There is a saying in politics that “all politics is local politics.” It’s generally attributed to former Speaker Of The House Tip O’Neill. That observation even applies to college campuses, for instance, here at Cuesta. “We used to have the representation of Black students in the form of a Black Student Union,” Instructor Mario Espinoza-Kulick of the Ethnic Studies Department said. “There is definitely a wide gap in the school’s club offerings due to no longer having leadership in this group. The leader of the group and the group’s advisor have both left the school in 2025.”
The Black student body has been above 200 students for nearly ten years in a row . While it’s true that we represent a small percentage of the student body, 200 students is a significant number of people who share cultural relevance. The value of shared connection to our culture is important. It informs us of the battles fought for us to even be able to attend fully integrated schools anywhere in America, the ability to vote and live in the communities that our means will allow. Even though here at Cuesta discrimination and inequality may not be bearing down on us at every turn, it’s important to be aware of the realities of the world we live in. Knowledge, they say, is power; educating oneself about the plight and the possibilities Black people have faced has empowered those who incorporate the Black experience in their education and lives overall.
Dr. Bill Releford, owner of the Bloom Ranch, the largest Black-owned farm in Los Angeles County, credits, to some degree, his knowledge of Fanny Lou Hamer, the long-suffering but tremendously influential civil rights leader, with inspiring and leading him to his agricultural pursuits and ”his desire to reconnect communities to land and address food access disparities.”
The throughline from 1963 to 2026 is relevant and accessible to us if we choose to draw on our people’s journey to guide our paths to greater achievement in our own lives, and to draw on resources that will help us continue to blaze trails for those who will come after us. These resources include the SLOCONAACP, The Diversity Coalition and RACEMATTERSSLO.ORG
If you agree with this point of view, I urge you to engage with the Ethnic Studies Department, which will be happy to assist you in creating a new Black Student Union.
In all aspects of life, you get out what you put in. This principle includes the benefits you get from being active in clubs. Reactivating a Black Student Union on Cuesta’s campus could be a valuable enrichment to our community.
