Unpacking the controversy surrounding the Cardinal Divas
By: Elon Mahone
On Sept. 17, 2022, for the first time in Pac-12 history, an all-Black majorette dance team performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Put simply… They ate. No crumbs left on the table. The entire Coliseum was captivated by their performance, including me. The jumbotron repeatedly broadcasted the dancers, and Trojan fans responded with hysterical cries of joy. Our student section watched intently, waiting for the Divas to throw another count.
The energy was immaculate, definitely the highlight in all my four years at USC. But don't take my word for it.
Photos by Brianna Brothers
Front: Jai Robinson - Choreographer.
Row 2: Jada Walker and Princess Isis Lang - Captains.
Row 3: Akilah Perry, Jada Vaughan, Deonna M. Higgins.
Top Row: Janina Colucci, Hanna Charles, Ire Omitowoju.
The Divas caught attention on the field as well. President Carol Folt swings by to take a picture. Head Football Coach Lincoln Riley walks over to high five founder Princess Isis Lang and her co-captain, Jada Walker, a senior dance major. Defensive Back Max Williams scores a touchdown in the second half of the game, runs out the end-zone and points to the Divas, nodding his head.
Initially, administrators were supportive, and USC publicized the Divas extensively. However, as the season progressed, Athletics quickly put roadblocks in place for the Black dance squad.
From the Divas opening debut to Trojan Family Weekend on Nov. 5, I accompanied the dancers and witnessed the not-so-subtle changes throughout the season.
GAME 1
In the Sacramento State game, the Divas reserved the first five rows of section 124A.
After Lang posted a clip on Twitter introducing USC's new squad, they became overnight celebrities. The Cardinal Divas' Instagram following grew from 200 to 2,000, and they were invited to The Jennifer Hudson Show, ABC, ESPN, and KTLA.
Photos by Brianna Brothers
Lang — a member of Delta Sigma Theta incorporated — had personal interviews on Good Morning America, NBC and Spectrum. News outlets and celebrities echoed the same message, Get these ladies on the field!
"Everybody knows Princess. The second she came on campus she was a trailblazer," said Yodahit "Yodi" Philipos, Junior majoring in Environmental Studies. "She's really big on building the Black community."
AHT AHT AHT... CUT THE CAMERAS!
With national recognition and media coverage, you'd think these Divas were one step closer to getting on the field. Unfortunately USC Athletics had other plans.
In the next game vs. Arizona State, the Cardinal Divas were moved to section 124B, occupying only three rows and six seats accross, compared to the entire section of 124A.
In a brief interview with Jessica Onyepunuka, the associate athletic director for marketing, she explained why the Cardinal Divas were given less seats for the Arizona State game.
"Even for game one, there wasn't a [...] conversation about this group performing. I think it was just different people, different departments not necessarily like communicating and working through it. So after what happened at the first game, we ha[d] to put parameters in place" said Onyepunka.
Although the director of marketing claims there was a lack of communication, Lang emailed Onyepunuka directly requesting seats for the dancers prior to Saturday's game.
Not only did Onyepunuka respond to Princess, but she checked on the Divas numerous times during the Sac State game, even going as far as to make song requests on their behalf.
The relationship between the two sides quickly cooled off. In the subsequent games, Onyepunuka never returned to check in with the Divas.
After the first game, Lang met with Student Affairs, Student Activities and Athletics. According to Micheal "Mike" Munson, the athletic director of recreational sports, two meetings took place. In their first meeting at the Lyon Center, administrators proposed new seating arrangements, discussed Lang's goals and asked how they could support the Divas.
In the second meeting, Lang met with Onyepunuka and TaMisha Greathouse, the director of campus activities, at the Coliseum.
“What was shared is if you can't fit into this footprint, the formation might have to change. And what [Princess] shared back was the formation is part of what the layout needs to be for the majorette style” explains Greathouse. “Originally the plan was one to two [seats per dancer] and we expanded it to 2.5. So we did expand it in that regard, but we have a number that we can't go over because at some point we're saying we're giving more seats to a group of students in this RSO versus any other RSO.”
Outside of the seating change, the Divas hardly received any screen time on the jumbotron and spent most of the game sitting down.
The questionable movements extended off the field as well. Shortly after Lang’s viral tweet, Trojan Dance Force — a dance team affiliated with Athletics that has been performing in the Galen Center since 1995 — posted on Instagram that they were joining USC spirit teams on the field.
According to Greathouse the Dance Force X Song Girls collab has been in the works since summer break. “The timing probably wasn't the best given what was going on, but no one could have anticipated that that was going to happen.”
TROJAN PRIDE
USC organized meetings with Lang to support the Cardinal Divas. However, these meetings only grew more discouraging.
The Friday before Homecoming, the Lang Family was ready to turn up for Trojan Family Weekend. Lang and Cardinal Diva Faculty Advisor Shannon Grayson met with Greathouse and Onyepununka over Zoom.
"I'm like a Doberman," says Princess' dad Terrance Lang. "My wife is like a pit bull, and Princess is a combination of both… I was really impressed with her. She took the meeting in a direction that was more conversational where my wife and I probably would've been more confrontational."
Lang initiates the conversation, asking why the Divas were moved to a smaller section. During the Zoom meeting, Kisha Lang passed her daughter a note stating that the student section sits over 17000 students and that the Coliseum is rarely filled to capacity. In response, administrators maintained their position and said it's about students being close at the games.
After the seating conversation fell flat, Lang pivoted to the next objective, joining USC Spirit.
Being a registered student organization was never Lang’s true goal, it was the stepping stone the Divas needed to receive resources and support. According to Lang, they told her that the university doesn't have enough resources to make the Divas an official Spirit team. She asked what resources they needed and mentioned how the Divas received substantial funding from outside sources (their Gofundme raised over $15,000 in two months). In short, they told her there was nothing she could do to facilitate the process of joining Spirit.
