The Black Unity Center at San Francisco State: A Case Study of the Impact of a Black Student Center
Written by Wesley Cox, Tiana Dorley, Chantel Heard, Serie McDougal, lll, and Hanna Wodaje
March 5, 2018
PREFACE
Malcolm X was once asked why people were so receptive to the teachings of the Nation of Islam in the early 60s when the organization had actually been around for such a long time before then. Malcolm responded by explaining that people react to social-political conditions just like a seed responds to environmental and atmospheric conditions. His point was that the social-political atmospheric conditions were ripe for change in the 1960s and thus Black people responded by increasing their involvement in self- determining organizations. The same analogy holds true for the emergence of the Black Unity Center on SF State's campus. The current social-political climate can be explained by the colliding of two storm systems. One system defined by emboldened and institutionalized racism, injustice, hatred, and oppression shaped by political and institutional leadership and other forces. The other system may be defined by an empowered sense of agency and a revolution of rising expectations for equity and social justice following on the heels of the election of the first Black President and in the midst of a Black political advocacy climate shaped by organizations such as #BlackLivesMatter. It is in this context that the Black Unity Center at San Francisco State University, within the Division of Equity & Community Inclusion, emerged. In this, its first semester of existence, the Center has been able to help the University to build its bridge to opportunity by increasing the university community's awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the unique cultures and geographies students of African descent reach the bridge from and the unique identities and resources they carry over.
Indigenous/precolonial African knowledge traditions, rooted in unique cultural and spiritual systems, were frequently structured as lifelong processes designed to empower people to be of service by advancing the collective lives of communities. During the antebellum period of enslavement, resistance, and liberation struggle, people of African descent in the American context continued to struggle to attend schools, construct schools, and to educate themselves under the constant threats of lynching, anti-Black terrorism, and institutional racism. In a monumental analysis of Black student activism from 1919 to the 1970s, Kendi (2012) identifies four challenges that Black students have confronted, including attempts to: use higher education to impose Eurocentric value systems and behavioral expectations on Black students; exclude Black students from services, opportunities, positions of leadership and exclude their heritage from the curriculum; present White people, ideas, and scholarship as normal and universal; and teach them to adopt individualistic, careerist, materialistic philosophies of success which require them to abandon the notion of education for liberation and community advancement. Black students fought these forces in several ways, including but not limited to (Kendi, 2012): more holistic curriculum, and Black leadership on campus, increased Black student college attendance while protesting racism on White campuses, becoming involved in larger social-political issues and movements like the civil rights and Black power movements. This is the tradition that Black students on Sf State's campus are advancing. Today, Black student populations around the country on campuses where they are underrepresented, each have their own stories. Yet, the all-to-familiar consistent narrative focuses on their struggles with feeling isolated, unsupported, and unwelcome on campuses where they encounter racism, marginalization, and exclusion in their attempts to adjust to campus life (Patton, Bridges & Flowers, 2011). Yet, the Black Unity Center has had an amazing semester creating a supportive environment. Students who frequent the Black Unity Center and its events have described the Center's programming as creating for them a sense of community on campus. This has been one of the primary successes of the multi-faceted programming of our very first semester. According to our survey of attendees at Black Unity Center events, the most significant contributions the Black Unity Center has made have been introducing students to Engaging and Passionate Facilitators and Presenters, doing programs that provide Relevant Knowledge and Awareness, providing students with a Communal Energy and a Welcoming Space, and doing programs that give our attendees Inspiration and Upliftment.
The History of Black Student CentersBlack Student Centers (also called Black Culture Centers) emerged in the 1960s through the 1980s as Black student populations on predominantly White campuses grew significantly. They were born out of the same context that produced Black Studies; a context shaped by the civil rights movement, and the Black power movement. These Black Student Centers initially focused primarily on social and cultural activities. They were and are safe places on campuses that can be culturally alienating and sometimes overtly and or covertly racially hostile. They were places where Pan African Nationalist political consciousness and intellectual thought were nourished. Since their formative years, they additionally become resource centers, places where students gain valuable internships, learn academic skills, connect to resources, and preparation for graduate school and the professional world.
