Chatter fills the hallway of the T Building as students and faculty gather in front of room T-220. Greeting one another with hugs and smiles. The crowd quickly forms in front of the red ribbon.
San Diego City College has now opened its new Black Excellence Resource Center on Thursday, Feb.26, which was achieved through City student’s advocacy that was dedicated to having a space catered to support Black students on campus.
With tears in her eyes, Erin Charlens, Umoja’s program coordinator, said her emotional response came from knowing how long she and others waited for a space of their own.
“I’m feeling emotional,” Charlens said. “I had a chance to peek into the room, and I think my emotions come from the 17 years that I’ve spent in Umoja. I know what this space is going to mean.”
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When the ribbon is finally snipped, cheers erupted throughout the hallway, the BRC is now open for use.
This space on campus will provide academic resources, job opportunities, printing access and workshops dedicated to learning Black history.
It will also be a place where students can come, socialize, host club meetings and even do their homework.
“When we are safe, when we are seen, when we are supported, when we are challenged, we have the capacity to learn,” Charlens said.
As of fall 2025, Black students make up 10% of the student population at City College, according to the City College Student Profile.
Umoja Club president and second-year student Lency Kuresa, who goes by Mookie, was involved in the often-challenging efforts to help create the space.
“This moment was argued over, it was fought over,” Mookie said. “There were conversations where it got real heated, but it still remained in community.”
She explained the previous shared spaces on campus did not always provide comfortable environments where Black students could be present.
“It looked like microaggressions,” she said. “It looked like minor incidents that build up to bigger incidents.”
Mookie felt like it was important for her peers to have an environment where they can be themselves and not feel like they have to conform to unsaid rules.
“As a Black woman, as a queer woman, I banded together with my community and we made it do what it do,” Mookie said.
This story was edited by Chrisdan Peralta and Itzel Martinez.
