February is the celebration for Black history month and San Diego City College is celebrating with different events throughout the month.

When mathematics major Leah Richie came to school on Thursday, she didn’t think she would be the one to put herself in front of a mic with the crowds’ eyes on her, but that’s exactly what she did at the black history month celebration. 

“I did [hesitate]… a few people know me here on campus, so I just want to make sure that I stay back in the shadows, but at the end of the day I love to support the Umoja students as much as I can so that was my determining factor for me to go ahead and do it,” said Richie.

As Black History month continues to unravel, Umoja kicked it off on February 6 with an open mic in the BT-AH quad.

“It’s a space for our students and our club members to basically present whatever art that they have… and throughout the break we just had black history month facts,” said Daija Jones, Umoja president.

Jones was on the event ready to answer questions students might have regarding the event or black history month.

The kick-off event was not only to celebrate creative reflection on blackness but also to celebrate the achievements of African Americans as a whole. This month marks the 150th anniversary of the 15th amendment.

“It’s really important because it’s in an educational setting, so just being able to celebrate our achievements as African Americans in a setting that was originally not meant for us is a monumental thing. We are able to enter and be in a space and redefine stereotypes while appreciating the history from where we come from, and being able to share that with our college campus is a great thing,” said Richie.

To continue the celebration, Umoja also set-up a four-part screening of “When They See Us” every Friday (with the exception of February 14) from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

More events are happening throughout the rest of the month celebrating black history and what it represents.

Multimedia Editor Isaac Limon contributed to this report.