Overview of the Black Unity Center at SF StateBlack Student Centers around the country are first and foremost the results of the Black Students' imaginations and conceptualizations of ways to improve their educational experiences and advance their communities. These institutions were not gifts from Universities (Hord, 2005). Similar to their predecessors, through Black student advocacy, and the advocacy of their peers, communities, and administrative allies, Black Students on SF State's campus have been able to achieve the Black Unity Center at SF State. They originally developed the idea for the Center in 2015 as a part of their efforts to enhance Black student, life and address the lack of resources, and lack of administrative effort regarding Black student concerns on campus (See Appendix A-The History of the Black Unity Center). It must be made plain that the Black Unity Center is an extension of Africana Studies, the Black Student Union and the College of Ethnic Studies. The Black Unity Center on SF State's campus came into existence through the movement to equitably fund the College of Ethnic Studies. Ultimately, the Black Unity Center was formed through the collaborative efforts of the Black Student Union, Department of Africana Studies, College of Ethnic Studies, the Black Student body, and the support of Student Affairs and Associated Students.
THE MISSION AND VISION OF THE BLACK UNITY CENTER
Vision: The vision of the Center is to advance educational equity for students of African descent by serving as a unifying force for many efforts to ensure the highest potential for and self- determination by students, using an Afrocentric paradigm.
Mission Statement: The mission of the Center is to provide Black students, through cross- campus community collaborations and an intersectional, African-centered environment, with transformative, impactful and socially conscious programs that allow them to grow academically, interpersonally, culturally and professionally, in order to advance their recruitment, matriculation, retention, and graduation.
OBJECTIVES OF THE BLACK UNITY CENTER
THE BLACK UNITY CENTER'S FALL 2017 PROGRAMMING
The Black Unity Center on SF State's campus is a place that students frequent throughout the day for a range of purposes. Students often stop by seeking advisement about issues that are academic, financial, and otherwise. Students come by the Black Unity Center to socialize, to study, or to grab a snack or tea before or after class. However, the Black Unity Center's programmatic structure supports the full range of culture and intellectual enrichment, leadership development, and preparation for their scholarly and/or professional futures through an Afrocentric lens. During the Fall Semester of 2017, the Black Unity Center developed and implemented programs in each of the six broad areas.
Intellectual Stimulation: These programs are designed to facilitate critical thinking among students, faculty, and staff about Africana people's intellectual and cultural productions, current social concerns, and histories. Examples of these programs are invited speakers, film screenings, and discussions. The bulk of the center's programming was in the area of intellectual stimulation.
Preparation for the Future: These programs are designed to prepare students for their futures after graduation in culturally relevant ways. Students are provided with an understanding of how their careers and graduate school choices fit within the context of the state and needs of Black communities. The objective is to provide them with the readiness to transition into their careers and/or graduate school. These programs are intended to provide them with encouragement and knowledge about how they might use their education and careers to improve their communities.
Affirmation: These programs are designed to support and encourage African American students' academic success, student leadership, and community service. They allow Black students to celebrate success in a collective way while reaffirming academic excellence, identity, and collective responsibility.
Skill Building/Resources: These programs are designed to enhance Black students' knowledge and awareness. The goal is to empower students by equipping them with critical academic skills and knowledge of how to take advantage of institutional opportunities and resources.
Art an Performance: These programs are designed to raise awareness, participation in, and critical thought about art, and artistic performances such as music, spoken word, promoting themes of Africana critical thought, culture, and liberation.
Community Service: The programs are designed to allow students, faculty, and staff, through the Black Unity Center, to be involved in projects and institutions designed to enhance the wellness of Black communities off of campus.
THE IMPACT OF THE BLACK UNITY CENTER
During the 2017 fall semester, at the majority of the Black Unity Center's events questionnaires were distributed for the purposes of gathering feedback to improve the quality of events. Attendees at Black Unity Center events were given the opportunity to identify two things on self-administered feedback questionnaires: 1. What they thought was or were the strength(s) of the event, and 2. What they thought was or were the weaknesses of the event. Data were collected over the course of a semester and a total of 116 feedback questionnaires were collected. Subsequently, attendees' responses were subjected to content analysis and coded into several themes or patterns of responses to each question. Themes representing the beliefs of less than 10% of the participants were discarded. Preliminary themes were reanalyzed and ultimately the strongest themes remained, while the least represented themes were eliminated. No participants' names were collected. Coding of participants' responses to these questions revealed four key things that the Black Unity Center offers: Engaging and Passionate Facilitators and Presenters, Relevant Knowledge and Awareness, A Communal Energy and a Welcoming Space, and Inspiration and Upliftment. These themes are illustrated below.
