Students were encouraged to partake in difficult dialogues, such as segregation and discrimination in the educational system during the inaugural Nelson Mandela Legacy event on Wednesday.
“If students are willing to critically engage in conversation, they can embody social justice and see themselves as leaders and agents of change,” attendee and psychologist of Cal State Long Beach’s Counseling and Psychological Services said.
The event’s goal was to “embody Mandela’s life of work,” said Magdalena Muñoz-Perez, the event’s planner and the Multicultural programs coordinator.
Student speaker and education master’s student Janay Watts said that Mandela was the perfect figurehead for this new signature event because of all the work he did for equal rights during his lifetime.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” Watts said, quoting Mandela.
This two-part event began with Dr. Joseph White and Cheryl and Linda Brown telling of their first-hand experience with segregation during their academic career. Cheryl and Linda’s father fought to desegregate public school in the landmark court case, Brown v. Board of education. A Q-and-A was held afterward with them.
Mary Anne Rose, the director of graduate studies for the college of education and one of the coordinators for the event, said she was impressed with the engagement of the attending students and various questions they asked the panel.
Junior social work major Natalie Tellez said that she found the event to be very informative; she found it inspiring to listen to what the Brown sisters and White had to go through in order to pursue their education.
“We live in such a diverse country, so it is important to talk about the history of the different people,” said Tellez.
The second part of the event included an all women-of-color panel that raised questions about the segregation and discrimination of today and discussed how to improve these issues in the education system.
Muñoz-Perez said the event provided a platform for students to bring theory into practice and bridge the history to the present and “hopefully towards changing the future.”
Junior healthcare administration major Marilyn Meza said this event made her appreciate the amount of diversity Cal State Long Beach has implemented.
“I’m a minority as well, and thanks to Brown versus Board of Education and other [cases] like it, it is possible for me to go to school without discrimination for such a superficial matter,” Meza said.
Post-Baccalaureate student in the credential program for education specialist Anthony Mancini said he was interested in hearing what the panel had to say about the segregation of students with disabilities because it is still a current issue.
Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, who has a doctorate in special education, was also a part of the panel. She said that early in her teaching career she found that students with disabilities were entirely segregated from their peers in schools.
“This kind of segregation has a detrimental impact on the social and emotional environment of these students,” Grenot-Scheyer said.
Coordinators Muñoz-Perez and Rose said they hope that the successful turnout reflects the ability of the Nelson Maendela legacy event to occur annually.
Both parts of the event had a combined attendance of over 500 attendees. The event was coordinated with the Multicultural Center, Student Life and Development, College of Education, the University Student Union Program Council, the College of Liberal Arts, University Honors Program Student Association, Ukeleja Center for Ethical Leadership and the College of Education Student Assembly, according to the event program. Muñoz-Perez said she hopes to partner with various groups on campus each year, depending on the theme of the legacy event.