The Office of Multicultural Affairs hosted the 8th Annual Impact Awards Banquet in March. It was a time where we celebrated and honored those in our community who have supported the efforts that we work towards and made a dent in the lives of the Lewis & Clark community. It became an an evening of jazz, good food, and great company!

To kick off the MLK week celebrations, Dr. King’s speech “I Have a Dream” was screened in the council chambers. Participants then had a silent march to the Chapel where jazz musician Devin Phillips spoke and performed. Among other staff and student speakers, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences Tuajuanda Jordan gave the closing remarks to the celebration.

OMA hosted the Holiday Extravaganza to celebrate the diverse holidays of this season! Holiday refreshments were served while students explored the holiday traditions of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Diwali, and Chinese New Year.

This event explored the importance of physical space in creating vibrant and thriving communities. We visited the Nikkei Legacy Center, to gain perspective on how the Japanese American community has historically dealt with issues of displacement and marginalization by dominant society.

In poetry and prose, Lewis & Clark students express their understandings of race, ethnicity, and identity.  Each year a new group of students writes an original series of monologues to share powerful feelings and experiences.  A highlight of the symposium.

Featuring L&C students Danial Afzal ‘13, Musa Ahmed ‘14, Lukas Arella ‘13,Hannah Atkinson 14, Isabel Ball ‘15, Camille Christie ‘13, Raymond Fenton ‘16,Michelle Garfias ‘15, Jasmine Graze ‘15, Danielle Green ‘16,  David Jenkins ‘15,Nima Mohamed ‘15, Guadalupe Triana ‘16, and Anthony Zamora ‘13

Welcoming remarks by Race Monologues coordinators Mikaela Aguilar ‘15 and Marisol Jenkins ‘15 

Trading in Race: The Business of Multicultural Marketing
This panel will examine the effects of ideologies of race and ethnicity on the development and marketing of products and ideas.  How do companies use communication technologies to promote themselves to different cultural communities?  What are the implications of targeted marketing campaigns for the way we think about race and ethnicity?  Additionally, these panelists will consider the impact of social media and instant access to international communities.Moderator: Joe Becker, L&C Director of Marketing and Publications
Matthew Rugamba, L&C ‘13, “Cutting Through the Clutter for a Like and a Retweet: Using Social Media To Gain a Following”
Debra Merskin, Associate Professor, School of Journalism & Communication University of Oregon, “Identity Theft: Representational Ethics and Advertising”
Melanie Davis, principal senior strategist, Su Público, a full-service multicultural advertising agency, publisher-owner of El Hispanic News and PQ Monthly, “Niche Print Media for Diverse Communities”

“Let’s Skype!” This phrase has become a connecting cord for thousands of people spread all around the world as the Internet has expanded cross-cultural and international networks. In this panel, L&C students will reflect on efforts to assimilate to a new culture while remaining connected with their families and friends back home, drawing upon experiences from living and studying in countries including Botswana, Guatemala, India, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Singapore.  Presenters will explore the Internet as a channel for acclimating to a new culture, learning new languages, and expanding one’s horizons, in addition to serving as a medium for people to develop a sense of their cultural identity by facilitating ties to others.Moderator: Bridget Flaherty, Assistant Director, International Students and Scholars
L&C students Ziad Alshammari, AE, Adriana Estrada ’15, Rosa Kim ‘13, Rachit Malhotra ’13, Amy Omondi ’16, Kim Takinami ’13, and Lame Ungwang ‘14