Lang followed up, asking if the Divas could form their own subdivision of Spirit like the Trojan Band. The university rejected her request.
Mr. Lang recalls Carol Folt's address earlier that day at Bovard Auditorium.
"It was ironic because we were at that event, and someone brought up the Majorette team and how they were excited that this was at the university. They were talking about inclusion [...] and I didn't feel as if they really wanted to include them as part of the sports program."
USC is undergoing several structural changes this year: Greathouse started her position nine months ago and now the spirit teams are headed by a new department, The Spirit of Troy. As the director of campus activities, Greathouse is responsible for all registered student organizations. “What if there are other RSO’s that ask, ‘why does this group get to be on the field and we can't be on the field?’ Those are the conversations we're also trying to have, and think about as groups ask questions. Where do people fit in?”
"I was furious," said Princess's mom, Kisha Lang. "I felt like it was a setup because they only had Black faces on the phone... You can't tell me these women are the only ones heading those departments."
Tamisha Greathouse and Jessica Onyepunuka are indeed the respective heads of their departments, however, it’s not customary for them to personally manage and meet with RSO’s on a game-to-game basis. According to Greathouse, Campus Activities has a designated coordinator that meets with all of the student government committees, including Trojan Pride -- an RSO that participates in gatecall. Gatecall is the process of entering games early and facilitating the game-day experience.
To that regard, it seems that the Divas needed a more... personal approach.
"I was very discouraged because when this whole process got started, the athletic director [Mike Munson] was on board, but these activity directors were doing everything they could to push them back." said Mrs. Lang
Munson met Lang her sophomore year at a football game.
"She was always in the front row with a good group of friends … the types of students we love seeing in our student section," said Munson. "[Student Affairs] had been talking for years about getting more engagement from the student section. With Princess and her friends, it was like, wow, that's the example we've been talking about."
For several months, Munson and Lang developed their relationship. He recommended that Lang join Trojan Pride, and connected her with her first job in Athletics. After hearing about Lang's goals to start a majorette team, Munson introduced her to multiple USC officials.
Although Munson is invested in her success, as of this year, he no longer oversees the Spirit teams, and the purview of USC's student section now falls under Athletics. When asked about screen time on the jumbotron and the lack of music played during games, Munson couldn't comment, but he did mention that these types of things take time.
"What I can say is that anything that is new takes a while to transition and to get all the parts in the right areas… There's a lot of people that want to support her and the Cardinal Divas. The important part is that she's got that support and the communication to be able to be successful."
Surprisingly, the Divas lack that support as well. The space Lang created for Black people by Black people ended up getting hate from Black people. Much like the critics within USC, some Black critics felt the Divas majorette style should have no place at USC gameday.
THE BACKLASH
Majorette originated from Historically Black Colleges (HBCU) in 1960. Dancers use their whole body, infusing West African, jazz and hip-hop dance styles. For decades majorette dancers have been the cornerstone of HBCU culture.
Like fuel to a flame, Lang's tweet sparked yet another HBCU vs. Predominantly White Institution debate. While many showed overwhelming support, others felt that majorette dance at a PWI was stealing HBCU culture; that we should gatekeep this style of dance. Some even suggested that these dancers should've just gone to an HBCU.
Their logic, however, proves inconsistent when compared to past Black developments in this country.
Let's talk about facts: The first Black Greek org, Alpha Phi Alpha, started at Cornell University, a PWI; Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, founded at Indiana University, and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority founded at Butler University; Alpha Phi Alpha was the third Greek organization at USC and the first Black Greek org on this side of the Mississippi.
They spout, "gatekeep the culture," yet ignore non-blacks attending historically Black colleges and crossing the burning sands.
During the homecoming game, I sat with Cardinal Diva parents and asked their opinions about the controversy.
Click to hear from Ire's Mom, Ife Omitowoju
Click to hear from Jada's Dad, Omar Vaughan
Cardinal Diva Jada Vaughan seemed unfazed when asked about the controversy. While she admitedly suffered from imposter syndrome early on in her dance career, the dancer she is today exuberates confidence befitting a Brooklyn Native.
"At the end of the day, I know why Princess started [the Cardinal Divas] and why I joined the team. Dancing has always been my passion, so why not break barriers at my school?" said Vaughan.
In an interview with Daniel Harvey, the Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations and Interim Executive Director of the Black Alumni Association (BAA), shares her experience as a Black executive.
"I find myself in a lot of rooms where I'm the only one that looks like me [and in] my experience people clean up their language when they see me," she explains. "I say that to say, I have not heard comments like, 'we don't support this.'"
"What I do believe from experience, when things are new and different, they can be sort of repelled or rejected just a little bit. Perhaps because people sometimes fear new, people fear change, there could be some hesitation to fully embrace it." said the BAA director.
Despite the challenges, founder Princess Isis Lang is no stranger to facing uphill battles. Mr. Lang recalls Lang's rough start in the world of gymnastics.
Regardless of the backlash and bureaucratic red tape, the Cardinal Divas received extensive support and opportunities to perform.
Rapper and USC alumn, Saweetie, expressed her support for the squad on Twitter. Dianna Williams "Miss D", director and choreographer of the Dancing Dolls of Jackson, Mississippi also showed support. She sent uniforms, shoes and offered to fly out to LA and help train the Divas.
During homecoming weekend, the Cardinal Divas performed at the BAA tailgate and the Coach tailgate at the Coliseum.
With basketball season approaching, the Cardinal Divas look forward to dancing in the Galen Center. The dancers have yet to be approved to perform, but Lang hasn’t stopped fighting for the Divas and future Black Trojans.
