Examples Of How The Green, Gold, Red, & Black Colors Of Pan-African Flag Have Been Used In The African Diaspora

Tales of History, Apr 20, 2017

Have you ever noticed that ALOT of the flags of African nations are very similar? This is not by accident. In this video, we discuss the origins of the Pan-African Flag...

****
Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision- March 7, 2022

This pancocojams post showases examples of how the green, gold, red, and black colors of pan-African flag have been used in the African Diaspora.

This post also showcases examples of the red, black, and green flag that is also considered a pan-African flag.

The content of this post is presented for historical,cultural, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/03/how-color-combinations-for-kente-cloth.html for the related pancocojams post entitled "How The Color Combinations For Kente Cloth Stoles Have Changed For African American Graduating Students."

****
WHAT ARE THE PAN-AFRICAN COLORS AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
From  https://medium.com/illumination-curated/why-most-african-flags-use-the-red-yellow-and-green-colors-61e90d6164c Why Most African Flags Use the Red, Yellow, and Green Colors?
The Untold Story Behind Most African Flags by Bisi Media, Feb. 22, 2021
"On October 11th, 1897, a year after Ethiopia defended itself from Italian colonization at the Battle of Adwa, Emperor Menelik II authorized the creation of a flag containing a rectangular tri-color from top to bottom: red, yellow, and green.

[...]

These three colors red, green, and yellow with the inclusion of black will later be known as the Pan-African colors.

Although the meaning of the individual colors used in a country’s flag may differ from country to country; the countries of the flags that make use of the Pan-African colors have similar meaning with green representing the unique nature of the continent having good land for agriculture, red representing the blood, and common heritage of Africans during the fight against oppression from colonialism, yellow representing the wealth of Africa, and finally, black which signifies the color of the people."...
-snip-
The overarching meaning of pan-African colors are Black unity and Black pride.

****
ARTICLE EXCERPTS ABOUT SOME PAN-AFRICAN FLAGS 

Excerpt #1:
From http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/africa.html Flags Of African Countries
Last Updated On : February 13, 2013
"Africa is the second largest continent on Earth, with an area of about 30,221,532 square miles (11,668,599 square miles), and covering over 20 percent of the Earth's land area. Africa is made up of 54 independent countries, as well as 9 territories and a few de facto states. About 1 billion people live on the African continent.

Each of the countries of Africa has its own national flag. Many flags of African countries use colors referred to as Pan-African colors, which can be any combination of the following colors: red, green, gold (or yellow), and black. This color combination has been used in Africa for many years, and was probably taken from the Ethiopian flag.

While not every African nation has a flag that uses Pan-African colors, the majority do. Some of the nations that do not use Pan African colors include Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, and Somalia."...

****
Excerpt #2
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Ethiopia
"Colours

The red, green and yellow were used for the flag of the Ethiopian Empire in 1897, a year after Ethiopia decisively defended itself from Italian colonization at the Battle of Adwa. The flag's tri-colour scheme has existed since the early 19th century, and was previously the official banner of the Ethiopian Empire's Solomonic dynasty. The colours green, yellow, and red have carried special importance since at least the early 17th century.[3]

The royal flag often featured the emblem of a Lion of Judah, a crowned lion carrying a cross centred in the banner's yellow midsection. The flag is understood to be a link between the Ethiopian church, the peoples, and the nation that was united. The processional cross carried by the lion was the former flag or symbol of Ethiopia, and has likewise been in use since at least the early 17th century.[4] Whilst red is currently featured at the bottom of the horizontal tricolour, this was reversed until the mid-19th century. The emblem was added in 1996. What the colours symbolise varies depending on point of view. However, generally, red represents blood spilled in defence of Ethiopia; yellow represents peace and harmony between Ethiopia's various ethnic and religious groups; and green is said to symbolize hope, or the land and its fertility. Upon gaining independence from colonial rule, several newly established countries in Africa adopted these three colours in homage to Ethiopia's resistance against foreign occupation. When adopted by Pan-Africanist polities and organizations for their activities, the colours are often referred to as the Pan-African colours.[5]"

****
Excerpt #3
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Ghana
"The flag of Ghana was designed and adopted in 1957 and was flown until 1959, and then reinstated in 1966. It consists of the Pan-African colours of red, yellow, and green, in horizontal stripes, with a black five-pointed star in the centre of the gold stripe. The Ghanaian flag was the first African flag after the flag of Ethiopia to feature these colours.

