Black History Month at Pepperdine

Willie Davis | Pepperdine's First Black Full-Time Professor

Willie Davis, taught in the department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation [HPER] from 1969 to 1976, also serving as the director of intramural sports, and eventually becoming the HPER department chair at Pepperdine (then known as George Pepperdine College [GPC]). He is credited with expanding both the intramural and the extramural sports programs and introducing experiential learning courses in driver’s education, archery, and bowling.

"When I became the chair, the department’s faculty was all white. One day I was called to the administrative office. They said they were searching for a new department chair and had started a national search to find a replacement for the incumbent who had resigned, but the department faculty had told the administration that they thought there was someone already working in the department who would make a good chair. That person was me, and they offered me the position. So I went from being a teacher to being the department chair and all of a sudden, all of my colleagues were reporting to me. It was unusual at a time of great racial friction for an all-white group of people to unanimously want to hire a Black staff member for a leadership position, to place an African American man in a high position in the college and designate him as the chair of the department."

Read Willie's story

Kendrick Roberson | Seaver College Professor Addresses Educational Inequality Through His Pilot Program "Ahead of the Game"

Kendrick Roberson discovered a problem within his local community and vowed to fix it. The dilemma is simple and particularly severe in school districts educating primarily students of color: Eighth graders in Los Angeles are struggling with math, earning their lowest mathematical scores in 13 years (as of 2024). Across the board, kids are finding it difficult to grasp the basic numerical concepts necessary to their continued academic success. 

“The undermining of Black education has a historical legacy,” Roberson says. “While people of color have made advancements as a group, Black and brown people are still woefully behind everyone else, which limits their opportunities. I promote the concept of equity—the concept of equalizing opportunity. One of the key ways we do that is by providing an education system that supports folks.”

Read Kendrick's story

The Larry Donnell Kimmons Memorial Book Collection is devoted to the memory of Larry Kimmons, who on March 12, 1969, was tragically shot and killed by a security guard on the George Pepperdine College campus.

The collection consists of limited edition and rare printings of notable works by Black writers and poets, which through the Libraries are available to students, faculty, and staff. Each year since 2019, a volume has been added to the Pepperdine Special Collections and Archives in conjunction with the Larry Donnell Kimmons Memorial Lecture Series hosted by Pepperdine every March.