Twenty years ago, the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture was founded at Duke. Forty years ago, the first five African-Americans in our University's history enrolled as first-year undergraduates. Sunday, a few days ago, hundreds of people came together in the Chapel for the MLW Center's first major kick-off event to recognize the significance of these important historical moments, and yet the "20/40 Celebration" still remains virtually unheard-of to the majority of the Duke community.
Although the event, an enlivening performance of Mary Lou William's "Music for Peace," was well-attended by a diverse crowd drawn from several races, an important group was grossly underrepresented the student body.
With multiple newspaper ads and a massive flyering campaign, the occasion was certainly well-publicized. Some of the finest jazz musicians still living were brought together to perform the piece. What went wrong? How could the kick-off event of such an important and meaningful celebration attract such modest attention from the student body (the present members of which could be counted on my left hand)? Furthermore, why did The Chronicle, while capable of devoting half a page to the Dillo's latest fried bar offerings, deem the event too insignificant to cover?
The content and ideas expressed in a student newspaper generally tend to reflect where its community members are in their thoughts, so it is worrisome to observe, through such an omission of coverage, a seeming indifference regarding the 20/40 Celebration.
I'll be the first to rejoice in a good jalapeno popper, but with all this recent talk concerning the need for multicultural awareness and dialogue, please keep me informed about other important things worthy of commemoration, too. (To find out more about the 20/40 Celebration and its events, access mlw.studentaffairs.duke.edu/2040.html).
Tsu-Yin Chang
Trinity '04
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