Wednesday night, students of all races from across Louisianacame together to celebrate African-American culture.
The event was hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, theUnion Programming Council Black Culture Committee, and the HarambeePlanning Committee. Special guests included the NationalPanhellenic Council fraternities and sororities, and guest speakerJessica Care Moore.
“Harambee is Swahili for ‘coming together’ and this is a comingtogether of all communities,” said Erica Washington, a biologicalsciences junior and member of the Harambee planning committee andDelta Sigma Theta. “It is a rumor that the Greek and non-Greekcommunities do not get along, but they come together here and youcan see that.”
Although the show got off to a late start, the program waspacked with powerful speakers and an energetic crowd. Moore, adistinguished poet and founder of Moore Black Press PublishingCompany, moved the crowd as the first woman speaker at a Harambeecelebration. Moore propelled the crowd out of their seats and intothe “real world” with her poems.
Moore inspired the crowd with her powerful words by highlightingthe problems and obstacles of the African-American community andencouraged the crowd to get out and make a difference.
“Do not let anyone else take your degree away from you,” Mooresaid. “The greatest thing you can do is use the degree you earnedand incorporate yourself.”
Moore covered many heated issues affecting the African Americancommunity, problems especially affecting African American women.She targeted the problems of their community toward the Geoge W.Bush administration and also spoke about the hindrances of AfricanAmerican women, Sept. 11 and the environment of her neighborhood inHarlem.
She inspired the women to hold themselves above what is expectedof them by society in her poem “Black Girl Juice” and “God is notan American,” a poem where she suggested God may be a woman.
“Jessica was my favorite part,” said Alchiquita McRevy, apsychology freshman. “She kept it real, she didn’t hold backanything. Everything we were feeling or have been feeling, she gotup there and didn’t hold anything back.”
The crowd also got to participate in the celebration with the”Unity Step Show” presented by the NPHC fraternities and sororitiesfrom LSU, Southern University, and Southeastern University.
Six out of the nine NPHC fraternities and sororities sentrepresentatives to participate in a united step, showcasing theGreek community as a whole and individually.
The crowds dispersed after the “Unity Step Show” and congregatedoutside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to discuss theprogram.
“I had a really great time but I would like to see morestepping,” said Jacquetta Caldwell, a psychology freshman. “We needmore events like this to come together.”
Patrice Hammond, coordinator for academics and multiculturalprogramming for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said shethought it was a great celebration.
“You could see the multiple cultures in the crowd and the Greekscame together in the step show in unity,” Hammond said. “We werevery pleased about the outcome of the program.”