When George Floyd died on the streets of Minneapolis two years ago, Dr. David Olson felt helpless. The tragedy that stirred the conscience of the nation was another devastating example of how a lack of understanding, compassion and empathy can shatter lives, especially in the Black community, said the California State University, Bakersfield professor.

“It’s pretty easy to have an emotional response, but that has to be converted into a practical response,” he said. “We’re an academic institution. We’re supposed to advance understanding. That’s part of my DNA.”

Just as the country was mobilizing to advance the crusade for racial justice, the California State University affirmed the importance of a well-rounded cultural education with the decision to require all students to complete an ethnic studies course beginning in the fall of 2021.

And so Olson began to plan and strategize – a process that would take two years and culminate with the trip of a lifetime in April for nine CSUB students enrolled in Olson’s Diversity in Organizations class. The students, Olson, co-lecturer Claudia Catota and staffer Jorge Villatoro embarked on an eight-day tour of New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., where they explored Black history and culture. Along the way, the 12 members of the tour became a team, discovering together a world they never knew existed.

“It was an eye opener that the world is bigger than I thought it was,” said Sebastian McClinton, 30, on track to receive his bachelor’s degree in business administration in the spring of 2024. “I guess I expected it to be touring museums and getting some information about statues and artifacts, but it wasn’t anything like that. Me being African-American, there was a lot of information I didn’t learn in school.”

But the class, at its core, is for business students, and Olson did not lose sight of that.

“I wanted them to come to a deeper understanding of how diversity can be something not just to manage but to use for the advantage of the organization. That each person and each class of people come to the organization with a different perspective," he said. "First, I wanted them to recognize that and then to make a positive outcome from that recognition.”

The Bakersfield students, some of whom had never flown before, started the trip in New York, where they toured the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a bookstore that features Black authors, and Abyssinian Baptist Church, a center for Black spirituality and a cradle of the Civil Rights Movement, founded in 1808.

The students also engaged in a pretty epic icebreaker after Olson called the producer of a hit Broadway show with a bold request: Can we get a dance lesson from the choreographer before seeing the production?

Even more surprising? The answer was yes.

The production was “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf,” and “it was a really, really powerful story,” Olson said.

“We were in their Capezios in there,” Olson said of the performance. “We had learned two of their dance movements in our practice. Me as a white guy, the title is not even geared toward me, but I was truly moved. It’s kind of bringing me to tears right now thinking about it. I came to a place of understanding and compassion, which I never could have experienced on my own.”

“That’s probably what everybody enjoyed the most,” said Sarah Varela, 24, a transfer student from Bakersfield College, who had been at CSUB only one semester when she learned about the unique class.

“We were able to interact, and the gal showed us the different dance moves and the meaning behind them. You use your body as an instrument. Slap your chest or thigh in rhythm and beats. It was good that it was towards the beginning of the trip because we didn’t quite know each other personally. But once we did that class together, we started really warming up to each other. Now our bond is so strong, which, honestly, was the best part of the entire trip.”

From there, the group headed to Philadelphia, where they visited Uncle Bobbie’s, a bookstore that features black authors and stories, met with a successful Black businesswoman who owns American Hats LLC, and had a crash-course on how the company makes its fancy hats. They also found time for a little fun, taking a quick run up and down the famous “Rocky” steps.

While in Philadelphia, the group received a tour from an “amazing” guide, who gave the students a glimpse at “the hidden history of the city, where slaves were being traded and sold,” said Catota, chief diversity officer and special assistant to the president at CSUB, who accepted Olson’s invitation to co-teach the class, a first-time experience for her.

“When we teach, we think we’re just lecturing, but you learn as much from the students,” said Catota, who is pursuing a doctorate in education from Johns Hopkins University. “The way they see the world is different from our own.”

Both McClinton and Varela ranked the Washington, D.C., portion of the trip near the top.

The group’s visit to Howard University made a deep impression on McClinton and has influenced his next goal after graduation from CSUB.

“I will apply to Howard,” he said. “Before, I didn’t think about Howard at all. I didn’t really consider an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) because it’s private and has a higher cost than a public school. But seeing Howard changed that. They’re trying to create this culture of Black excellence. That made me feel very prideful. You’re doing something amazing for the whole community, the whole culture.”

A visit to a historically Black-serving bank still resonates with Varela weeks after the group’s return. Olson said the bank brought high-ranking executives from three different states and seven divisions within the bank to meet with the students.

“We went to a meeting with their directors and upper-level executives,” Varela said. “That was probably the best thing ever. We were like, ‘We have so many questions for you.’ The bank was geared toward helping the Black community. We were really interested in that. And they fed us pizza and we got to sit in fancy executive chairs!”

Even as they considered joining the class, the business students had to do some analysis of their own finances.

Before getting Olson’s permission to enroll, the students were told they would need to pay $500 toward the cost of the trip, though that fee was reduced to $300 when the Office of the Provost offered support to defray the expense to students. The university paid around $17,000 for the entire trip.

Olson, who has taken several groups of students abroad for other classes during his 25 years at the university, said that he hopes the class will return but that if it does, it likely will need to offer support in the way of scholarships and private donations.

“I think the major points are expanding the opportunities for students, what’s out there, what are the things they can do with a college degree, conversations of race and racism and successful minority-owned businesses,” Catota said. “And then bringing the conversation back to campus to keep it going.”

Varela and McClinton hope more students will get the same life-changing opportunity they did.

“If I could rate it 11 out of 10, I would,” said Varela, set to graduate in the spring of 2023 with a business degree. “It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.”

McClinton offered some advice to future students:

“Be prepared emotionally. Be open to the experience. Oh, and bring long sleeves, even if it’s springtime. It was freezing!”