Environmental Services held its annual Black History Month Celebration in the Matchbox.

Alumni instrumental in founding the BCC in 1970 returned to campus 50 years later to discuss their efforts and what the House meant to them.

Associate Dean and Director of the BCC Dion Lewis

Don MIzell '71

Joy George '20 served as moderator

G. Isaac Stanley '73

Rosalind Plummer '73

Jim White '73

Ashabi Rich ’76

Don Mizell '71

The authors of Seven Sisters and a Brother: Friendship, Resistance, and Untold Truths Behind Black Student Activism in the 1960s returned to campus to share their reflections on a tumultuous and transformative time at the College.

During their talk in a packed Scheuer Room, the alumni described their backgrounds and what drew them to Swarthmore. 

Professor of Political Science Keith Reeves '88 served as moderator of the event. 

Marilyn Allman Maye ’69

Marilyn Holifield ’69

Joyce Frisby Baynes ’68

Jannette Domingo ‘70

Harold Buchanan '69

Aundrea White Kelley ‘72

Myra E. Rose '70

The Chester Children's Chorus provides an intensive, sophisticated, and joyful choral music experience to young people of the City of Chester and supports their academic achievement and personal development. 

The Chorus celebrated their 25th anniversary with a choral concert in the Matchbox attended by more than 100 community members and longtime supporters.

The 25th anniversary of the Chester Children's Chorus is part of Swarthmore's Celebration of Black Excellence this academic year.

The Chorus began with seven boys from one elementary school; it now serves more than 100 boys and girls in 3rd through 12th grades from every school in Chester. 

During their careers, Chorus singers will learn and love Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah, as well as the music of The Beatles, Queen, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha Franklin.  

Executive and artistic director John Alston H'15 founded the Chorus while a Swarthmore College music professor who wanted Chester children to have the same opportunity to change their lives through music that he was offered as a boy by the Newark (N.J.) Boys Chorus.

Nikki Giovanni with Black Cultural Center student interns on stage after her talk in the Lang Performing Arts Center.

Nikki Giovanni signed books for dozens of people after her talk.

McCabe Scholars Shelby Billups '20 and Tyler White '22 introduce Mary Schmidt Campbell '69.

Mary Schmidt Campbell '69, H'09, president of Spelman College, gave a talk, "Education: The New Civil Rights? What is the Role of America's Colleges and Universities in Expanding Access to Educational Excellence?"

Campbell spoke during Garnet Weekend in the Lang Performing Arts Center.

Nakia Waters, Black Cultural Center program coordinator, introduces the panelists.

Dion Lewis, Associate Dean and Director of the Black Cultural Center, served as moderator.

David Jones, director of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center at Rutgers University, and Chandra Guinn, director of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture at Duke University.

LaKeitha Poole, former president of the Association for Black Cultural Centers, and Michael Mason, associate dean and director of the Luther P. Jackson Black Cultural Center at the University of Virginia.

The campus community kicked off Swarthmore’s yearlong celebration of Black Excellence under sunny skies in September.

This academic year marks the 50th anniversary of the Black Cultural Center, the 50th of the Black Studies Program, and the 25th of the Chester Children's Chorus.

Valerie Morse with a student

From left, Christy Pappert, Mike Boyd, and colleagues

Dean of First Year Students Karen Henry '87 and retired Director of Worth Health Center Linda Echols, a 1997-98 recipient of the Kathryn Morgan Award.

Students, staff, and faculty packed Trotter Lawn to eat, laugh, and dance.

The catered event, which included two dessert-focused food trucks, allowed all members of the campus community to enjoy the festivities.

Program Director for Black Studies and Associate Professor of English Anthony Foy

President Valerie Smith

Associate Dean and Director of the Black Cultural Center Dion Lewis

Black Cultural Center Director Dion Lewis with BCC student interns

Longtime EVS staff member Sharon Pierce

Swarthmore Afro-American Student Society Co-President Taylor Tucker ’20 and Students of Caribbean Ancestry Co-President Joe Green ’21 

Students of Caribbean Ancestry Co-President Joe Green ’21  and Swarthmore Afro-American Student Society Co-President Taylor Tucker ’20 

Students, faculty, and staff members gathered to hear two students in the Black Studies Program present on their summer research projects.

The event, which featured the work of two Petrucci Family Foundation Fellows,  took place in the Hormel–Nguyen Intercultural Center at Sproul Hall. 

“For us, Black Studies is a project that is variously intellectual, pedagogical, academic, and activist,” said Black Studies Program Director Anthony Foy, “and Black minds matter in this field of knowledge production.”

Taylor Tucker '20 presents "Into the Masters' Hands: The Carceral Captivity and Exploitation of Black Female Bodies in Schools and Beyond."

Brandon Ekweonu '20 presents "Hip Hop InFluence: The Fluency of Hip Hop as a Language for Communicating Consciousness and History."