This Black History Month, Whittier College students were led on a Tour of Black L.A., where they had the opportunity to experience African American and Black culture and heritage in Los Angeles.
The excursion included a tour of the California African American Museum (CAAM), a visit to a local Black-owned restaurant, and a live production of the play based on Toni Morrison’s famous novel, The Bluest Eye, followed by a Q&A session with cast members.
Kinesiology major Ethan Pewu ’22 was the primary student organizer of this year’s tour. Connecting with multiple local spaces, Pewu packed a Sunday full of cultural events in order to give students a well-rounded experience of Los Angeles Black heritage.
The tour had a strong impact on Pewu. Though he is well-versed in Black history, he found that the tour allowed him to dig deeper into his heritage.
“Some of the [CAAM] exhibits were really powerful and eye-opening to the history of America when it comes to black people. I feel like I know a lot about Black history, but I still learned things at the museum that I didn’t even know about,” he said.
The tour was sponsored by the Office of Equity and Inclusion.