Engaging and Passionate Facilitators and Presenters: Thirty-nine percent (45/116) of the feedback forms
completed indicated that people who attended Black Unity Center events were particularly impressed by the presenters and facilitators of those events. Precentors and facilitators were frequently described as passionate, engaging, and personable. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
Attendees like those who gave the above responses, also described presenters/facilitators as funny, dynamic, real, honest, genuine, and clear. Commonly, they were referring to how presenters/facilitators engaged with them during the question and answer sessions or discussions at the close of events or interactive dialog during events.
Relevant Knowledge and Awareness: Thirty-seven percent({43/116) of the feedback forms contained expressions that the information and knowledge that was gained from Black Unity Center events were of exceptional quality. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
A Communal Energy and a Welcoming Space: Twenty-eight percent (32/116) of the feedback forms described what attendees saw as the qualities of the environments created at Black Unity Center events. They frequently spoke of a certain kind of energy at Black Unity Center events. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
Inspiration and Upliftment: Beyond being informed, ten percent (12/116) of our feedback forms contained mentions from attendees that they were personally uplifted in some way by the Black Unity Center event that they attended. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
Data were also collected from event attendees about what they believed were the limitations of our events. There were 31 feedback forms that noted limitations over the course of the semester. However, there was no theme amongst the stated limitations that met our significance cut off of ten percent {10% of feedback forms). However, the one consistent theme among the stated limitations, although it was 5%, is worth noting as it can help the Center be more effective going forward.
Need More Advertisement: Five percent (6/116) of Black Unity Center feedback forms contained mentions by attendees that Black Unity Center events need more advertisements to increase attendance at events. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
CONCLUSION
The Black Unity Center coordinators along with their allies across campus have been able to enhance the experiences of students of African descent and the larger campus community by offering Engaging and Passionate Facilitators and Presenters, Relevant Knowledge and Awareness, A Communal Energy and a Welcoming Space, and Inspiration and Upliftment. However, the Black Unity Center does not plan to revel in its current successes. Our intention to continue to be innovative and create more meaningful and transformative, culturally rooted, pan African-liberation minded programs to enhance Africana student success, while continuing to help SF State to offer students a culturally welcoming and well-rounded experience to the campus community. To do this will need to increase our funding, staffing, institutional latitude, and space. The Center continues to be concerned with finding the best ways to function as efficiently as possible within our institutional context. Moreover, the Center hopes to have a physical space in the future in the form of a building. In the near future, the Center looks forward to having a centrally located dedicated space with event space or a dedicated space for the Center in close collaboration with Residential life. The Center will need further budget augmentation so that it may scale up existing programs, and expand our programs to include precollege programming, more skill/leadership building workshops, educational travel including conference travel, academic recognition and cultural enrichment programming, institutional data collective and analysis, internships, rites of passage, culminating experiences, and more professional development and networking programs.
REFERENCES
Hord, F. (2005). Black culture centers: Politics of survival and identity. Chicago, Il: Third World Press.
Kendi, I. (2012). The Black Campus Movement and the Institutionalization of Black Studies, 1965-1970.
Journal of African American Studies, 16(1), 21-40.
Patton, l. D., Bridges, B. K., & Flowers, l. A. (2011). Effects of Greek affiliation on African American students' engagement: Differences by college racial composition. College Student Affairs Journal, 29(2), 113-123.
March 5, 2018
PREFACE
Malcolm X was once asked why people were so receptive to the teachings of the Nation of Islam in the early 60s when the organization had actually been around for such a long time before then. Malcolm responded by explaining that people react to social-political conditions just like a seed responds to environmental and atmospheric conditions. His point was that the social-political atmospheric conditions were ripe for change in the 1960s and thus Black people responded by increasing their involvement in self- determining organizations. The same analogy holds true for the emergence of the Black Unity Center on SF State's campus. The current social-political climate can be explained by the colliding of two storm systems. One system defined by emboldened and institutionalized racism, injustice, hatred, and oppression shaped by political and institutional leadership and other forces. The other system may be defined by an empowered sense of agency and a revolution of rising expectations for equity and social justice following on the heels of the election of the first Black President and in the midst of a Black political advocacy climate shaped by organizations such as #BlackLivesMatter. It is in this context that the Black Unity Center at San Francisco State University, within the Division of Equity & Community Inclusion, emerged. In this, its first semester of existence, the Center has been able to help the University to build its bridge to opportunity by increasing the university community's awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the unique cultures and geographies students of African descent reach the bridge from and the unique identities and resources they carry over.
