If you want to know about Black History Month in San Diego, look no further than San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE), a hub of Black culture and a catalyst for the Civil Rights movement in the region. In fact, the College of Continuing Education celebrates Black History every month.

“San Diego College of Continuing Education is headquartered in the heart of our city’s Black and Brown communities,” said Continuing Education President Dr. Tina M. King. “For us, Black History Month is not just another reason to celebrate at our college; Black history is part of our DNA and woven into the very fabric of our college’s mission.”

The late-Rossie Wade, while a resident artist at the Educational Cultural Complex, known in the community as the ECC, crafted a 6-foot sculpture of four figures dubbed “The Black Family” that stood sentry at Mountain View Park in the Southeast San Diego community of Mountain View for decades and is now being rebuilt with the help of $195,000 in state funding and Continuing Education’s award-winning Welding Program. Continuing Education has a thriving Black Student Success Program, an A2MEND student charter, and recently made history by partnering with Sacramento State University’s groundbreaking Black Honors College, providing a pathway for SDCCE graduates to transfer to one of the nation’s leading universities for Black students. And the college last fall hosted more than 250 national community college and university leaders for “Cultivating Strategies for Supporting College Men of Color,” a two-day conference in partnership with the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL).

Academy Award-winning actress Whoopie Goldberg and James Avery, perhaps best known as Uncle Phil in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, both performed at the College of Continuing Education’s historic ECC Theatre, which will soon undergo a $35-million renovation. The Theatre also has hosted the likes of Stevie Wonder, Maya Angelou, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali, and Coretta Scott King. Additionally, San Diego’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade was launched at the ECC. San Diego College of Continuing Education continues to empower Black lives daily, as evidenced by its current initiative to secure designation as a Black Serving Institution.

“The school, the campus, helped me every moment I needed them,” said student and CalWORKS assistant Ospierrenida ‘Nida’ Pierre, a proud Haitian who grew up in the Dominican Republic before arriving in the U.S. “When I first went there, they provided a counselor. They provided a computer. They helped find a way for me to go to school. Whenever I have a question, there is someone there to help me.”

Everyone at San Diego College of Continuing Education is committed to creating equity-centered pathways supporting those who have historically been overlooked for far too long, such as our Black and African American brothers and sisters. Our tuition-free adult education and workforce development programs and classes are lifting the underserved from poverty. All of which, and more, illustrate how San Diego College of Continuing Education celebrates Black history every month. 

“Continuing Education has been at the forefront of the changes San Diego has seen over the past 110 years,” said Dr. Terry Sivers, counselor and coordinator of the Black Student Success Program at the college and who is leading the charge in bringing the voices of Black students front and center. “We are based in the community, we are a bridge to the community, we are providing services, education and training to the community, and we’ve been part of social and political movements in our community. We are serving those who are probably least advantaged in our city and helping them get a foothold in all aspects of their life. It’s exciting to be part of this and to continue the efforts to support those who most need it.”