Bakersfield College hosts the 7th annual Umoja Black History Month Conference in the Renegade Event Center on Feb 6th.
Umoja is a Kiswahili word meaning unity. African American S Through Excellence and Persistence (ASTEP) is a program that integrates academics, supports services, and African-American culture. The event captured the audience’s attention with its vibrant colors, traditional South African ‘Mokhibo’ dances, and the captivating instrumental works of the ‘Djembe’ drums.
There were many races, identities, and people with different cultural backgrounds present. The crowd was broken into two groups to then unify one another with passionate African cries to signify harmony.
Students were then invited onto stage to perform a traditional African dance with the event performers. Each student was guided carefully throughout the entire event.
Umoja’s head coordinator, Tye McCovey, provided palatable food for those in attendance. The guest speakers First-lady Vicki Kemp, Dr. Niesha Davis-Massey, and Artisa Mae Moten, MS gave acknowledgement to the crowd and their questions to better themselves both individually and within their community. The enlightened and empowered women speakers shared their wisdom amongst the crowd insisting them to keep themselves involved in events such as the Umoja event.
Their overall goal was to try and motivate the younger generation to take charge of their communities and to expose them to engaging programs like this one.
There were also high school students in attendance. Detric Morwen, senior student from Golden Valley High School, stated that something he was able to take away from the Umoja Program is that it explains the background culture of where he comes from and how it can help him in his life. Morwen emphasized how even excelling in higher education can make a difference.
Supporting your community is important, and it starts with what you involve yourself in – make it a lifestyle! Get to know the community you are actively in. Put yourself to participate in events that expose you to other communities. We can all learn from each other.