CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
BLACK SCHOLARS' NEWSLETTER
January 12, 2023
The Black Scholars Newsletter exists to share dynamic, informative and empowering knowledge that uplifts, encourages, and inspires our community.
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Co-Editors Kayla Brooks and Teylor Graves
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I just wanted to reach out and wish everyone a happy and healthy new year! I also wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful feedback in our Newsletter. Kayla and Teylor, our co-editors, are working hard to make sure we continue to celebrate our wonderful students, staff, and alumni as well as share important information about our community. There are so many incredible people within our village and your stories are so inspirational that we want to get to know each of you! If you are interested in being interviewed, please contact at Blackscholars@csulb.edu. It may take some time, but we will get to everyone on our list.
We are looking forward to an exciting new year, celebrating and supporting our community and students, while increasing the number of Black students the attend and graduate from CSULB. #BlackBeach
Always with gratitude,
Tracy Kelly
CSULB Black Alumni Gala Chair
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Dr. M. Keith Claybrook
Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Africana Studies
By Kayla Brooks
Dr. M Keith Claybrook, the Assistant Professor in Africana studies at California State University Long Beach was born and raised in the Rosecrans and south-central area of Compton, California. He labels himself a proud “Comptonite” and acknowledges his neighborhood as one of the many foundations that shaped him into the person he is today. He grew up in the 1980s and 1990s during a time when Los Angeles was at its peak with gang violence, and steadily developing a culture of rap music and television that was politically charged. He believes the nuances were not always accurately portrayed in the media and acknowledges that though gang violence is a major problem amongst people, society fails to admit that they are developed due to a myriad of social and economic reasons. Dr. Claybrook values his parents. Aside from the influence of growing up in his neighborhood, his parents' method of raising him and his siblings is a major contributor to his character. He details how his mother prioritized that they receive exposure to new environments and experiences when they were children. He remembers his parents introducing him to ragtime operas and other music performances where he developed a diverse pallet and learned from diverse cultures while still enjoying socially aware rap artists such as NWA and Public Enemy. He lives by his father’s proverb that one does not have to like something, but they must appreciate it. His first time experiencing an event that promoted solidarity and humanity was when he participated in hands across America, a public fundraiser for the impoverished held on Sunday, May 25th, 1986, where 6.5 million people (about twice the population of Oklahoma) across the United States held hands for 15 minutes. In high school he advocated for himself and his classmates as they were threatened by a white student that walked in their hallway with a confederate flag in his back pocket. He was angry but he knew that violence was not the best course of action because it would end in an arrest for those involved. This was one of the many moments that taught him that there is more strength in strategic problem solving than acting out of rage. He attended Loyola Marymount University for his undergraduate studies and has two bachelor's degrees one being in African American studies and the other in African History. During his time as an undergraduate, he served as the president of the Black student union and started the Umoja council which was an organizational structure for all Black organizations on campus. He continued to advocate for his community joining multiple protests to end discrimination against students at Loyola Marymount and recalls one moment where he and other participants disrupted the flow of traffic to combat racism. He stayed at Loyola Marymount to complete his master's degree in General Education with a concentration in multi-Cultural education and received his Ph.D. in Cultural Studies with a Certificate in African studies from Claremont University. He is currently the Assistant Professor of Africana studies at California State University-Long Beach where he teaches history and is an advisor of many Black organizations on campus. His purpose in higher education is to ensure that Black students are excelling with the help of one another and building a community despite college being a rough transition and having to navigate an oppressive world. He does this by arranging for programs to be constructed so that students can become accustomed to campus, holding the university responsible for its participation in social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter and capitalizing the B when saying Black to symbolize humanity. He currently has a book out titled,” Building the Basics: A Handbook for Pursuing Academic Excellence for pursuing Academic Excellence in Africana Studies”.
Dr. Claybrook is located on campus in the Psychology Building in room 301.
To purchase his book, "Building the Basics: A handbook for Pursuing Academic Excellence in Africana Studies" please use the link below or contact him at m.keith.claybrook@csulb.edu
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Diamond Byrd
Executive Vice President of CSULB ASI, Masters Student
This is part two of the Black Scholars Community and Alumni Newsletter Student Highlight interview with CSULB Black Alumni Community journalist, Imani Moses and CSULB Executive Vice President, Diamond Byrd. In the second half of the interview Diamond explains how she fits in self-care amidst having a busy schedule. She talks about the importance of dedicating time to the emotional, mental, and spiritual health of oneself. She also dives into her passion and explains her reason for choosing to enter the field of social work. Please stay tuned for part 3 of this interview as you do not want to miss out on the gems that Diamond shares to ensure student success!
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Quentin Brooks
Entrepreneur, Software Developer for ProSearch Strategies
By Kayla Brooks
(Due to technical difficulties, the alumni highlight will be a written interview - We will be back to videos next month)
Quentin Brooks is a California State University-Long Beach Alumni. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science and computer science. His father was a retired navy veteran, so he was able to attend college for free if he made income under the national poverty level. He eventually started a job at Boeing, a multinational manufacturing corporation. He worked there full-time and the entirety of his junior year. Though he participated in commencement with his friends in 2006, he decided to stay enrolled on campus to increase his GPA. He took one course a semester while working full-time. His degree was officially completed in 2010. He currently is a software developer for ProSearch Strategies and eDiscovery market. As a software developer, he converts information into digitized data. He also has the title of sequence developer. He loves his job and is proud that he was able to use his degree to do what he desired. However, Quentin has developed a passion for business. He owns a cheesecake business named, “Q York cheesecake” where he offers cheesecake in a variety of flavors. Q York cheesecake was created during the COVID pandemic. A time where many businesses were closed, and people could not go out to enjoy meals at restaurants. Because of this he decided to follow chefs on social media from around the world to try new dishes. He came across a cheesecake recipe that he wanted to try. His wife, who is not a fan of sweet desserts, enjoyed it so he felt confident to bring one to a family function and they devoured it. He credits his friend Ryan Paris, another CSULB (California State University Long Beach) alum, for encouraging him to go into business. Ryan was his first customer. Quentin gets a lot of recognition from his customers. They often tell him that it is the best they have ever had and that it resembles New York cheesecake. Though Quentin is successful in STEM, he is passionate about the rise of his cheesecake business. It is because of this that he would like to encourage our scholars to go after what brings them joy.
