The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College
The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College
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About The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College
Kuumba was founded in 1970 by two Harvard undergraduates, Dennis Wiley and Fred Lucas, both members of the class of '72. The name "Kuumba" was chosen because it allowed for all modes of Diasporic expression. In Swahili, "kuumba" roughly means creativity, though the literal meaning is more subtle: it is the creativity of leaving a space better than you found it. There were only 51 black students in the Harvard Class of 1972. Nearly double that number, 96, enrolled in the Class of 1973. Kuumba became an important, if not essential, community for those students. Additionally, the group consisted of students from a variety of Boston area colleges and universities from its beginning, including students from Harvard, Radcliffe, Northeastern, Simmons, Boston College and Boston University. Hubert Walters, who was teaching the first class in the new Department on Afro-American music, agreed to be Kuumba's first director. Robert Winfrey directed the choir from the spring of 1971 until 1997. Kuumba would not be what it is today without the two and a half decades of his service, dedication, and sacrifice. Mr. Winfrey still attends every winter and spring concert. Sheldon K.X. Reid (College '96, GSE '98) currently directs the choir.
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