In February, Black History Month, students, administrators, alums, and others enjoyed a plethora of events and projects that reflected the rich tapestry of the African diaspora. They included a kick-off celebration hosted by the African Students’ Union (ASU), Black Students’ Union (BSU), Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA), the Jeh Vincent Johnson ALANA Cultural Center, and Sharon Parkinson, Director of Multicultural and Affinity Engagement in the Office of Advancement.
Faculty engaged in the sciences shared their academic journeys to STEM and their current work with students during a panel hosted by the African American Alumnae/i of Vassar College (AAAVC), the Jeh Vincent Johnson ALANA Cultural Center, and the Office of Advancement.
Throughout the month, Thompson Library presented two exhibits highlighting the work of Black faculty and alums. Vassar librarians selected books written by the late Professor of Africana Studies Lawrence Mamiya; current faculty members Eve Dunbar, Tyrone Simpson, Diane Harriford, and Mia Mask; and alums Jennifer DeVere Brody ’87 and Dr. Claudia Thomas ’71. In addition, Professor Dunbar and Ronald Patkus, Head of Special Collections and Adjunct Associate Professor of History on the Frederick Weyerhaeuser Chair, curated an exhibit, Beauty Out of the Ashes, marking the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance. The exhibition was conceived and co-curated by students who were enrolled in Professor Dunbar’s class Race and Its Metaphors this past fall.
Other events included an event at the Loeb, featuring students’ original films and poetry; the BSU’s annual Black Solidarity Dinner; and a lecture by writer and activist Ericka Hart on intersectionality and the ways in which interlocking systems of oppression impact the lives of the individuals navigating them.
Over the course of the month, Buildings and Belonging, a multiprong project that highlights campus buildings and sites where African Americans have contributed to the physical, cultural, academic, and sociological history and development of the College, received upgrades. The College added plaques to five additional buildings and unveiled an augmented brochure and a website.
Buildings and Belonging was launched in 2018 thanks to the efforts of Karen Clopton ’80 P’19,’22, former co-chair of the AAAVC, who initiated the project. Other alums, student researchers, and faculty, administrators, and staff of the College also contributed to the effort. Plaques were initially placed on 10 buildings. This month, those first plaques were refreshed and new plaques were placed at Skinner Hall of Music, the Old Laundry Building, Lathrop House, the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, and Ely Hall.
When the project began, Clopton said it was inspired by the placement of a permanent marker in front of Kendrick House, commemorating its status as both a cultural center and housing for African American students from 1969 to 1975. But the larger goal, she said, “is to make sure current, prospective, and past African American students feel not only welcome and included but [also] an abiding sense of belonging and ownership.”
Athena Davis ’20, who served as a student researcher for the project when she was a student, said she was pleased that Buildings and Belonging had become a permanent part of Vassar’s culture. “It highlights and demonstrates the significant roles Black people played in the history of the College,” she said.
Another alum who had contributed to the project as a student, Ifeacho Awachie ’20, said the initiative held truly special significance to him and other African Americans on campus. “When I became involved, I realized how easy it is for us to overlook the efforts of those who went before us,” Awachie said. “Buildings and Belonging provides a lasting memory and physical presence to the efforts of our predecessors.”