Santa Monica City Council proudly embraced Black history last week with a proclamation declaring that February will officially be Black History Month. Sponsored by the Santa Monica Library and incorporating a City Hall art installation, it kicks off with music, food trucks and other attractions outside City Hall on February 1.
Brandi Lockhart, Housing Specialist and 10-year employee of the City of Santa Monica and member of the Black History Month committee since 2019, began proceedings by acknowledging the efforts of everyone involved and introducing actress Jennifer Holmes is known for television shows This Is Us, CSI: Miami and The Bold and the Beautiful who kindly accepted the proclamation.
Holmes spoke of her own experiences and who inspired her, including Hollywood stars such as Angela Bassett and Halle Berry, "And I must show to any black or brown little boy or girl that anything is possible and no dream is too big, just like those women before me."
"I’m the vice chair of the African American student staff support group and there is nowhere else that you see students this much on fire. There’s nowhere else where you have black culture celebrated," Ericka Lesley, first black woman elected as Chair for the Rent Control Board, said during public comments.
"These children are on fire because they can learn about their culture. Rites of Passage (a ceremony currently solely organized by the African American Parent Student Staff Support Group prior to graduation) now in its 27th year and I remember when my son graduated in 2017," she said.
"That was the last year that they celebrated through junior high in high school. This is something that our children look forward to, and they’re excited to be a part of. We need a place where they can belong. And it’s not a problem to be black. They need to be included. Please support us. Thank you."
Speaking to the Daily Press, Lesley said, "This is the first year, sadly, that the City is not funding community events for Black History Month … This year each separate organization has had to raise funds themselves, with the exception of the Parent Connection Group, that is still funded by the City."
Events being held around the City of Santa Monica include…
Feb. 1: Food trucks & dancing (City Hall, 12–2pm)
Feb. 7: Food trucks & dancing (City Yards, 12–2pm)
Feb. 15: Food trucks & music (Big Blue Bus, 12–2pm)
Feb. 15: Santa Monica Black Agenda at Locals Night at the Pier
Feb. 22: Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower (12:30–1:30pm) sponsored by the Santa Monica Public Library
Feb. 24: Santa Monica Greens Festival (Virginia Avenue Park, 10am–2pm)
Feb. 24: Solidarity & Celebration (Third Street Promenade, 1–8pm)
Feb. 29: Screening of The Wiz (Santa Monica Library, MLK auditorium, 11:30am and 3:30pm)
"The city of Santa Monica’s Black History Month celebration is organized by the Black History Month Committee. Staff participation in cultural events, monthly observances and affinity groups is always optional and primarily a volunteer effort, and the BHM Committee organizes these events with the support of the city’s partner affinity groups, local businesses, and city departments," Lockhart wrote on the Council’s website.