Indigenous/precolonial African knowledge traditions, rooted in unique cultural and spiritual systems, were frequently structured as lifelong processes designed to empower people to be of service by advancing the collective lives of communities. During the antebellum period of enslavement, resistance, and liberation struggle, people of African descent in the American context continued to struggle to attend schools, construct schools, and to educate themselves under the constant threats of lynching, anti-Black terrorism, and institutional racism. In a monumental analysis of Black student activism from 1919 to the 1970s, Kendi (2012) identifies four challenges that Black students have confronted, including attempts to: use higher education to impose Eurocentric value systems and behavioral expectations on Black students; exclude Black students from services, opportunities, positions of leadership and exclude their heritage from the curriculum; present White people, ideas, and scholarship as normal and universal; and teach them to adopt individualistic, careerist, materialistic philosophies of success which require them to abandon the notion of education for liberation and community advancement. Black students fought these forces in several ways, including but not limited to (Kendi, 2012): more holistic curriculum, and Black leadership on campus, increased Black student college attendance while protesting racism on White campuses, becoming involved in larger social-political issues and movements like the civil rights and Black power movements. This is the tradition that Black students on Sf State's campus are advancing. Today, Black student populations around the country on campuses where they are underrepresented, each have their own stories. Yet, the all-to-familiar consistent narrative focuses on their struggles with feeling isolated, unsupported, and unwelcome on campuses where they encounter racism, marginalization, and exclusion in their attempts to adjust to campus life (Patton, Bridges & Flowers, 2011). Yet, the Black Unity Center has had an amazing semester creating a supportive environment. Students who frequent the Black Unity Center and its events have described the Center's programming as creating for them a sense of community on campus. This has been one of the primary successes of the multi-faceted programming of our very first semester. According to our survey of attendees at Black Unity Center events, the most significant contributions the Black Unity Center has made have been introducing students to Engaging and Passionate Facilitators and Presenters, doing programs that provide Relevant Knowledge and Awareness, providing students with a Communal Energy and a Welcoming Space, and doing programs that give our attendees Inspiration and Upliftment.
The History of Black Student CentersBlack Student Centers (also called Black Culture Centers) emerged in the 1960s through the 1980s as Black student populations on predominantly White campuses grew significantly. They were born out of the same context that produced Black Studies; a context shaped by the civil rights movement, and the Black power movement. These Black Student Centers initially focused primarily on social and cultural activities. They were and are safe places on campuses that can be culturally alienating and sometimes overtly and or covertly racially hostile. They were places where Pan African Nationalist political consciousness and intellectual thought were nourished. Since their formative years, they additionally become resource centers, places where students gain valuable internships, learn academic skills, connect to resources, and preparation for graduate school and the professional world.
Overview of the Black Unity Center at SF StateBlack Student Centers around the country are first and foremost the results of the Black Students' imaginations and conceptualizations of ways to improve their educational experiences and advance their communities. These institutions were not gifts from Universities (Hord, 2005). Similar to their predecessors, through Black student advocacy, and the advocacy of their peers, communities, and administrative allies, Black Students on SF State's campus have been able to achieve the Black Unity Center at SF State. They originally developed the idea for the Center in 2015 as a part of their efforts to enhance Black student, life and address the lack of resources, and lack of administrative effort regarding Black student concerns on campus (See Appendix A-The History of the Black Unity Center). It must be made plain that the Black Unity Center is an extension of Africana Studies, the Black Student Union and the College of Ethnic Studies. The Black Unity Center on SF State's campus came into existence through the movement to equitably fund the College of Ethnic Studies. Ultimately, the Black Unity Center was formed through the collaborative efforts of the Black Student Union, Department of Africana Studies, College of Ethnic Studies, the Black Student body, and the support of Student Affairs and Associated Students.
THE MISSION AND VISION OF THE BLACK UNITY CENTER
Vision: The vision of the Center is to advance educational equity for students of African descent by serving as a unifying force for many efforts to ensure the highest potential for and self- determination by students, using an Afrocentric paradigm.
