AACRC offers
sense of belonging

Whether you walk in the front door or call by phone, the salutation that always greets you at the African American Cultural and Research Center is "Habari Gani," Swahili for "What good news do you have?" For the African American students who walk over its threshold, the good news is the center itself.

"It's more than a home away from home," says Justin Gibson, a second-year marketing and communication major from Painesville, Ohio, of the center that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this academic year. "Everything I envision myself to be I know I can develop here - the social, creative and intellectual sides, any part of who you are, for me, is developed here."

The center that never even existed until Sept. 24, 1991, has become such a central part of Gibson's life that when asked how much time he spends at the AACRC he replies, "It's really how often do I leave the center." "I actually rest here more than I do in my own room," the Sawyer Hall resident admits. During fall 2001 finals week, Gibson spent all night at the AACRC from Sunday through Wednesday. "I never left the place," he says.

Study time and companionship, skills-building programs ranging from how to be successful in college to how to get financial aid and ceremonies marking significant aspects of African American life at UC are all part of what the center offers to students like Gibson. "I spent most of my free time here last quarter," says Kamira Harris, second-year biology major and pre-med student from Stowe, Ohio, near Akron. "I do homework here, get away from my roommate for a while, socialize, take time to relax. I come from a small town where there aren't many African Americans, and so it has really expanded my horizons to be able to interact with African Americans on campus."

While director Eric Abercrumbie says that many critics doubted if the center would survive once it opened, he notes that after 10 years it's stronger than it ever was. Among the center's greatest accomplishments, he counts recruitment and retention of African American students, influencing students' academic success through programming and recognition, providing connections, and building community relationships. According to Abercrumbie, the Tyehimba graduation ceremony now held yearly by the AACRC is the largest Afrocentric graduation ceremony in the country. In 2001, about 120 African American graduates attended. Plus the center has become a place visited and used by a wide variety of groups on campus, not just African Americans - especially with renovations under way at the closed student union.

The idea for an African American center on campus dates back more than 30 years, when a student who would later became mayor of Cincinnati, Dwight Tillery, tried to rally support for one, without much success. According to Abercrumbie, the concept resurfaced when a group of students traveled to other colleges with him in the late 1980s. Then-student Harlan Jackson saw a center at Vanderbilt and came back to UC to begin an effort to convince UC's administration to open a center.

Anthony Perzigian, now UC's senior vice president and provost for Baccalaureate and Graduate Education, chaired the committee that studied the feasibility of establishing a center at UC. Now 10 years later, Perzigian says, "I view the persistence of the center as a timely reminder that UC is dedicated and committed to the academic success of a diverse student body. With the university's heightened attention around recruitment and retention, the center continues to play a key role. Its ties and outreach to the community signal that service to society is an integral component of UC's mission."

Mitchel Livingston, vice president for Student Affairs and Human Resources, has grand plans for the future of the AACRC. He said, "After 10 years of serving UC and the larger community, we now have the opportunity to transform our cultural center into a model for cultural understanding in higher education." Plans are in the preliminary stages to expand and enhance the current center, which may be relocated adjacent to the Alumni Center. Livingston said that he, Abercrumbie and others are planning a series of meetings with campus and community members to solicit ideas about the design and operation of the new center.

Although no one can say with certainty what the good news of the AACRC's future will be, Abercrumbie already has plans in the works. He points to one of the African artifacts he has displayed at the center - the Sankofa Bird - to explain what he has in mind. The bird is a symbol of passage. Its head is turned looking behind while it holds an egg, representing future generations, in its mouth. Right now Africa is one of the least-traveled to destinations of UC students studying abroad, and Abercrumbie is working to change that.

He has traveled to Ghana three times to build a network for future possible trips for UC students, faculty and alumni. "One blessing anyone can have, whether you're Irish or African American, is to go back to your source," he says. The experience of journeying to Ghana has been such a humbling and spiritual one for himself that he wants others to have the opportunity to do so, too.