The news of Trayvon Martin spread via smaller news outlets and non-traditional media like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter before major news providers picked up the story.  This panel will examine the ways in which both traditional and newer media express, promote, and gain attention around race and the politics of identity.  These panelists will also address the significance of having different media outlets for different racial and ethnic communities.  How do publishers and journalists envision their audiences?  How do news and social media affect the development of personal and community identities.  Last, this panel will consider the impact of social media and the Internet on the coverage of issues related to racial justice and the kind of access people now have to information and opinion.Moderator: Mitch Reyes, L&C Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Media Studies, and director of Ethnic Studies program
Lisa Loving, news editor, The Skanner News, “Busting Myths about People of Color and the Digital World”
Sarika Mehta, producer, KBOO APA Compass, “Community Reporting: Resources and Responsibility”
Lee Shaker, Assistant Professor of Communication, Portland State University, “Audience Fragmentation and Identity”
Maileen Hamto, editor, Colors of Influence, “ Writing About My Family: Citizen Journalism in the Age of Social Media”

Keynote speaker Baratunde Thurston is a politically-active, technology-loving comedian from the future. He co-founded the political blog Jack and Jill Politics and served as director of digital for The Onion.  Baratunde travels the world, speaking and advising on the subjects of our digital future and storytelling, satire and democracy, and race and politics.  He has written for Vanity Fair and the UK Independent, performs standup in NYC, and appears on cable news regularly to say smart things in funny ways.  Then-candidate Barack Obama called him “someone I need to know.”  He was named Foursquare Mayor of the Year for holding a real-world rally to defend his virtual mayorship, and every year he live hate-tweets the Twilight movies. 

He resides in Brooklyn, lives on Twitter, and has over 30 years experience being black.  His first book, How To Be Black, is a New York Times bestseller.

Many of us now turn to the Internet and social media for popular culture, entertainment, and personal expression—whether we are downloading music, streaming movies, watching and sharing online videos, or playing interactive games. This panel examined the significance of the Internet and new media technologies for the production and consumption of popular culture, particularly expressions dealing with race and ethnicity. How does the Internet enable artists to interact with each other and their audiences? In what ways might people create a sense of belonging with others through popular culture? These speakers explored the diverse ways in which people seek out entertainment, express themselves creatively, and form connections with others through online channels.

Researching Race and Ethnicity: An interdisciplinary discussion with students who shared original research related to culture, identity, and the modern era.

Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, as well as an undocumented citizen from the Philippines. Since his declaration of his status in the New York Times, Vargas still stands strong and has gone on to create the ‘Define American’ campaign which seeks to raise awareness about immigration issues. Vargas came to Lewis & Clark College October 23rd, 2012 to give this inspiring talk and discussion. 

Teatro Milagro presents B’aktun written by Danel Malan, directed by Matthew B. Zrebski. Cast members included Ajai Terrazas-Tripathi, Daniel Moreno, Tricia Castaneda-Gonzales, and Danel Malan. US immigration and deportation, the Mayan astrological predictions for 2012, and the challenges of change and an uncertain future… all of these themes and issues combine to make a dynamic performance. 

Fall 2012 Office of Multicultural Affairs Open House to welcome new students and introduce programs for the semester. 

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf is a 1975 choropoem play by Ntozake Shange. Lewis and Clark students present a workshop performance of her poetry expressing the many struggles and obstacles that African-American women face throughout their lives.

Kwanzaa, the first specifically designated African-American holiday, began in 1966 and is centered on the seven principles of Kwanzaa, an African culture-centered ritual that observes and promotes Unity (Umoja), Self-Determination (Kujichagulia), Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima), Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa), Purpose (Nia), Creativity (Kuumba) and Faith (Imani).

Gary Younge is an author and award-winning Chicago-based columnist for The Gaurdian who has reported all over Europe, Africa, the US and the Caribbean. He also writes a monthly column, “Beneath the Radar,” for The Nation magazine and is the Alfred Knobler Fellow for The Nation Institute. 

As part of the So you think you can… series students teach dances from all over the world. Whether you want to learn how to salsa or to show off your salsa moves the Office of Multicultural Affairs provided a chance to do just that.

Over the course of a week, The Pluralism and Unity board organized a series of events that allowed students to reflect about their own identities and our identity as a Lewis & Clark community. Here are photographs of the culmination of that week.