To place an order for a cheesecake please follow and reach out to Quentin on Instagram at queyorkcheesecakes
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Black Owned Business Highlight |
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Jeanette Armstrong of Plant Based Ninja
by Imani Moses
There are many wonderful things that come to mind when I think about food. Have you ever considered how powerful food really is? Have you thought about how it can affect your mood and your health or how food can trigger a memory and transport you back in time or what secret ingredients a person uses to make your food taste so mouthwateringly delicious and irresistible? When I think about the significance of food, I think of how it can be healing and it reminds me of this wonderful quote by the Hippocrates that states, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” I would like to introduce you to the wonderful Chef Netty.
Chef Netty, aka Jeanette Armstrong is a northern California native who grew up eating primarily plant based/ vegan meals throughout her childhood. While she was in college completing her degree in Psychology and minor in Mathematics, she started her very own business in 2010 called "Plant Based Ninja". Her intention behind her business is to create healthier plant based derived meals for our community while making the food taste delicious and decreasing the consumption of high preservative foods. When the folks on her college campus wanted food familiar to their home life, they reached out to Chef Netty, and she created meal plans for her classmates who also hired her to caterer for other events. Some advice that Chef Netty gives to folks who want to pursue entrepreneurship in the food industry is to be open to the industry constantly changing, love yourself, put your personality into what you are doing and leave your signature, be ready to lead yourself.”
Chef Netty’s popular dessert items are her peach cobbler cake and banana cake. Her savory items are her meatballs over mashed potatoes and gravy and her island bowl which consists of rice and peas, plantains, jerk jackfruit, Caribbean cabbage, and crab-cakes. My personal favorites that I have tried from her menu are the banana cake, meatballs, and crab-cakes.
You can find Chef Netty on her website at plantbasedninjas.com and on Instagram @plantbasedninja text at (310) 658-1689. Please be sure to RSVP for her upcoming event “A taste of our l❤️v” on Saturday, January 8th from 6-8pm at 2210 North Bellflower Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90815.
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Plant Based Ninja is located at 2210 N Bellflower Blvd Long Beach, CA 90815
Follow PlantBasedNinja on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok at cuebakeshop.
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Long Beach NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Survey
The Long Beach Branch NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) needs your help! In support of Environmental and Climate Justice the NAACP has created a survey to receive more information about our community’s feelings towards environmental and climate change.
To support, please take the survey below the image.
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Long Beach, CA–The City of Long Beach invites women and girls to help shape the mission of the Long Beach Commission for Women and Girls (LBCWG) by completing a survey, available now through Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Information collected through the survey will help inform the development of the City’s first-of-its-kind commission specifically designed for women and girls, which will provide a space for specific education, outreach and advocacy for the advancement and equity of all women and girls. The survey is offered in English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Khmer. It is offered online and in person.
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As a member of the 2023 Class of Leadership Long Beach, one of our assignments is to select a volunteer activity for the Leadership Long Beach MLK Day of Service our Team discovered that the Guardian Scholars Program lost their sponsor of Back Packs filled with supplies for CSULB (California State University Long Beach) Foster Students. Our team chose to fill this need.
We are asking folks to support by using the link below to purchase items needed to fill the back packs. It may seem that some of these items should be easy to come by, but they are not for fostering youth, especially those that have aged out of the system and are now learning to survive on their own and making their education a priority.
Shipping Address:
Long Beach Day Nursery- MLK Day
3965 N Bellflower Blvd
Long Beach CA, 90808
On January 16th, 2023, after the Kickoff Event at Willow Springs Park, up to 10 volunteers will meet at California State University Long Beach to fill the donated backpacks from 10am to 1pm. Refreshments and Parking are available. We have plenty of volunteer but need more supplies. For more information or to make a monetary donation, please contact Tracy Kelly @ tracy.kelly@csulb.edu
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Black Magic Gathering
Genealogy Workshop
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Join us for the Black Magic Gathering's Genealogy Workshop on January 19th, 2023, at the Long Beach Salvation Army. There will be opportunities to receive hands-on research tips, DNA and other information from Ancestry.com, and lessons on how to build a stronger family unit! |
In honor of Black History Month, the Southern California Black Chamber of Commerce will be presenting the Black Health Expo on Saturday, February 25th, 2023.
Join them for an opportunity to take advantage of healthy lifestyle information and entertainment!
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Elevating The Voices of Black CSULB Students |
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Alexandria Smith
Black scholar, senior, creative writing major
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Anew
Above the sky, we soar
To a place forever more
Across the seas, we breeze
To further knowledge meant for thee
A treasure we find
To a trove that binds
Asserting the seed we grow
To a knowledge to behold
Acquire the path we made way
To walk every day
Acting splendidly
To remind ourselves to work tremendously
Accounting our history
To a future that is a mystery
Abandoned the chains
To ensure we obtain
Able to take the steps
To lead to doing our best
Ascending the stars
To spread our minds far and wide
Assemble the means
To obtain the degree
Accepting the challenges
To become alumni
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