The black star was adopted from the flag of the Black Star Line, a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey that operated from 1919 to 1922,[1] and gives the Ghana national football team their nickname, the Black Stars.

The flag was designed by Theodosia Okoh. The red represents the blood of those who died in the country's struggle for independence from the United Kingdom, the gold represents the mineral wealth of the country, the green symbolises the country's rich forests and natural wealth, and the black star is the symbol of African emancipation.[2]

****
Excerpt #4
From https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/06/14/532667081/on-flag-day-remembering-the-red-black-and-green On Flag Day, Remembering The Red, Black And Green
June 14, 2017 by Leah Donnella
.."The Pan-African flag, (also called the Marcus Garvey, UNIA, Afro-American or Black Liberation flag,) was designed to represent people of the African Diaspora, and, as one scholar put it, to symbolize "black freedom, simple."

[…]

The banner, with its horizontal red, black and green stripes, was adopted by the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) at a conference in New York City in 1920. For several years leading up to that point, Marcus Garvey, the UNIA's leader, talked about the need for a black liberation flag. Robert Hill, a historian and Marcus Garvey scholar, says that Garvey thought of a flag as necessary symbol of political maturity.

"The fact that the black race did not have a flag was considered by Garvey, and he said this, it was a mark of the political impotence of the black race," Hill explains. "And so acquiring a flag would be proof that the black race had politically come of age."

[…]

The Pan-African flag's colors each had symbolic meaning. Red stood for blood — both the blood shed by Africans who died in their fight for liberation, and the shared blood of the African people. Black represented, well, black people. And green was a symbol of growth and the natural fertility of Africa.

Garvey and the UNIA framed the need for a flag in a political context, Hill explains. "Everybody immediately seeing that flag would recognize that this is a manifestation of black aspirations, black resistance to oppression."

Some years earlier, white minstrel singers were expressing the importance of flags as a matter of racial pride: In 1900, Will A. Heelan and J. Fred Helf composed a popular song called "Every Race Has a Flag But the Coon."

The refrain was:

"Bonny Scotland loves a thistle,

Turkey has her crescent moon,

and what won't Yankees do for the old red, white and blue?

Every race has a flag but the coon."

The lyrics suggest that at the time, four decades after emancipation, many white people still didn't consider black people full citizens of the United States — or any country, for that matter.

The creation of a flag, then, was a step for black people around the world to claim an identity in their own right. Michael Hanchard, a professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, says that flags are important because they symbolize the union of governance, people and territory.

For black people, the flag means "that they have some way of identifying themselves in the world. And... to also project to those people who are not members of this particular national community that they too belong, that they have membership in a world of communities, a world of nations."

****
PAN-AFRICAN COLORS USED THROUGHOUT THE AFRICAN DIASPORA 

These videos are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

Video #1:  Olodum Rehearsal, Salvador de Bahia [Brazil]

MrTharrison, Feb 17, 2014

Bloco Olodum, Carnival rehearsal, February 1st 2014, Salvador, Bahia [Brazil]

****
Video #2: Nyabinghi Drumming and on Bob Marley Day 2013 [Jamaica]

Jamaicans Music, Feb. 7, 2013

Members of the Rastafarian community sing and chant as they play nyabinghi drums at Bob Marly Museum, Jamaica.

****
Video #3: July 23rd H.I.M Haile Selassie 1..💚💛❤ 126th Anniversary Earthstrong 💚💛❤ Fairfield House Bath UK [United Kingdom]

Sista Reuben, July 26, 2018

Rastafari Celebrations...Nyah Bingi  gathering 💚💛❤

****
Video #4: Bomba Puertorriqueña [Puerto Rico/United States



dan vazquez, Sep 14, 2013

Delegación de Loiza en el 5to encuentro del tambor en Juncos. Debo hacer la aclaración este video lo tomo mi esposa Tita!
-snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English:
Loiza delegation at the 5th meeting of the drum in Juncos. I must make the clarification this video is taken by my wife Tita!

****
Video #5: Red, Black and Green of the African flag [United States]

Dan Hanson, Feb. 2, 2014

Khalid A. Samad from Coalition for a Better Life, Peace in the Hood told of the many nations using the Red, Black and Green of the African flag. He spoke at the 40th annual Black History Month Flag Raising Ceremony in the Rotunda of Cleveland City Hall that took place on February 1, 2014. http://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups...

