EASTON, Pa.(www.lafayette.edu), November 8, 2007 — ACACIA (Africans Creating African Consciousness and Interest Abroad) is holding an African Bazaar Night at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10 in the Landis Atrium of Farinon College Center. ACACIA president Nganga wa Muchiri ’09 (Nairobi, Kenya), who is pursuing a B.S. in chemical engineering and an A.B in English, writes about the organization’s mission and upcoming events.

ACACIA has two primary goals. The first is to be a unifying organization for all African students attending colleges in the Lehigh Valley. ACACIA strives to unite these students with their country-mates and other African students on other campuses. The second is to educate both African students, and those interested in African affairs, about the current events, history, life and politics of the countries in the continent.

This year, ACACIA intends to promote a positive look at Africa, moving away from the sadder stories that the media frequently portrays. To this end, we decided to focus on urbanization in Africa, and from that we designed the theme for next year’s conference, “Urbanization: the Modern Face of Africa.” This theme will encompass the fast rise in informational technology and cell phone technology in urban areas; public healthcare, especially the countries that have managed to turn around the numbers in HIV/AIDS infections; gender and the economy; and emerging forms of urban art.

On Nov. 10, we will organize another event to encourage the campus community to join us as we look forward to the conference, this will be an evening dubbed “African Bazaar Night.”

This event will showcase, entertain, educate, and expose the Lafayette community to the various facets of African cultures that permeate Lafayette in a fun and engaging way.

The first part will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Farinon Atrium and will consist of:

This will be followed by an AmericAfroLatino Dance Party in the Farinon Snack Bar from 10 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. Music will be provided by DJ K Breezy from Webster Hall in New York City. He will be serving a sonar salad of Hip Hop, Afro pop, Latino, Dancehall, Reggae, African, and Reggae beats.

We are immensely grateful to the following organizations that have supported us with this event: WJRH (Lafayette College Radio, 104.9 FM), LACSA (Lafayette African and Caribbean Students Association), BOL (Brothers of Lafayette), Nia (Multicultural Women’s Support Group), FAAP (Foundation for the Awareness and Alleviation of Poverty), ABC (Association of Black Collegians), LINC (Lafayette Intercultural Networking Council), OID (Office of Intercultural Development), HSL (Hispanic Society of Lafayette), LAF (Lafayette Activities Forum), Cadence, Chorduroys, ISA (International Students Association), SynchroMotion, Pi Mu Epsilon, MSE (Minority Scientists and Engineers).

Next semester, ABC, in association with other campus organizations, is organizing Black History Month with the theme “Modern Black Experience.” This focus aims to provide the whole campus community with a unique appraisal of African experiences, both in Africa and in the United States.

The “Urbanization: the Modern Face of Africa” conference will kick off on Feb. 15 with a keynote speaker and a dinner hosting speakers and participants from various sections of campus and the Lehigh Valley at large. We look forward to engaging experts in the various topics in meaningful dialogue as we attempt to understand the way forward for Africa, and how Lafayette and the world at large can play a positive role.

This time round, we also wish to place emphasis on the presence of student leaders within our community, both of African and non-African descent, who are interested in African issues. We intend to have a student-led session that will show conference participants that youth are taking leadership roles and being proactive. To achieve this, we hope to organize a student panel that will discuss several issues, one of the most pertinent being when it is right for African students studying abroad to go back home and participate in nation-building. We feel that this panel will be the highlight of the conference, as it has great potential for cooperation with other student organizations on campus and other student organisations within the greater Lehigh Valley area.

We welcome you all to this Saturday’s event and hope you will join us for the conference next year.