The Department of Africana Studies celebrated Black History Month with the event. “AfroCentric Style: A Celebration of Blackness and Identity in Pop Culture,” featuring Emmy award-winning producer, journalist and author Shirley Neal.

The event, which took place at CSUN’s Lake Terrace Room on Feb. 5, aimed to discuss and explore how Black culture has shaped and redefined media narratives across television, film, music and fashion.

A number of students and faculty members attended this special event, which included a discussion, socializing, and eating good ol’ soul food catered by Les Sisters.

Guest speaker Shirley Neal, a Los Angeles-based journalist, author, and TV/Film producer, has dedicated her work to focus on pop culture, Africa, and cultural themes. Her dynamic work includes her contributions to Ebony Magazine, MovieMaker, Forbes Africa, Discop Africa Magazine and more.

Her book “AfroCentric Style: A Celebration of Blackness & Identity in Pop Culture” was nominated for a 2025 NAACP Image Award.

The book’s chapters include Hip Hop & High Fashion, Black Hair Love, and Beauty Queens & Cover Girls. These topics highlight the influence of Hip-Hop culture on popular fashion trends, the history of black hairstyles, and how black women have shaped the world of beauty and representation.

Cedric Hackett, coordinator of the event, professor in the Africana Studies department, and director of the DuBois-Hamer Institute for Academic Achievement, said, “Shirley Neal captured the essence of what it means to blend black culture with pop culture as it relates to culture and identity.”

Neal highlighted the Grammy Awards as an example of how Afrocentric styles influence mainstream pop culture. Cedric Hackett recalled when she pointed out Jaden Smith, Will Smith’s son, and his impact on fashion trends.

“She started off with the Grammy Awards and asked, ‘Who was the No. 1 trender?’ People were thinking Kendrick Lamar or Beyoncé, but one of the number-one trenders was
Will Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, because of his dress code and what he was wearing,” Hackett said.

The DuBois-Hamer Institute is the programming hub of the Department of Africana Studies and promotes students’ success through campus and community partnerships. It also collaborates with faculty, staff, and students across the CSUN campus and works with local groups and organizations in Los Angeles County, providing service to cultural and educational institutions.

Their partnership with the Department of Africana Studies hosts a variety of planned programs throughout the month for this year’s Black History Month, including Welcome Black, The Legacy of Labor: Black Student Athlete Exchange, From Slave Labor to Prosperity: Conquest of the Human Spirit, and more.

For information on upcoming programs for Black History Month at CSUN, visit https://news.csun.edu/events-feed/college-of-social-and-behavioral-sciences/ and for information on the author Shirley Neal and her book, visit www.afrocentricstyle.net