A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to my son Kamilo Ali Curry playing Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar’s song “The Hood Gone Love It.” I was surprised that I never heard the song before, but it immediately reminded me of my motivation for this work. No matter what I do, it’s always for Compton and the students in my community.
This drive to advocate on behalf of Compton requires me to travel occasionally. For the past couple of weeks, I have been traveling with members of the Compton Community College District Board of Trustees to Sacramento, CA, and Washington, D.C., advocating for Compton College to receive additional resources (policy and financial) to support the success of our students.
We were:
– Advocating to protect our immigrant and DACA students
– Asking for additional resources to support Black and Men of Color students.
– Asking for financial support to repair the streets on Artesia near the entrance to Compton College, for federal support to double the amount students currently receive for federal Pell grants, and for resources to provide paid internships and apprenticeships to students (and not just in Career and Technical Education Program).
– Sharing our ideas about how to address the nursing shortage in Los Angeles County by 2035 (I have a lot of thoughts on this topic); and
– Requesting additional financial resources to support our many basic needs programs.
It may seem crazy at this time, but I am more motivated than ever to be loud and ask for the needs of our students. Lately, I have seen that many people in higher education are feeling fearful or dejected because, let’s face it, big changes are happening in our world. But we can’t get caught up in some of this stuff. (It’s just too much to try and explain, so “stuff” is the word for now.) It is going to distract us from a lot of the work we must do for our students. Regardless of what is happening on the federal level, higher education practitioners must remain focused on local matters as well. Why? Because our communities, our people, and our students need us now more than ever. These are the people we must protect – our hood. Where I come from, that means you look out for one another.
If you’re a higher education leader, it’s likely that right now, you feel alone. We don’t always have someone to share the weight of our decisions with, and many times, we have to make unpopular decisions. If it sounds like I’m speaking to you, I want you to know this: you may feel like you’re alone, but we’ve got this community of unapologetic leaders right here. If you look into your hood, you’ll see that many people still recognize and understand the value of what a higher education provides to students. We are transforming the block, one mind at a time.
On January 28, 2025, Assembly Member Mike Gipson introduced Assembly Bill 335 – The Designation of California Black Serving Institutions Grant Program. This bill would establish a grant program to support California Black Serving Institutions, with $25 million going to California State University and $50 million going to California Community Colleges. We are pushing forward. We are staying focused on implementing our new Compton College 2035, which is our Comprehensive Master Plan that provides clear direction for our institution. We are focused on improving and documenting processes to ensure students are successful. We continue to remain focused on reviewing and revising board policies and administrative regulations. I say this because I am locked into this work, and I know every decision we make now will impact generations in our community.
At Compton College, we are proud of who we are, where we come from, and the graduates we produce. How do we do it? How do we make magic happen on our campus? We see the untapped potential in our students and support them fully, no matter what hood they come from, their immigration status, their pronouns, or their beliefs. We are providing food to our students, books, transportation, vouchers for the farmers market, and housing (we just broke ground on our student housing project) and are always looking for ways to continue to support any student who is ready and willing to come here and work hard to achieve their dreams. Just yesterday, I saw a post from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and it was about their new Community Health Station that provides free health supplies. I already submitted a request for one to be installed at Compton College.
Soon, we will be designated as a Black Serving Institution, too, and will be able to provide even more robust services to let our students know that when they come to Compton College, they’re going to find a place that truly has their back.
It is going to take a commitment from all of us to stay focused and stay on message. We will be tested in ways that we never have before as community college practitioners because we are doing the work to raise up our hoods. But we must commit now—we will not be diminished, disregarded, or forgotten.
We are the ones. We cannot be silenced and scattered; we must be unapologetic leaders for our hood, and they will love it.