This year, some graduates will march to the beat of a different drum at the annual African/African American graduation celebration. This special ceremony will take place May 24 at 6 p.m. in McKenna Theatre. The theme of the celebration is "Return to the Past to Claim the Future."
The Black Graduation Committee has been meeting all semester to plan the event that started in 1980. The purpose of the celebration is to give graduates and their families a more intimate graduation setting. The name of each graduate gets called out along with the name of their degree.
Nicole Price, a member of the committee and a graduating senior plans to attend three graduations: the university ceremony, her department graduation and the African/African American graduation.
We want to impress that it is not a separate graduation," Price said. "It is a celebration of African American students who are graduating.
"We get to walk across the stage and bow before our elders, professors, counselors and family members who stood by us, and thank them for their support. We also want to inspire future generations. We're bringing it all together," she said.
In the spirit of giving back, half of the $5 donated by graduating seniors will be put into a fund for next year's celebration. Half of the money for this year's celebration was donated by graduates from last year. The tradition is to help ensure that there are always enough funds available for the celebration.
Graduates are asked to wear a Kente cloth and/or African attire. "The whole ceremony will be very afrocentric," Price said. Graduates will enter the theater to the sound of drums. A youth dance group will perform at the ceremony and Alyce Ford-Gilbert, co-founder of Simba Inc., a group that provides mentors for African American children, will be the guest speaker.
A reception will be held in Jack Adams Hall in Cesar Chavez Student Center immediately following the ceremony.
The graduation is sponsored by the black studies department as well as the Black Faculty and Staff Organization and the Educational Opportunity Program.