Student groups are attempting to carry the momentum from their Martin Luther King Jr. day celebrations last month into February's Black History Month.
The month-long celebration offers an array of events from lectures to dances to field trips that will pay tribute to black culture at Penn. This year's activities have a special focus on the University's retention of black students.
According to African-American Resource Center Associate Director Robert Carter, the retention rate of white students is 95 percent, while only 78 percent of black students stay at Penn through graduation.
Carter partially attributes this phenomenon to the "disconnectedness" and "alienation" black students feel in a predominantly white school, something he hopes to reduce by encouraging students to participate in February's events.
Groups such as the African-American Resource Center, Makuu -- the black student cultural center -- and Latino hub, La Casa Latina have collaborated in sponsoring campus-wide programs to highlight African-American history.
"We wanted to have more collaboration this year," Makuu Program Coordinator Crystal Wyatt said. "We wanted to reach out to the community by thinking of creative programs that enlighten Penn students about the African diaspora."
Carter added that organizers "are working off the momentum from the MLK symposium" in January.
"Our expectations for this year are bigger because of the student involvement we saw last month," Carter said.
Ware College House Dean Nathan Smith, for example, is preparing to take about 80 students to Baltimore, Md., to see The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum later this month. The museum showcases wax reproductions of significant people and events in black history.
Smith said that she expects that the trip "is going to build a communal experience because students and staff are going to learn and discuss black history together."
DuBois College House is revitalizing its Black History Month program after a several-year-long hiatus, according to College junior and House Council President Ashley Torres.
Torres said that programming at DuBois College House for Black History Month has lagged over the years compared to what the house could be providing to mark the occasion.
A celebration from Feb. 20 to 26 will include events such as an art gallery showing on Feb. 20 and a forum co-sponsored by black-interest sorority Delta Sigma Theta on Feb. 23 to discuss black leaders in American society.
Another event, coordinated by La Casa Latina and Makuu, is "Bomba," a night of African and Latino drumming and dance. It will be held on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. in the Hall of Flags and will focus on the links between African and Latino cultures.
This year's program is also intended to emphasize the contributions of African-Americans to American history.
The United Law Students of Color Council plans to bring Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, to give a speech at the Levy Conference Center at the Penn Law School on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.
Another program will feature Penn professor Sheryl Simon discussing African-American achievements on Penn's campus on Feb. 15 at noon at the Sweeten Alumni House.
Female students also have the opportunity to attend the monthly Women of Color Luncheon, which will be held tomorrow at noon inside the Penn's Women's Center. The guest speaker, School of Social Policy and Practice professor Caroline Wong, will discuss societal obstacles faced by women of color.
A month to celebrate - Tomorrow: Women of Color luncheon at the Women's Center - Feb. 14: Black Panther party co-founder Bobby Seale speaks at the Law School - Feb. 16: 'Bomba,' a night of Latino and African drumming and dancing in Houston Hall's Hall of Flags - Feb. 20: DuBois College House Art Gallery Showing - Feb. 23: Black-interest sorority Delta Sigma Theta hosts a discussion on black leaders in DuBois College House
