Happy Black History Month!
Black History Month is an annual celebration to honor the achievements of Black/African Americans in U.S. history. The origins of Black History Month begin as early as 1915 and was inspired by scholar Carter G. Woodson’s idea in collaboration with other Black/African Americans, and has since grown into a week-long celebration to what we know today.
Black History Month is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of the Black community across the African diaspora including activists and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. This includes stories that are often told and those who have been overlooked.
Every year, the President designates a theme to coincide with Black History Month. The theme for this year is “Black Resistance,” which explores how “Black/African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression in all forms since the nation’s earliest days” (HISTORY Editors, 2022).
On campus, the new exhibit “MLK in Los Angeles” perfectly exemplifies this year’s theme while honoring the legacy of the Civil Rights giant, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I had the opportunity to visit the USC Fisher Museum of Art where I learned about Dr. King’s visit to South Los Angeles and USC’s University Park campus through compelling images and powerful audio.
Dr. King visited Los Angeles many times throughout the 1950s and 1960s as part of his commitment to the Civil Rights movement and Black liberation, and most notably to attend the Democratic National Convention and Freedom Rallies. This exhibit however, highlighted his visits to USC and its surrounding neighborhood of South Los Angeles. In fact, USC students, faculty, staff and community members were all active participants in marches, speeches, and other forms of nonviolent protest. In May of 1964, Dr. King was the Keynote speaker at the “Religious Witness for Human Dignity” event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (just a short walk from USC’s University Park Campus) to a crowd of more than 15,000 people. Just 20 days later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. His second stop was just a mile East of campus where he gave a sermon at Second Baptist Church, the oldest African American church in Los Angeles.


His final visit to campus was just six months before he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. On October 16, 1967, Dr. King was scheduled to speak at USC’s Bovard Auditorium as part of the University’s Great Issues Forum Speaker Series but was interrupted by a bomb scare. After police secured the standing-room only auditorium, Dr. King continued his speech in front of more than 1,800 Trojans.
In the aftermath of his death, communities in Los Angeles and around the world mourned his loss including on USC’s campus where the USC community gathered to reaffirm their promise to Dr. King’s mission because the “Time is Always Right to Do What is Right”.
The “MLK in Los Angeles” exhibition will be on view through March 5th, 2023, and was organized by the USC Center for Black Culture and Student Affairs in collaboration with the USC President’s Office and the USC Fisher Museum of Art and was curated by current students: Kymia Freeman, Endiya Griffin and Sasha Lawrence and designer Nicolette Peji.
To keep up to date with CBCSA events year-round, follow their Instagram @usc_cbcsa
Written by: Jonna German, Senior Assistant Director – USC Office of Admission