IVC kicked off the celebration of Black History Month in February with the introduction of the Black Student Success Scholars (BSSS) program. BSSS is a new program started by IVC Counselors Heather Johnson and Taliah Chatterfield. The mission of the program is to connect students from the African Diaspora to experience Black Excellence through a safe and welcoming environment.
Chatterfield explains, “The program will bring an African-centered education lens to support services, academic counseling, academic and cultural workshops, cultural enriching field trips, transfer planning, and tours of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.â€
The BSSS program made its debut at the Black Literature and Culture Book Launch on February 1 at the IVC Library. On February 4, members of BSSS took a field trip to the 43rd Annual Orange County Black History Parade and Unity Festival in Anaheim.
As part of Black History Month, Chatterfield and Johnson hosted two workshops: Radical Self-Love and Body Liberation, and Unapologetic Self-Love and Self-Care.
Earlier this month, both Chatterfield and Johnson were featured in an article on Black History Month in the .
IVC will conclude the month-long celebration of Black History Month next week with a live recording of the iHeartRadio podcast "The BFF: Black, Fat, Femme" featuring Dr. Jonathan Higgins and Jordan Daniels. The podcast will take place on February 22 in the Performing Arts Center from noon to 1 pm.
For more information on IVC's Black Student Success Scholars Program, contact IVC's Office of Student Equity.