Vibrant spotlights, R&B music and soul food filled De Neve Residential Restaurant on Thursday evening for its Black History Month Celebration Dinner.
The dinner – co-organized by De Neve dining staff and the Afrikan Diaspora Living Learning Community– incorporated themes of Afrofuturism, which is a cultural movement that envisions different futures for the Black community through art.
Garlands with African, Caribbean and Latin American flags hung from the walls, and each table was set with black and gold tablecloths. The dining hall pulsed with music from Marvel’s “Black Panther,” and its menus – displayed on monitors – included futuristic designs.
“We do a really good job highlighting our past and people who have come before us,” said Princess Udeh, the resident director of Rieber Hall, which houses the Afrikan Diaspora LLC. “The point of Afrofuturism is to think of ourselves in the future, in a different space that we’re able to occupy, such as higher education.”
Bruce Pearson, the general manager for De Neve dining hall, said UCLA Dining staff prepared food for nearly 2,000 students. The menu featured lobster mac n’ cheese, chicken and waffles, catfish po’ boys, jollof rice and jerk chicken wings, said Agustin Oliva, the executive chef for De Neve.
The Black History Month dinner is a nearly decade-old tradition, Pearson said, adding that he brought in additional staff to enjoy and support the event. Planning began in November and the event was finalized in January, he said.
“We want it to be current, we want it to be relevant, but we also want it to be honorable, and we really want to honor the culture and the idea of Black history,” Pearson said.
Posters of Black figures – such as former president Barack Obama and civil rights movement leader Ida B. Wells – were also arranged on pillars for students to see as they walked throughout the dining hall, said Eziekella Okereke, the assistant resident director for Rieber Hall.
The Afrikan Diaspora LLC guided the decoration choices and menu, added Jasmine Ash, a first-year business economics student and the community development intern for the LLC.
Oliva said he upgrades the event’s dishes each year and continuously changes certain items’ recipes, such as the lobster mac n’ cheese. Ash added that she suggested a change in the menu this year to include chicken and waffles with honey and habanero sauce – inspired by Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles, a soul food restaurant chain in Los Angeles.
Oliva said UCLA Dining ordered 800 pounds of beef brisket, about 200 pounds of lobster and shrimp, 500 pounds of chicken wings and nearly 2,000 waffles to prepare for the event.
While his team began preparing most of the food about four days in advance, they did not receive the chicken wings until the day of the event because the Super Bowl, held Feb. 8, caused a shortage, Oliva added.
“Every day is a different challenge, and I love that,” Oliva said. “I love coming together with a team and trying to fix it and moving forward.”
Ava Saucedo, a first-year civil engineering student, said she enjoyed the decorations and was surprised to see a long line of students – which stretched down De Neve’s hallway before the dining hall opened.
Roman Peralta, a first-year applied math student, said he came for the jollof rice he saw on the menu and was unaware of the event. Ethan Njikang, a first-year computer science student, added that he appreciated the opportunity for students to experience Black culture.
“All the food sounded so good,” said Ryan Kim, a first-year civil engineering student. “I saw the menus, I’m like, ‘Damn, … every station has something fire.’”
Ash said she found the event empowering, as she believes Black people are not represented enough at UCLA.
“Black history is every day, and it’s a reminder of my importance on campus, my voice, my presence, my education,” Udeh said. “Being able to see something like this in a dining hall is just a reminder that I do belong here.”
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