Umoja to take role as umbrella for black groups

In 1971, the Black Student League constituted Penn's entire black population of 40 undergraduate students. Although the BSL still counts about 40 to 50 students as members, Penn today has more than 500 black students and 32 different black organizations. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to foster communication among black leaders and cater to the needs of a black population more diverse than it was a quarter-century ago. Hoping to remedy these ongoing problems, black campus leaders recently approved a plan under which the BSL will shift its focus to cultural and social issues while a new umbrella organization will bring together black undergraduate groups under its own separate leadership. The new umbrella group, called Umoja -- a Swahili term for "unity and togetherness" -- will consist of an executive board with six members. Each of the 32 black campus groups will be assigned to one of seven units run by the board and corresponding to the seven principles of Kwanzaa, the African-American spiritual festival that lasts from December 26 to January 1. The changes were announced at a forum at W.E.B. DuBois College House last night. "The Umoja plan will create a communication network with a much stronger base," said former BSL President Rasool Berry, who led the black student leaders in formalizing the plan. Over the last five years, Umoja was an informal group that allowed for communication between black student leaders. "This holds strong implications with how we interact with the administration, the United Minorities Council and other student organizations and how the black community interacts with one another," added Berry, a College junior. The BSL executive board has historically represented the entire black undergraduate population in political discussions, despite its relatively small membership. "Historically, the BSL was looked at to represent the political voice of the African diaspora at Penn, but the BSL had its own membership and did not entirely represent the black population," said newly elected BSL President Terrance Whitehead, an Engineering junior. "So the Umoja puts things in the proper place," he added. Berry said he deliberately did not meet with University President Judith Rodin this year as the BSL president because he did not feel he was in a position to "effectively represent the African diaspora." "The evolution of Umoja was predicated upon the evolution of the black population in numbers and in need," Berry said. Umoja's focus is much more "inclusive" to the needs of the African diaspora -- referring to the multifaceted cultures of those of African decent -- according to Berry. This is evidenced by the name of the organization. "The term 'Umoja,' 'the African diaspora,' highlights the relations and the bonds as people of African descent and acknowledges how that descendence puts us in American society," Berry said. He added that the term delineates the different nationalities and cultures within the African diaspora more clearly then the word "black" in Black Student League. The BSL will focus its attention to social and cultural issues, handing over all political issues to Umoja. But Whitehead said the dynamics of the BSL will not change much. "The only shift is the political [language] taken out of the mission statement," he said. "The BSL will still be political, but in cooperation with all the other organizations." All members of the "African diaspora" may participate in the Umoja executive board elections this Saturday, where they will vote on six positions -- chairperson, vice chairperson, corresponding secretary, recording secretary/treasurer, vice chairperson for programming and vice chairperson for political action and research. The six officers should be active members of one or more of the 32 different black organizations, but not hold office in their respective groups.

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