Black History Month celebrations at Tufts climaxed on Feb. 20 with the Africana Center's 40th Anniversary Gala at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge.
The Africana Center was founded in the fall of 1969 to facilitate the access of Tufts' black student population to both cultural and academic resources. It also serves as a student residence.
Over 300 people attended the sold-out gala, which was a night of dancing, student performances and dining. A large percentage of the attendees were alumni, according to Denise Phillips, coordinator for programs and special projects at the Africana Center.
The event included performances by the Third Day Gospel Choir and the female step team ENVY, according to sophomore Gabrielle Horton, a Pan African Alliance (PAA) board member.
Africana Center Director Katrina Moore said that the gala was a good chance for current students and alumni to interact.
"This is an intergenerational event," she said. "It is a good opportunity for students to make connections with alumni and to also have an idea of what students are doing. Hopefully some long-lasting connections will be made tonight."
Horton said that the event melded the past and the present well.
"The Gala celebration was a great experience because, while there was an introduction to the history of the Afro-American Center, there were also combined elements representative of the Tufts Black community today," she said.
Current students who attended the event found looking back at the rich history of the black community at Tufts very helpful.
"Seeing what our predecessors have done and the impact of their actions has helped us see why the Africana Center exists," Horton said. "We have learned why we have to have the various groups on campus that make the black community at Tufts stronger, and why it is necessary to keep them alive."
The Africana Center held a series of events for alumni before the gala. Alumni gathered for an informal reception in the lounge of the Africana Center and then had the opportunity to speak with University President Lawrence Bacow at Gifford House.
Every ten years the center invites alumni to reunite and celebrate their experiences, Phillips said.
The celebration, which students largely organized in conjunction with the Africana Center, was part of February's commemoration of Black History Month.
"They have done a wonderful job planning for Black History Month along with figuring out how to collaborate with the Center," Phillips said.
While the 40th anniversary has been the main focus of this year's celebrations, a variety of on-campus events led up to the gala celebration, including a showing of Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" (1989), hosted by the PAA on Friday. The film tackles issues of racial conflict in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in New York.
Other events included Black History Trivia Night and a lecture by African-American author, poet and activist Sonia Sanchez.
The marking of the Africana Center's anniversary made this year's celebration of Black History Month at Tufts more meaningful than those of previous years, according to Moore.
"I'm very happy for this year; that we're able to celebrate our own history," she said. "We aren't just looking at what has happened in the past, but we're looking at our own history and sharing that during Black History Month."
