A group of Tufts students hope to address a myriad of issues concerning African-American leadership and social progress at the first annual Emerging Black Leaders Symposium (EBLS) this weekend.
The two-day event, which begins on Saturday in Cabot Auditorium, will offer the Tufts community the opportunity to attend panels where education, healthcare, the economy and criminal justice will be discussed in the context of emerging African-American leadership.
The theme for this year's symposium is "Giving back while moving forward," a reference to the link between the marked increase of African-Americans in higher education over the past few decades and the continued urgency to "give back" to the black community.
Former Tufts Community Union (TCU) president senior Chike Aguh helped spearhead the event, and said he hopes that students who attend the symposium will recognize that social responsibility and success cannot be separated.
"It is my hope that the symposium will enable students to get the tools to make the relationship [between social responsibility and success] more solid," Aguh said.
Aguh collaborated with several other co-chairs and students to make the symposium possible, among whom was senior Asi Somburu, senior class representative of the Black Men's Group at Tufts.
The event was made possible by the combined efforts of a coalition of black student leaders and activists with common goals, Somburu said. This group of students is not affiliated with one on-campus organization in particular.
Somburu said that the symposium's main goal is to "empower the leadership of tomorrow to help move our society towards one that lives up to its promises of justice, liberty and equal opportunity for all."
Somburu said, however, that the lessons to be learned at the symposium are not by any means restricted to African-American students.
"The ideas that EBLS will address are relevant not just to African-Americans, but to all those concerned with the preservation of democracy," Somburu said.
A series of four panel discussions during the day on Saturday will lead up to the address from keynote speaker Kwame Jackson, a business entrepreneur featured on the first season of NBC's "The Apprentice."
According to Aguh, Jackson was a clear choice for keynote speaker because he is relatable to many young African-Americans in higher education. "Kwame serves as a young and accomplished example of what people like us can do," he said.
Somburu echoed Aguh's optimism regarding the entrepreneur. The committee searched hard for "someone who was young, successful and influential who people would listen to, and who had the power to inspire our peer group," Somburu said.
In addition to stressing social responsibility for future African-American leaders, Aguh and Somburu said they hope the upcoming symposium will become a Tufts tradition.
Jackson's speech will take place on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. in Cabot.
Tickets will also be available at the door. The cost of the event is five dollars.
