The BAA Scholarship Benefit

A Letter from the USC BAA Executive Director

Dear USC Black Alumni Association Community,

The health of our alumni and guests is our most important priority. As such, we are postponing all BAA events until the 2020-2021 academic year. This includes our 44th Annual Scholarship Benefit scheduled for April 30, 2020 at the Ritz Carlton in Marina del Rey, California.

We deeply appreciate your flexibility and understanding. We are grateful for the support of our alumni, donors and community and will continue to keep you updated. For further information from the USC BAA, please call (213) 740-8342. Read the latest updates from USC’s Office of the Provost here.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation. Fight On!

Most sincerely,

Michèle G. Turner ’81, EdD ’14

Executive Director
USC Black Alumni Association

This annual event honors important contributions to diversity and inclusion that align with the BAA mission. Although the event format and/or venue varies each year, the scholarship benefit always recognizes outstanding USC Black alumni and noted civic leaders. Past scholarship benefits have included a celebration of the work of groundbreaking Black architect Paul Williams (USC Class of 1919), as well as such stage productions as Speak of Me as I Am (the story of Paul Robeson); The Langston Hughes Project: Ask Your Mama, a multimedia presentation featuring USC Thornton School of Music professor Ron McCurdy and actor/musician Malcolm-Jamal Warner; Dreaming of Harlem Under a Southern Sky, a play with music by USC School of Dramatic Arts professor Gabrielle Pina; benefit performances by recording artists Howard Hewitt, Gerald Albright and Anthony Hamilton; and such noted presentations as “The Kinsey Collection,” Bernard and Shirley Kinsey’s private collection of paintings, sculptures and documents chronicling the Black experience in America from the 1600s to today.