****
Video #6: We Deserve 2020 Pan African Collegiate Graduation (CA): Kente Ceremony + Affirmation w/Adrienne Reed [United States]

Pan African Collegiate Collective, Jun 29, 2020

One of the most memorable parts of the historic Black graduation is the Kente Stole ceremony. The Kente cloth holds many meanings for our culture, but when it comes to the Black student, the rich fabric serves as a sign of your successful matriculation from student to living proverb. We Deserve graduates are led in an affirmation comprised of their own affirmations to self. Written and led by the executive producer of today's ceremony, co-founder of Brunch 2 Bomb, and CEO of the Hamba Group, Ms. Adrienne Reed. #wedeserve #pac3 #wedeserveblackgrad

****
Video #7: 2021 Donning of the Kente Ceremony for Elon University's School of Law & School of Health Sciences [United States]

Elon University, Dec. 14, 2021 [Elon, North Carolina]

Associate Professor Buffie Longmire-Avital, director of Elon University's Black Lumen Project, delivers remarks as part of the Donning of the Kente ceremony on December 10, 2021, for School of Law and School of Health Sciences graduates in the Class of 2021.

****
Video #8: March to raise the black, red and green flag for Black History month

Fred Hanson, Feb. 9, 2015

The 41st annual Black History Month Flag Raising ceremony took place at Cleveland City Hall on Saturday February 7, 2015.  Participants marched from inside City Hall outside to the steps.  Then Dr. Eugene Jordan explained the significance of Black History Month which started as Negro History Week in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The event was presented by the Underground Railroad Society, the Coalition for a Better Life DBA Peace in the Hood and other community organizations.  http://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups...

****

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Eight Videos Of Black Graduation Cultural Ceremonies Throughout The United States

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series about the custom of Black graduating students having Black cultural graduation ceremonies. These graduation ceremonies are usually held in addition to and not in place of the school's or university's official graduation ceremonies for the general population.

This post showcases eight videos of Black graduation cultural ceremonies throughout the United States.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-university-of-torontos-2017-black.html for Part I of this post. Part I presents two article excerpts about and two videos of the University of Toronto's 2017 Black graduation ceremony. Selected comments from one of these videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

****
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
BACKGROUND
The earliest date that I've found for a separate Black graduation cultural ceremony in the United States is 1987 (from information on the California State University, Long Beach.video given as Example #5 below.) If you know of any earlier graduation ceremonies for Black university students and/or pre-university level Black students, please share that information in the comment section below. Thanks!

The custom of holding a Black cultural graduation ceremony appears to have become more widespread in the United States since 2012. It's optional for Black graduating students to attend Black cultural graduation ceremonies and these ceremonies are usually held in addition to the school's or university's official graduation ceremony.

I don't believe that the custom of "donning of the kente cloth" (placing a ceremonial kente cloth around the neck of a graduating student during a commencement program) is that widespread. Instead, it's been my experience that graduating students either purchase the kente cloth stole themselves prior to the graduation ceremony and wear the stole to that ceremony or some group or an individual purchases the stole for them and gives it to them to wear prior to the beginning of a graduation program.

**
Here's an excerpt from a 1991 article entitled 'Everybody Wants a Piece of Africa Now':
"Cal State Northridge students have been wearing the cloth sporadically since the early '70s, says Margaret J. Brown, 53, coordinator of the university's black graduation ceremonies". She says wearing kente stoles at graduation has become a tradition...

[...]

"It's part of a larger movement, a new generation that has discovered an appreciation of African culture--its music and art," says Abena Busia, an associate English professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, who was born in Ghana. Much of the cloth is made in red, green and gold, colors that came out of the Pan African movement in the 1950s.

Many high school and college students wear strips of kente around their necks during graduation ceremonies. At prominent black colleges such as Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Morehouse, Hampton and Spellman in Atlanta, kente--in the form of scarves, hats and book bags--has become commonplace."... http://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-27/news/vw-1049_1_kente-cloth October 27, 1991|DONNETTE DUNBAR | TIMES STAFF WRITER.
-snip-
I believe that the custom of Black graduates in the United States wearing a kente cloth stole (or two kente cloth stoles) started to become more common in the mid 1990s and is now worn by almost all university level African Americans graduates.

