Some of the members of Harambee with last year's Black History Month keynote speaker Dr. Yusef Salaam and longtime Harambee advisor Joe Costa (both standing at center).
The African diaspora consists of communities of people who descended from Africa. The most populated countries in the African diaspora are Brazil, Colombia, the United States, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Harambee, which in the Kiswahili language means "unity" or "stand together," is the name of Rhode Island College's multicultural student organization. The club strives to represent the African diaspora. Current members are from the Congo, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Jamaica, Barbados, Kenya and the Philippines.
"Harambee was created in 1978 by a couple of students who were the voices of the many. They wanted to come together to really center their purpose and encourage others to join the fight. They got together, went in front of Student Community Government and centered what they believed in," says Jayana Greene, former vice president of Harambee.
"Back then, Harambee was more of a presence on campus," she says. "People of color and minority students just didn't feel represented. Harambee essentially created a safe place for them to express whatever issues they were dealing with as well as to just come together and be able to say, 'I have friends who look like me and I connect to people who resonate with other people who look like me.'"
Brooxana Pierre, vice president of Harambee, says that at every meeting they encourage everyone to learn about each other's culture and traditions. "We bring different topics and everyone is able to share their experiences and relate with each other," she says."When we share our experiences, I feel that's how we learn how similar we are but how beautifully different as well."
Harambee sees Black History Month as a time to celebrate unity. "I think unity now more than ever is not just a black issue, it's a human rights issue," Greene says. "It's an all-of-us issue, and now more organizations and people are beginning to recognize that and are joining us in Black History Month celebrations. It's not just, 'Harambee presents!' All of the other divisions of RIC are coming together to celebrate."
"For Black History Month, we're doing some events online," Pierre says. "We are hosting an event where we are inviting Rhode Island State Representative Brianna Henries to speak on the current events of our world, we have a mental health event, a talent showcase and some historical events as well. It is all just coming together."
Pierre also notes that Harambee understands that there are students on campus who don't feel represented, who feel like outcasts. "Oftentimes as black people we are put under this every-black-person-is-the-same umbrella, when we are, in fact, all unique in our own way," she says. "Our cultures have beautiful differences that deserve to be highlighted and represented. As e-board members of a multicultural organization, we refuse to encourage the every-black-person-is-the-same narrative."
This is important because the African diaspora is often regarded as if everyone were from the same place, with the same cultural background or ethnicity. "Sometimes people just think of black people as one type, but there are so many different dialects, languages, cultures. In Africa there are more than 50 countries. All of it needs to be celebrated," says Greene. "It's amazing how unique each of us are and how we come together to form a beautiful race of people. There's not just one black ethnicity, but a multitude of variations. We are not all the same. We definitely are different."
Greene believes these differences highlight the need for requiring a diversity and inclusion course in freshman year. "It's important,especially on a college campus," she says. "There are so many different identities and cultures that coming to RIC is a shock for some people. I think that it would be great to make it a requirement and have educate students on diversity and inclusion, what that really looks like and how to understand it, so when they go out into the workforce, they go out with some sort of knowledge about these topics."
"I feel we are essentially having a breakthrough," Greene concludes. "Kamala Harris just became the first black woman to serve as vice president. I feel that there's more to come. People are beginning to listen. They're willing to learn and understand my struggle. Although you may not empathize with me, you sympathize with me. People want to become culturally aware of what you say, how you say it and the intentions and meaning behind it."
