Kuumba rejoices in spring

"New things are a continuation of old ones." This Ewe proverb is the theme for this Spring's semi annual black cultural celebration, Kuumba.

The main coordinators of Kuumba are seniors Eli Miles and Ola Oshodi. Ntombi Peters, Africana community coordinator and OC '97, acted as an outside advisor to Miles and Oshodi in their planning of Kuumba. "The three of us have been involved in every aspect of it. This is the first time I've been involved," Peters said.

Kuumba began April 17 and will end Saturday with a closing ceremony and reception. It was purposely scheduled during the week of "The Darker Face of the Earth" - a production by associate professor of African American studies and theater Caroline Jackson Smith - and Mezzo-Soprano Denyce Graves' performance last Tuesday. According to Peters the production and performance were not a planned as part of Kuumba, but the timing of these events served to compliment the Kuumba celebration.

Students and community members may look forward to the remaining Kuumba events. "This is a week-long event for people to come together on different events and really connect," said Peters.

Dance may be a major theme tonight with the Kuumba Semi Formal and Essence Dance Performance. "Usually the one big event is the semi-formal. People usually get excited because they can dress up which at Oberlin is a rare occurrence," said Peters.

Today's events also include an Essence dance performance choreographed by Adenike Sharpley with music and dance from West Africa as well as a poetry reading and book signing by poet and actress Juanita Torrence Thompson. In addition, Torerence Thompson has read her poetry at universities nationwide including Columbia, Princeton and Yale.

"The poetry combined with the ebony spotlight can be a good time for celebration. I love black Con night which is one of my favorite times during Kuumba. I just really get proud when I see what talents people have," said Peters.

The theme of tomorrow's ceremony is "Passing the Torch." Allowing Kuumba to be organized by seniors was a way of allowing other students to have an example of Kuumba for the future. "They wanted to try to leave a legacy when they leave here. It's not to say someone is better at this than another. It's a way to pass down the torch," said Peters.

"Hopefully if it's done the way we hope it is done it is a time for people in and out of the black community to come together and celebrate what is possible. And also to celebrate the creativity of the students and non-students. We want to come together as a community," she said.