Kente cloth stoles comes in numerous color combinations with meaningful geometric designs woven in the fabric. However, as mentioned above, for African Americans, by far the most common kente color combinations are the stoles with the colors of the pan-African flag (red, green, and gold) with the addition of the color "black". It's also quite customary for members of historically Greek letter fraternities and sororities to wear kente cloth stoles in the colors of their organization, with the organization's Greek letters woven on that stole. These fraternity or sorority stoles may be worn along with the pan-African colored kente cloth stole or another stole such as one from a university honor society.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-history-significance-of-pan-african.html for a 2014 pancocojams post entitled
"The History & Significance Of The Pan-African Red, Gold, And Green Flags"

**
Here's an excerpt from an article about Virginia Tech's "Donning Of The Kente Cloth" ceremony:
From http://www.virginia.edu/oaaa/cult_events.html
Annual Donning of the Kente Graduation Ceremony
"The origins of Kente cloth date back to 12th century Africa, in the country of Ghana. The cloth was worn by Kings, Queens, and important figures of state in Ghanaian society, during ceremonial events and special occasions. In a total cultural context, Kente is more important than just a cloth. It is a visual representation of history, philosophy, ethics, oral literature, moral values, social code of conduct, religious beliefs, political thought, and aesthetic principles. Today as African-Americans wear Kente cloth, they do so for inspiration, to honor, to celebrate, to connect, and to reflect on our collective heritage and communal struggles and successes.

The first "Donning of the Kente Ceremony" was held at Virginia Tech on the eve of spring commencement in 1995, as an African-American celebration of achievement sponsored by Virginia Tech's Black Organizations Council. Ronald Giddings was the founder of the "Donning of the Kente Ceremony" at Virginia Tech. It is a unique way to honor and recognize African-American graduates"...

****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
The first and second video embedded below are also found in this closely related 2014 pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/wearing-kente-cloth-stoles-during.html Wearing Kente Cloth Stoles During Graduation

Example #1: Fresno County 2012 African American Graduation



LeachMedia Published on May 23, 2012

2012 Fresno County African American Graduation ceremony held at Fresno Memorial Auditorium. Hosted by San Joaquin Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
-snip-
Fresno County is in California.

I think that this is a cultural celebration for elementary school students apart from their official graduation ceremony.

****
Example #2: 2012 UCLA African American Student Graduation Procession



jwnealy3 Published on Jun 17, 2012
The beginning of the African American graduation ceremony, lead by traditional African dancers.
-snip-
This is probably an optional ceremony that African American graduates might participate in apart from their official graduation ceremony.

****
Example #3: Marshall University: The 2014 Donning of Kente Celebration



MarshallU, Published on May 2, 2014

We take a look at The 2014 Donning of Kente Celebration.
-snip-
Marshall University is located in Huntington, West Virginia.

****
Example #4: Jabulani Black Graduation 2014 SFSU



JaRon McReynolds, Published on Mar 7, 2015
-snip-
San Francisco State University
-snip-
Here's information about the word "jabulani" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabulani
"Jabulani is a Zulu word meaning "rejoice". It is often used as a first name, and in that context is often shortened to "Jabu".
Other uses
Adidas Jabulani, the match ball used in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, held in South Africa

Jabulani, a suburb of Soweto, South Africa

"Jabulani", a song by PJ Powers

Jabulani (Hugh Masekela album), a 2012 studio album by Hugh Masekela"

****
Example #5: COLLEGE VLOG #8 | CSULB Black Graduation



Ms. Kyari, Published on May 23, 2016

29th Annual African American Graduation Celebration at California State University, Long Beach.
Enjoy! And don't forget to like :)
-snip-
Notice that the blogger indicated that this 2016 video documented the 29th annual African American Graduation Celebration. That means that this celebration began in 1987.

Here are two comments from this video blog's (vlog's) discussion thread:
-snip-
Myra Corinthian, 2017
"I've never seen this before love it! so do the grads not graduate with other people?"

**
REPLY
Ms. Kyari, 2017
"The grads can choose to do regular commencement with others too. You can do one or the other or both. It's cool."

****
Example #6: Kente Stole Ceremony 2017



Regis College, Published on May 4, 2017

Regis seniors from the Class of 2017 share what the Kente Stole means to them. As a community that welcomes all without distinction, we are proud to celebrate diversity and inclusion, and to recognize students from diverse backgrounds for all their accomplishments over the years.
-snip-
Regis College is located in Weston, Massachusetts (approximately 12 miles from downtown Boston.)

****
Example #7: Umoja Black Graduation Ceremony ISU 2017 Highlights



Unlimited Perspectives, Published on May 26, 2017

Illinois State University May 11, 2017

Theme: From a Mighty Stock WE Come

The mission of the Umoja Steering Committee is to provide a graduation celebration that is representative of African American and African tradition, heritage, culture, and legacy. We want to encourage students to set their sights on the completion of their chosen majors, and as a recruitment tool to motivate others to pursue advanced degrees at ISU after seeing the success of their peers.