Mission Statement: The mission of the Center is to provide Black students, through cross- campus community collaborations and an intersectional, African-centered environment, with transformative, impactful and socially conscious programs that allow them to grow academically, interpersonally, culturally and professionally, in order to advance their recruitment, matriculation, retention, and graduation.
OBJECTIVES OF THE BLACK UNITY CENTER
- To function as a nexus for intellectual development and passing on the Black intellectual tradition so that it may be used to engage in deep and creative thought about exploring, understanding and addressing the challenges that face Africana communities and society at large.
- To reaffirm Africana cultures and identities and support cultural continuity and recreation.
- To unify and support services to students of African descent.
- To build bridges between Africana students on campus through a unifying Pan African ideology, while building bridges between Africana students and the university.
- To serve as an empowerment zone, connecting students to opportunities, resources, and skills for graduate school and the professional world in a culturally aligned manner.
- To facilitate student community involvement based on the maatian principles of truth, justice, and righteousness.
- To offer the entire campus cultural programs that afford them the opportunities to see and appreciate reality through the lenses or worldview(s) of peoples of African descent
THE BLACK UNITY CENTER'S FALL 2017 PROGRAMMING
The Black Unity Center on SF State's campus is a place that students frequent throughout the day for a range of purposes. Students often stop by seeking advisement about issues that are academic, financial, and otherwise. Students come by the Black Unity Center to socialize, to study, or to grab a snack or tea before or after class. However, the Black Unity Center's programmatic structure supports the full range of culture and intellectual enrichment, leadership development, and preparation for their scholarly and/or professional futures through an Afrocentric lens. During the Fall Semester of 2017, the Black Unity Center developed and implemented programs in each of the six broad areas.
Intellectual Stimulation: These programs are designed to facilitate critical thinking among students, faculty, and staff about Africana people's intellectual and cultural productions, current social concerns, and histories. Examples of these programs are invited speakers, film screenings, and discussions. The bulk of the center's programming was in the area of intellectual stimulation.
Preparation for the Future: These programs are designed to prepare students for their futures after graduation in culturally relevant ways. Students are provided with an understanding of how their careers and graduate school choices fit within the context of the state and needs of Black communities. The objective is to provide them with the readiness to transition into their careers and/or graduate school. These programs are intended to provide them with encouragement and knowledge about how they might use their education and careers to improve their communities.
Affirmation: These programs are designed to support and encourage African American students' academic success, student leadership, and community service. They allow Black students to celebrate success in a collective way while reaffirming academic excellence, identity, and collective responsibility.
Skill Building/Resources: These programs are designed to enhance Black students' knowledge and awareness. The goal is to empower students by equipping them with critical academic skills and knowledge of how to take advantage of institutional opportunities and resources.
Art an Performance: These programs are designed to raise awareness, participation in, and critical thought about art, and artistic performances such as music, spoken word, promoting themes of Africana critical thought, culture, and liberation.
Community Service: The programs are designed to allow students, faculty, and staff, through the Black Unity Center, to be involved in projects and institutions designed to enhance the wellness of Black communities off of campus.
THE IMPACT OF THE BLACK UNITY CENTER
During the 2017 fall semester, at the majority of the Black Unity Center's events questionnaires were distributed for the purposes of gathering feedback to improve the quality of events. Attendees at Black Unity Center events were given the opportunity to identify two things on self-administered feedback questionnaires: 1. What they thought was or were the strength(s) of the event, and 2. What they thought was or were the weaknesses of the event. Data were collected over the course of a semester and a total of 116 feedback questionnaires were collected. Subsequently, attendees' responses were subjected to content analysis and coded into several themes or patterns of responses to each question. Themes representing the beliefs of less than 10% of the participants were discarded. Preliminary themes were reanalyzed and ultimately the strongest themes remained, while the least represented themes were eliminated. No participants' names were collected. Coding of participants' responses to these questions revealed four key things that the Black Unity Center offers: Engaging and Passionate Facilitators and Presenters, Relevant Knowledge and Awareness, A Communal Energy and a Welcoming Space, and Inspiration and Upliftment. These themes are illustrated below.
Engaging and Passionate Facilitators and Presenters: Thirty-nine percent (45/116) of the feedback forms
completed indicated that people who attended Black Unity Center events were particularly impressed by the presenters and facilitators of those events. Precentors and facilitators were frequently described as passionate, engaging, and personable. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
- The personality of Dr. Story, willingness to answer questions and essentially conduct good convo.
