Douglass-Bethune Graduation Celebration Focuses on Achievement and Family

The CSU Dominguez Hills 12th Annual Frederick Douglass and Mary McLeod Bethune Graduation Celebration will take place on Friday, May 11, at 3 p.m. in the University Theatre. This year’s theme, “Renewing our Past to Build our Future,” will be celebrated with traditional dances, awards of recognition both to and from graduating students, and the installation of a new member into the Fannie Lou Hamer Queen Mother Society, a CSUDH organization of university and community women who serve as mentors and role models for African-American students.

Graduating senior Tamanika Ferguson (Africana studies) came up with the event theme with the help of her fellow students and faculty advisors from the Department of Africana Studies.

“We have to look back as we move forward,” she says. “It’s important to not only remember the history of our people, but take the information and do something good with it, to not just build our future, but the future for the generations to come.”

Keith Claybrook, lecturer, Africana studies, can attest to the influence that graduation celebrations can have on the younger generation.

“When I graduated, I went through a similar program at my school,” he remembers. “My nephew was probably 6 or 7 years old at the time. He saw the celebration and was able to be a part of it. He told his mom, ‘I want to go to college now.’ It gives the youth a goal, and keeps them focused. They need to see that college is not just some abstract thing, and think, ‘I can do that too.’”

Munashe Furusa, chair and assistant professor of Africana studies, came to the United States from Zimbabwe in 2000. He points out the deep cultural and political connections that African-Americans have to Africa, many without having ever been there.

“Our department has a global vision of the African community,” he says. “The basis of Afrocentricity was developed to recognize the continuity of African culture outside of Africa. Many African-Americans have been participating to try and help in the conflicts that have been going on in Africa. The development of African-American churches here is very significant in United States culture, where many people continue to use African names. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King (Jr.) went to Africa, and W.E.B. DuBois himself took citizenship in Ghana. So there has been this transnational relationship that has continued for many years.”

Furusa points out that many African-Americans adhere to the same belief system that he lived by in his homeland.

“Many of our students may not even know where this belief system comes from,” he notes. “The graduation celebration is a way of affirming that continuation. While the theme changes every year, the concept is that they want to celebrate their graduation from college with their African culture in mind.”

While there is a $35 participation fee for graduating students, each one is allowed to bring as many family members and friends as they wish at no extra charge. Furusa, who had almost 40 guests at his own graduation from the University of Zimbabwe, explains the African inclusion of all family members at a time of celebration.

“The concept of family within the African communities in America and the Caribbean is much larger than the nuclear family concept,” he says. “There is no concept for ‘cousin’ in our languages. What we have is ‘brother’ and ‘sister.’ So even people we call our ‘cousins’ and ‘nephews’ expect to be invited. If you don’t invite them, then you create a conflict. Relatives and friends can celebrate at home, but they want to go to the place where the student has made these achievements and be part of that process. So we offer a great opportunity for them to do so.”

While graduation is a time for the recognition of academic achievement by students, the Douglass-Bethune Graduation Celebration is also about gratitude for those who helped them succeed. Participating students in the celebration will give awards to faculty and community members who have been instrumental in their academic careers. Among these are the members of the CSUDH Queen Mother Society, who, among making other contributions, conduct a mentoring program for students of Africana studies and give financial assistance as a group and as individuals to students in need. Furusa describes the importance of the Queen mother in traditional African culture, and its adaptation by the contemporary African-American culture.

“A Queen mother is a woman who is at least 50 years old, and represents the ideals of the African community,” he says. “This educates the young people about the tradition of respect of our elders. Queen mothers in traditional African society were the advisers of kings. In Ghana especially, the rulers of tribes would be empowered by their Queen mothers.”

Despite the emphasis on African culture, Furusa wants the campus community to know that any graduating student is welcome to participate in the Douglass-Bethune Graduation Celebration, and that many have done so over the years. He extols the advantages of taking part in such a celebration in addition to the university’s official ceremony.

“People don’t realize how much culture inspires people to realize their full human potential,” he says. “When people are conscious of who they are and respect who they are, there is no limit to what they can become.”

The registration deadline to participate as a graduate in the Douglass-Bethune Graduation Celebration is May 4. For more information and to register, contact the Africana studies department, at (310) 243-2155. There will be an informational meeting on Wednesday, April 25, at 6 p.m. in LaCorte Hall, B-303. Volunteers are needed for the event, and should contact Shana Garrett, administrative coordinator in the Division of World Cultural Studies, at (310) 243-3420.

- Joanie Harmon-Whetmore

Photo above: Students and faculty from Africana Studies are planning the Douglass-Bethune Graduation Celebration to celebrate the past and its contributions to the future. (L-R) Tyrea Hayes, junior (Africana studies); Tamanika Ferguson, senior (Africana studies/public administration); Munashe Furusa, chair and assistant professor of Africana studies; and Keith Claybrook, lecturer, Africana studies. Photo by Joanie Harmon-Whetmore