CSULB's Black Elders to share their legacy with today's students

Published February 15, 2022
By Susan Jacobs

It was 1968 and Willie Elston and his peers at Centennial High in Compton had a lot weighing on their minds:  Anti-Vietnam War protests nationwide, the heart-breaking assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert Kennedy, growing demands from Black university students for African American studies courses. Add to that the lingering reverberations from the 1965 Watts Uprising.

“Young people were perturbed – we were pretty upset,” said Elston. “A number of people were getting drafted into the military and many of us had to make decisions about what we were going to do after graduation.”

Then, one day in the spring, Dr. Joseph White, an associate professor in psychology at Cal State Long Beach, came to Elston’s high school campus. His mission was to go into communities in and around Long Beach and reach out to promising minority and low-income students. He wanted to spread the word that CSULB was not only a viable, but a desirable, choice for them.

Today, more than 50 years later, the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) that White created at The Beach in 1967 has grown to all 23 campuses across the CSU system, offering first-generation and historically low-income students financial aid counseling, admissions support and mentorship. 

On Feb. 17, “Legacy, Celebration, Remembrance: A Conversation with the Black Student Union Elders Association” will bring together (virtually) some of the first Black students who were inspired by White to join The Beach and to give them the opportunity to share their personal memories of the lasting impact the visionary psychologist and mentor had on them. 

Just as importantly, the conversation will connect the BSU Elders with young Black students at The Beach, members of the current Black Student Union, to share their memories, and instill in them the rich heritage of Black people’s presence at the University. The event is part of CSULB's Black History Month celebration.

The campus community “wasn’t necessarily welcoming” to Black students, Elston said, and today’s Black students can gain strength from their Elders. 

“We’re hoping we can establish a collaboration of them (Black students), knowing that there are some Elders that have been in the same shoes that they’ve been in and some of the issues that they are encountering today are similar to what we experienced when we first got there.”  

Elston, who was a first-year football player and part of The Beach’s second (1968) cohort of EOP students, worked as an EOP recruiter and a campus and community activist and later, an Upward Bound administrator at The Beach. He earned his B.A. in business from CSULB, and a master's and a doctorate in education from UCLA. He is a representative of the Black Student Union Elders Association. 

BSU President Ayoola Fadonougbo, who will join his fellow BSU members in the conversation, is eager to connect with the Elders. 

“I am extremely excited to get the chance to connect and build with my predecessors” said Fadonougbo, a McNair Scholar and a third-year biomedical engineering student. “I hope that as we have an inter-generational conversation with our elders, it will serve as a foundation for growth and prosperity for the Black Student Union and the collective Long Beach Black community as a whole.” 

Joining Elston ‘71 in the conversation include fellow members of the BSU Elders Association: 

  • Curtis Clark: Member of the second 1968 cohort of EOP students from Jefferson High in Los Angeles. The 1974 Beach graduate is a former EOP recruiter, campus and community activist who assisted in the development of the Third World Steering Committee, which represented student organizations of color. His professional career has included being a television production manager, videographer and administrator. 
  • Mwalimu Evans: Former CSULB EOP Instructor, historian of the original Black Student Union formed in 1966-67 school year, who worked in collaboration with faculty members in the development of the original Black Studies Department curriculum. Evans '69, was a campus and community activist and founder of the Mandela Institute, an Independent African American School. 
  • Lawrence Fortenberry: Member of the BSUEA and serves as its archivist and researcher. Lawrence ‘74, majored in journalism and minored in Black Studies. The Fremont High graduate began his journalism career as a reporter for the campus Daily 49er. As a journalist, he has written for “Muhammad Speaks,” the “Los Angeles Sentinel,” the “Los Angeles Wave” and “Cincinnati Post.”
  • Erroll Parker: Member of the second 1968 cohort of CSULB EOP students from Washington High. Former EOP recruiter and advisor, campus and community activist. Parker is a retired City of Long Beach employee, a television host and producer. 
  • Cecile Harris Walters: Beach alumna (‘94 and ‘09) who retired from the City of Long Beach after 33 years. Served as chief of staff for the late Doris Topsy-Elvord ’69, who was Long Beach’s first African American Vice Mayor/Councilwoman. 

Photos courtesy of the Black Student Union Elders Association.