- I love the way she made all of the information feel like a loving conversation with a friend
- I adored Delina's presentation of her piece "Bare Sole Bare Soul" She was entertaining and lovely
Attendees like those who gave the above responses, also described presenters/facilitators as funny, dynamic, real, honest, genuine, and clear. Commonly, they were referring to how presenters/facilitators engaged with them during the question and answer sessions or discussions at the close of events or interactive dialog during events.
Relevant Knowledge and Awareness: Thirty-seven percent({43/116) of the feedback forms contained expressions that the information and knowledge that was gained from Black Unity Center events were of exceptional quality. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
- The topic wasn't something I thought about, but this is something I left with and this has been put into realization (Feedback form #35).
- I loved that the focus was Black women and that the film showed Black women doing what they love (Feedback form #64).
- This topic expresses experiences that Black students like me live through and solutions (Feedback form #79).
A Communal Energy and a Welcoming Space: Twenty-eight percent (32/116) of the feedback forms described what attendees saw as the qualities of the environments created at Black Unity Center events. They frequently spoke of a certain kind of energy at Black Unity Center events. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
- "What I liked the most was the comfort I felt being here. The room was radiating with power and a sense of appreciating to how far civil rights have come" (Feedback form #98).
- "I like how it's a community in here" (Feedback form #46).
- "The environment was very welcoming" (Feedback form #7).
Inspiration and Upliftment: Beyond being informed, ten percent (12/116) of our feedback forms contained mentions from attendees that they were personally uplifted in some way by the Black Unity Center event that they attended. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
- "This talk was extremely uplifting and impactful" (Feedback form #10).
- "Especially inspiring, it confirmed my love for dance and my love for Africa" (Feedback form #63).
- "The talk about stress and unity was extremely empowering) (Feedback form #87).
Data were also collected from event attendees about what they believed were the limitations of our events. There were 31 feedback forms that noted limitations over the course of the semester. However, there was no theme amongst the stated limitations that met our significance cut off of ten percent {10% of feedback forms). However, the one consistent theme among the stated limitations, although it was 5%, is worth noting as it can help the Center be more effective going forward.
Need More Advertisement: Five percent (6/116) of Black Unity Center feedback forms contained mentions by attendees that Black Unity Center events need more advertisements to increase attendance at events. Some examples of these kinds of responses are:
- Make ads before the event so there could be more people present (Feedback form #54)!
- More people should have been there not your fault, good advertising though (Feedback form # 104).
- More publicity, please! This was a great event (Feedback form #111)!
CONCLUSION
The Black Unity Center coordinators along with their allies across campus have been able to enhance the experiences of students of African descent and the larger campus community by offering Engaging and Passionate Facilitators and Presenters, Relevant Knowledge and Awareness, A Communal Energy and a Welcoming Space, and Inspiration and Upliftment. However, the Black Unity Center does not plan to revel in its current successes. Our intention to continue to be innovative and create more meaningful and transformative, culturally rooted, pan African-liberation minded programs to enhance Africana student success, while continuing to help SF State to offer students a culturally welcoming and well-rounded experience to the campus community. To do this will need to increase our funding, staffing, institutional latitude, and space. The Center continues to be concerned with finding the best ways to function as efficiently as possible within our institutional context. Moreover, the Center hopes to have a physical space in the future in the form of a building. In the near future, the Center looks forward to having a centrally located dedicated space with event space or a dedicated space for the Center in close collaboration with Residential life. The Center will need further budget augmentation so that it may scale up existing programs, and expand our programs to include precollege programming, more skill/leadership building workshops, educational travel including conference travel, academic recognition and cultural enrichment programming, institutional data collective and analysis, internships, rites of passage, culminating experiences, and more professional development and networking programs.
REFERENCES
Hord, F. (2005). Black culture centers: Politics of survival and identity. Chicago, Il: Third World Press.
Kendi, I. (2012). The Black Campus Movement and the Institutionalization of Black Studies, 1965-1970.
Journal of African American Studies, 16(1), 21-40.
Patton, l. D., Bridges, B. K., & Flowers, l. A. (2011). Effects of Greek affiliation on African American students' engagement: Differences by college racial composition. College Student Affairs Journal, 29(2), 113-123.