Over the years, Black graduation recognition ceremonies have become an essential expression of a rite of passage at many colleges and universities throughout the nation and it is our hope that Umoja will serve as a tool to encourage academic excellence and community responsibility.
-snip-
"Umoja" (pronounced oo-MOH-jah) is a Swahili word meaning "unity".

****
Example #8: First Ever Black Graduation at Harvard 2017



Zakhele Nkosi, Published on May 24, 2017
-snip-
Harvard University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

****
This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

The University Of Toronto's 2017 Black Student Graduation Ceremony (article excerpts, videos, comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about the custom of Black graduating students having Black cultural graduation ceremonies. These graduation ceremonies are usually held in addition to and not in place of the school's or university's official graduation ceremonies for the general population.

This post presents two article excerpts about and two videos of the University of Toronto's 2017 Black graduation ceremony. Selected comments from one of these videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/05/eight-videos-of-black-graduation.html for Part II of this series. Part II of this series. Part II showcases eight various videos of Black graduation cultural ceremonies throughout the United States.

****
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
ARTICLE EXCERPTS
Excerpt #1:
From https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/06/22/university-of-toronto-black-student-graduation-ceremony-celebrat_a_22583161/ University Of Toronto Black Student Graduation Ceremony Celebrates More Than Finishing School
06/22/2017 13:55 EDT | Updated 06/22/2017 15:49 EDT
"Organizers say it's meant to acknowledge the remaining barriers for people of colour pursuing academia.
Michelle McQuigge Canadian Press

ORONTO — Organizers of a graduation ceremony for black students at Canada's largest university say the event is meant to acknowledge the barriers that remain for people of colour pursuing academia.

The ceremony is being held Thursday at the University of Toronto after two students took it upon themselves to organize the event for black students completing degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

While the event is organized and run by students, it is going ahead on campus with the university's blessing and financial support.

Co-organizer Jessica Kirk says the event, believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, will give about 80 black graduates a chance to celebrate the accomplishment of overcoming systemic barriers unique to racialized groups seeking higher education.

She says black students face subtle racism in the classroom, contend with societal barriers that make it more difficult to pursue their studies, and often lack the benefit of black faculty members and senior academics to offer guidance and mentorship.

She also says that the special event, which will take place in addition to traditional convocations, seems appropriate in light of the students' extra efforts.

"We wanted to take a moment because of the different forms of adversity that they've had to face while at university and kind of congratulate them for making it to the finish line," Kirk said in an interview.

Kirk became involved in the event when her friend Nasma Ahmed returned from a black graduation ceremony held at a university in California. Other American universities, including Harvard, have held similar celebrations in the past.

[...]

Malinda Smith, political science professor at the University of Alberta...Smith praised U of T for its support of the black graduation, saying it sets a more inclusive tone.

"It sends an important message that you can actually have a commitment to valuing diversity and a commitment to excellence at the same time," she said. "It also sends a message to the students in the university that the university values them."

Complement to, not replacement for official ceremony

Others, however, criticized U of T's position.

A column in a local right-wing newspaper accused the school of "manufacturing victimhood" by endorsing the black graduation, while many social media users decried the decision as a backward step.

"U of T black students want separate graduation ceremony, for years fighting for inclusion, now want segregation, King wasted his time," wrote one Twitter user.

Both Kirk and Hannah-Moffat emphasized that the event was a complement to, not a replacement for, an official U of T convocation ceremony.

Kirk, who plans to begin masters studies at the school in September, said she hopes it marks the beginning of ongoing initiatives to make all students feel included.

"Yes, we're happy that we got the support and we're definitely thanking them for that, but we think that the conversation does need to continue beyond the event."
-snip-
The bold font in this excerpt was included in the original article.

****
Excerpt #2:
From http://torontosun.com/2017/06/22/university-of-torontos-black-graduation-misses-the-mark/wcm/e724586f-de34-48c0-ae6b-4422cd37e8a6 University of Toronto's Black Graduation misses the mark
Sue-Ann Levy, Published: June 22, 2017
..."One of the event’s organizers Nasma Ahmed, said the “celebration” (based on similar events held at universities in California and at Harvard) featured an awards ceremony – 10 students received a variety of awards for community service and research, among other things – and “naming out” all the black student graduates there.

“This was to celebrate black students and to recognize their work,” she said, insisting this was a “community building opportunity.”

