COLUMBUS— Black Culture Centers on college campuses, like the Frank W. Hale, Jr. Black Cultural Center at The Ohio State University, continue to play a critical role in supporting and nourishing its African-American students.
That was the key takeaway from the 28th annual Association for Black Culture Centers (ABCC) national conference that took place over the weekend at OSU. This year’s theme “Ethnic Culture Centers Closing New Generation Gaps,” included prominent speakers such as cultural critic Bakari Kitwana; author and publisher Haki Madhubuti, and historian Dr. Hasan K. Jeffries.
“We talk about issues of race and equality and we don’t talk in hush tones,” said Robert Solomon, assistant vice provost of diversity and inclusion at OSU, who pointed out that across the past three decades, the Hale Cultural Center has proven to be a leader in initiating conversations about equity issues. “Our cultural centers are often the signposts for many parents to see what is available for their children.”
The Hale Center, Solomon added, is their “home away from home,” noting that the Center has played a critical role across the years in cultivating Black excellence on campus, which includes more than half of Black males achieving a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and the selection—in recent years—of two Rhodes Scholars.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the Hale Center has played a vital role in these successes,” said Solomon. “Black cultural centers are the foundation.”
Indeed, that sentiment was shared by leaders from other institutions who run Black Cultural Centers. While the fight for cultural autonomy and funding for these centers is always ongoing, they said that the need for a safe space for Black students on campus is needed now more than ever.
“Our Black Cultural Centers are links to the past and we currently occupy them,” said Jeffries, who teaches African-American history at OSU and delivered the keynote address at the four-day convening. “But it is our charge to pass them from one generation to the next. They are symbolized by the struggles of the past.”
