VOICE & VIEWPOINT NEWSWIRE
PHOTOS: Courtesy of SDSU
On Monday, Sept. 16, San Diego State University held the ribbon cutting and official renaming ceremony of the Black Resource Center (BRC) to the Gus & Emma Thompson Black Resource Center. The mission of the BRC is to “promote Black Excellence and to provide a safe and welcoming environment where students, staff, and faculty of the African Diaspora can congregate, collaborate, and cultivate a unified community.”
As first announced by SDSU President de la Torre in Feb. 2024 during the university-wide Strategic Plan Celebration, the renaming of the center follows a $5 million donation from brothers Lloyd Dong Jr. and Ron Dong in honor of the late Gus and Emma Thompson.
Gus Thompson was born into slavery in Kentucky. Once emancipated, and after several years, Mr. Thompson eventually made his way to Coronado. According to the brothers, Mr. Thompson was the only person who would rent to their father, a Chinese-American immigrant.
The BRC offers a variety of programs (Henrietta Goodwin Scholars Program, Harold K. Brown Knowledge, Education, and Empowerment Program, Black Transfer Student Support Program, and the African American Mentoring Program), which have led to very high academic outcomes for SDSU students, including student retention and graduation rates.
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