To honor Black History Month, the Associated Students of Skyline College (ASSC) and the International Student Program (ISP) collaborated to host an exciting field trip to the Black Panther Party Museum in Oakland on Friday, February 20, 2026. Even though the weather was cold, the whole trip was blessed with no rain. The day started with students gathering at the Roundabout at Building 4, hopping onto the bus to head to the museum, and enjoying the sandwiches prepared by Pac Dining.
A few students along with Dr. Lauren Ford, Skyline College Vice President of Student Services, joined the trip at the museum. The tour started with a quick trivia from an expert museum staff to check how much the students knew about the Black Panther Party. The staff continued to share the history of how the Black Panther Party and Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation were founded before asking the students to participate in a reading of the 10 Point Program of Black Panther Party. The tour ended with the staff sharing stories about Survival Pending Revolution. She emphasized how missions were still being carried out by the community now even though the party has since dissolved.
After the tour, the students explored Downtown Oakland and enjoyed some good food and boba from Chinatown, which was near the museum. Some took a walk around while others enjoyed books at the public library. By 1:45 p.m., everyone gathered at the museum to head back to Skyline College.
This collaboration between ASSC and ISP encouraged students to get to know each other whilst learning about the history and impact of the Black Panther Party to the community. For more information about future field trips, please contact Skyline Student Life (skystudentlife@smccd.edu), Skyline ASSC (skylineassc@smccd.edu), or ISP (skyinternational@smccd.edu).
Article by Thanh Nguyen
Photos by Dr. Lauren Ford and Sandro A. Bautista Jr.