Ahmed, who graduated this past Monday with a B.A. in public policy, said about 100 graduates attended, along with other black students and speakers like Akua Benjamin, a black activist based in the Ryerson faculty of social work.

Ahmed sounds like a lovely woman and I have no doubt her intentions were honourable.

But for heaven’s sake, perhaps someone should explain to [University of Toronto’s vice-president of human resources and equity] Hannah-Moffat what inclusion means and while we’re at it, ask her whether she is an adherent of Toronto’s motto, namely that “Diversity (is) our strength.”

Last I looked, inclusion means learning to live together, being included as one and accepting and recognizing each others’ differences. It is not segregating a group of students at a special ceremony – one of the many groups (like my own, Jewish students) who fought for years for inclusion – and perpetuating their perceived victimhood.

That said, Hannah-Moffat did indicate she’s happy to consider any similar suggestions for a segregated graduation from “racialized groups” in the future.

I’m not sure what she means by racialized, but I’m sure I’ll be marginalized by the SJWs who will disagree with the common-sense view expressed in this column and will need to find a safe space.

Since I’m a U of T MBA grad, how about we hold a special graduation celebration for Jewish people next year?

Wait, how about Jewish lesbians?

I think Hannah-Moffat and the like-minded U of T administrators are on to something.”

****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Historic graduation ceremony at U of T



CityNews Toronto, Published on Jun 22, 2017

A special type of celebration at U of T honouring black graduates who hope events like this spark important conversations about race and education.
-snip-
"U of T" = University of Toronto (Canada)

****
Example #2: University of Toronto students host Canada’s first black graduation



Maclean's, Published on Jun 29, 2017

Students Jessica Kirk and Nasma Ahmed organized the convocation to celebrate the success of black graduates at the University of Toronto.
-snip-
Notice that a few of the graduating students wore kente cloth stoles.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/wearing-kente-cloth-stoles-during.html for a related 2014 pancocojams post about Black students wearing kente cloth stoles in graduation ceremonies. That post is one of four pancocojams post about the custom of wearing kente cloth stoles at special church services, and at other occasions in the United States and elsewhere.
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers assigned for referencing purposes only.) All of the comments are from 2017.
1. Jay N
"Why is segregating yourself a good thing?"

**
2. mellowandjello
"Heck, maybe i'll schedule a white's only graduation ceremony! (No Greeks or Southern Italians)
Oh wait, can't do it. Only okay for visible minority groups."

**
3. "So, Canada actually encourages racial segregation?"

**
4. Kenneth Freeman
"As a black man, and as a graduate of an HBCU, I actually do not agree with this seemingly growing trend. I know that everyone Black person does not have the opportunity, or desire, to go to an HBCU but I just do not get the thought process behind attending a PWI but wanting to have your own graduation. Like, were non-Blacks allowed to attend and be recognized at this event? If not, that's kind of defeating the purpose of inclusion is it not? I mean honestly, being very frank, if some white student decided to have a graduation celebration for just whites, we would all be up in arms. I just don't get the purpose behind these separate graduations, especially when the attendees are still participating in the general graduation. Sometimes people great problems with their well meaning intentions."
-snip-
"HBCU" = Historically Black Colleges And Universities

Here's an excerpt from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historically_black_colleges_and_universities
"Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. This was because the overwhelming majority of predominantly white institutions of higher-learning disqualified African Americans from enrollment during segregation.[1][2] There are 101 HBCUs in the United States, including public and private institutions. This figure is down from the 121 institutions that existed during the 1930s.[3] Of these remaining HBCU institutions in the United States, 27 offer doctoral programs, 52 schools offer master's programs, 83 colleges offer bachelor's degree programs and 38 schools offer associate degrees.[4]"...

**
REPLY
5. William James
"Kenneth Freeman Their are no HBCUs in Canada."

**
REPLY
6. Koal Kottentail
"Kenneth Freeman I attended the University of Toronto and I agree with you to some extent. Being black in Canada can be lonely we only make up 1 million people on consensus. Note that we don't have HBCUs here and U of T and York U are the only universities here that have Black fraternity chapters. There are alumni clubs for certain professions like the Black Law society of Upper Canada for attorneys, judges and other legal professsionals
There's very little representation of African Canadian students and Professors at U of T it's a prodimently Asian and White institute. Most blacks students choose York. Taking this into consideration I see why this is happening. You would probably be inclined to join a black student association or club if you studied here. HBCU's are a cultural privilege for African Americans. Overall I'm indifferent to what these new generation of students are practicing."

****
This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.