will help lead the workshops.

Harrison said he frequently counsels African-American students through his fraternity. In 1991, he and a friend founded the Fullerton chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, a national African-American fraternity. There are now five members.

“If they see positive fraternity brothers helping them out, they will be encouraged to go to college,” Harrison said of the students he tutors.

Three women who attended the opening ceremonies believe that the African-American celebrations are sometimes misunderstood by others on the campus.

“Sometimes they think when you get a bunch of black students together, something is going to happen,” said Trisha Menald, an 18-year-old freshman from Diamond Bar.

Menald and her friends said separate organizations, such as for African-Americans, are healthy because it strengthens the identities of minority groups.

Gough said African-American culture is difficult to find in Orange County. She cannot receive Black Entertainment Television as part of her cable hookup. “I could go to my family’s house to watch it, but it’s the principle,” she said.