UMOJA kicks off week-long celebration of culture

Starting today, UMOJA — the umbrella organization for black student groups at Penn — will combine themes such as black heritage and social justice as part of a week-long celebration.

UMOJA is hosting its 12th annual UMOJA Week, which begins this evening with a ceremony in which upperclassmen members of Onyx — Penn’s black senior honor society — will recognize freshmen who have excelled in their first semester at Penn.

The week will unite a wide range of subjects, with events oriented towards academic, cultural and political goals.

“The whole point of UMOJA, and this week especially, is bringing the community together,” College freshman Meron Zeru, UMOJA’s political co-chair, said. “The reason we have so many different events is to bring unity within the black community … The purpose of this wide variety is to include all the members of the different constituent groups.”

In line with the organization’s emphasis on dream realization and achievement, this year’s UMOJA Week theme is “Occupy the Future.”

UMOJA Week will “feature events that we believe are necessary to create a positive outlook on the future,” College senior and President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at Penn Megan Reed said.

Over the next few days, participants in UMOJA Week will have the opportunity to volunteer with Penn’s faith groups at Philabundance, the region’s largest food bank and hunger relief organization.

Additionally, on Wednesday, UMOJA’s various cultural groups will showcase different games and activities such as dominoes and cricket in a “Cultural Game Night” in W.E.B. DuBois College House.

Other events will include performances by black student groups, information sessions and a panel discussion on the history and impact of the arts in culture and social justice.

“Through the theme of Occupy the Future, we want to touch on a variety of topics such as social justice and how we can display social justice in an active and articulate way,” Reed said. “These events are looking to re-frame the way we’ve been thinking about social justice and movements toward justice.”

UMOJA Week will conclude on Saturday with a dinner with writer and culture critic Touré, the author of “Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness: What It Means To Be Black Now.”

“We don’t want people to think UMOJA week is exclusive to the black community,” College junior Aya Saed, UMOJA’s planning and facilitating chair and a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, said. “Our goal is to challenge people to think critically about race and their role in the Penn community and the Philadelphia community at large.”

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