| Kwanzaa Celebration and Feast |
In concert with Umoja Week , this annual celebration and feast highlights the gathering of groups and individuals focused on Kwanzaa's seven principles. Open to the Penn and neighboring community, our celebratory event makes the culmination of a week of activities designed to impart the universality and usefulness Kwanzaa's seven principles. This event combines performance, food, and a non-religious ceremony to commemorate this unique African-American holiday.
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Kwanzaa Karamu 2009, Umoja Board
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| The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Symposium on Social Change Program |
Annually, Makuu coordinates events that honor black culture and achievement in America and at Penn as part of the AARC sponsored Symposium on Social Change. Our most recent event was a panel discussion titled "Shifting the Numbers – Men of Color in Education", co-sponsored by Teach for America. The panel charged participants to discuss the lack of men of color in teaching jobs, specifically in urban areas. Panelists included Dr. Arlene Ackerman Superintendent, School District of Philadelphia; Robert Archie, Jr. Esq. Chairman, Philadelphia School Reform Commission; Amanda Fernandez. Vice President, Diversity & Inclusiveness, Teach For America; Sharif El-Mekki, Principal, Mastery Charter Shoemaker Campus. Over 400 people attended including community members, Penn students, and other Philadelphia area students. The Q&A session was moderated by a TFA representative and addressed many of the current challenges in the school system and the corresponding issue of attracting and retaining men of color as educators. |
TFA Teacher Blanchard Diavua, C'08, Makuu Staff Dr. Karlene Burrell McRae, Robert Archie, Makuu Staff Daina Troy
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Chat 'n Chew
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This one hour session is devoted to sharing with students the importance of goal setting, risk taking and networking. This informal dialogue will include both triumphs and challenges in making important life-decisions related to educational, professional and personal experiences. This session is also geared to encourage students to think "outside the box", increase skill-set and simply give students an opportunity to learn from and be exposed to faculty and administrators who are successful. Our most recent guest was Dr. Tanji Gilliam, Center of Africana Studies professor, an historian, filmmaker, and W.E.B. DuBois House Fellow.
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Chat 'n Chew with Dr. Beavers, English Department
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