On May 28th, students and family from three major high schools in Compton California gathered with BSU at the Compton Woodley Airport. Colors of red, green, and black were decorated in a garage of the facility to welcome the soon to be graduates of BSU’s organization. This is believed to be the first time BSU was able to use the facility for this occasion. Being that this particular garage was designed like many of the others to hold planes, it was enough room to fit all guests, tables set up for them, and historical flight history that already resided within. The facility lacked not in vast amounts of history that flooded the walls, such as pictures of past flying endeavors. The food was served to everyone, including a cake for the special occasion. This event recognized select students from all three schools that had participated in the organization during their time of being a high schooler. These three schools consisted of Dominguez high, Centennial High School, and Compton High school. Regulators and teachers for the students of the organization also attended the event to show their support and even helped recognize students with certificates.
The Compton Woodley Airport, located in Los Angeles County, has been around since before the 1930’s. Though it is a smaller airport than that of LAX, it consists of 77 acres of land that have accumulated through purchases throughout the years. A pilot by the name Colonel C. S. Smith first landed in Compton in June of 1924. Smith had the idea of the open field he had landed in becoming a good location for an airport and was able to manifest it after negotiating with the local school board that had owned it. The airport had passed through many different prospects before finally landing in the hands of Earl Woodley. The year was 1936 when he finally took over the lease. Additional land was strategically purchased in order to bring about a crosswind runway. During the 1940’s, the current war had impacted how the airport was being run. Citizens using the airport had to follow strict laws that had been enforced during that time. The airport had even been used by the military specifically as a truck depot.
BSU stands for the Black Student Union and has been widely active in minority areas since being founded on January 14, 1969. Its mission has been to unite young black students and community members by providing them with a safe and comfortable environment in order for them to all be on one intellectual, cultural, and social accord. The organization meets with students earlier on in their high school experience to help see them through. Ceremonies such as this one can show the community what good comes out of a student receiving guidance from this mentoring program while in school. The Sankofa bird is pretty significant in the principles of BSU because of its meaning. In the Twi language of Ghana Sankofa is a word that translates as "Go back and get it" which relates heavily with BSU’s focus on black culture. The bird’s symbol can be seen in this image here.
All of the students that were recognized during the ceremony were also awaiting their high school graduation that followed just a few days later. These students that were able to experience two graduations which were paid off by their diligence and hard work. During the ceremony, each student was called up to have a BSU cache placed on them while also being asked to share what colleges they would be attending in the fall. Students were even asked to come up and give their own input on what they think of BSU and how they believe it is making a difference in the community. It was two students that boldly shared their views, one being from Dominguez High School and the other from another. The Dominguez High School graduate, known as Kalani Robinson, was the president of her high school’s BSU program. In her speech, she stated, “I couldn’t have done this without my Dominquez and BSU family and I also wouldn’t have made it into college without their strong belief in me.”
The BSU graduates went home that day with not only a cache and a t-shirt but with the knowledge they can add along to what they had accumulated being involved in the organization. BSU teachers of the three high schools spoke to the students about the importance of continuing on a successful road. The graduates received an insightful tip on how not to give up when having a hard time in college and most of all to have faith in what they can accomplish by acknowledging what they have already done. A raffle was done during the ceremony for three lucky guests, including the family, to get a chance to ride in one of the airport’s small planes.
