UMOJA opens doors to permanent home

Cheerfully decorated in red, black and green, the ARCH building became the new home of UMOJA -- Penn's umbrella organization for African-American student groups -- in a ribbon-cutting ceremony last night. Members of UMOJA's 23 constituent student groups gathered with University administrators and community members to welcome the 10-year-old organization's first permanent office. "It's been a long time coming and it's great to see [the office] finally opened," UMOJA Board Member Kimberly Noble said. "It feels good." The ceremony included a procession of UMOJA's student representatives and remarks by Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum and University President Judith Rodin. Rodin praised UMOJA's involvement in undergraduate recruitment and community work, highlighting the group's mentoring program with professional African Americans. "UMOJA will help make Penn a more dynamic university," Rodin said. "Your vision, your commitment and your efforts are exemplary. I applaud you." UMOJA -- which means "unity" in Swahili -- was created in 1990 to coordinate relations between African-American student groups. But according to UMOJA members, the organization was limited due to its lack of formal space. "Working against each other in terms of scheduling has been a problem in the past," said Zakiya Black, the UMOJA representative from the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. "Having a solid structure, a headquarters, will make things more official," she added. In accordance with African cultural tradition, the ceremony included a libation by local community member Kamau McRae. McRae described a libation as a "calling of those who came before us and letting them know they are welcome" to the celebration. UMOJA's location in the ARCH building will allow it to collaborate with the other minority organizations also housed there, including the Greenfield Intercultural Center, La Casa Latina and Penn's Pan-Asian American Community House, which opened in November. But UMOJA's working relationship with the United Minorities Council -- of which all of UMOJA's constituent groups are also a part -- has yet to be determined. "UMC serves the University in a larger spectrum, while UMOJA works to promote black leadership and black ministry," said Michelle Burgess, a member of the New Spirit of Penn gospel choir. According to Noble, the new office will also aid UMOJA's agenda "to strengthen the political voice of students of the African diaspora on campus." In addition to giving constituent groups more political weight, Noble explained, it will also allow the groups to more easily collaborate on joint efforts. These collaborative efforts are not limited to student affairs, but also extend outside of campus borders. "We are not only concerned with students of the African diaspora but people of the African diaspora in the community as well," Noble added. UMOJA officers said they felt honored by the attendance of Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi, who also attended the November grand opening of PAACH. Barchi spoke highly of UMOJA's efforts. "I think [UMOJA] is a microcosm of what the University tries to do," Barchi said. "It celebrates the heritage of each group while giving them a forum to communicate."