Founded in 1970, The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College was the first black organization to be established at Harvard. For over 40 years, it has served as one of New England’s premiere college choirs and has celebrated the creativity and spirituality of black people since its inception.

Since 1998, the Kuumba Singers have hosted an annual Black Arts Festival to celebrate the talents and arts of the black community, involving various live performances, music, song dance, film, workshops, and art displays. This year, Kuumba will be celebrating its 14th Annual Dr. Walter J. Leonard Black Arts Festival (BAF) from Thursday February 16 to Saturday February 18, 2012.

Our theme for BAF this year is "Living For More Than Just Me", inspired by one of Kuumba’s original songs, “Living For More”. The song “Living For More”, written and arranged by Kuumba’s director Sheldon K.X. Reid, is about gaining strength from an awareness that we all are a part of something bigger than ourselves. It calls attention to the idea that we must live for more than just our well-being in order to make the world a better place for future generations. This especially references traditional black narratives which remind us that the only source of strength black people had during slavery and the struggle for Civil Rights was the hope that future generations would not have to endure the same trials. This idea translates to this year’s BAF theme as our goal is to reach out to the youth in our lives and communities . Thus, the theme focuses on encouraging the black youth in the Boston area to empower themselves through art.

We aim to bring forth this theme of youth empowerment throughout all of our events for BAF, including throwing a Benefit Talent Showcase on Friday February 17 at the Roxbury Community College Mainstage Theater featuring various Boston youth acts such as the Boston Tap Company and OrigiNation. We will donate the proceeds to the Tobin Community Center in Mission Hill, which already reaches out to the youth through art, education and sports www.tobincommunitycenter.org. Please join us for this event and more for a talent-filled, entertaining, and inspiring weekend!

With much love,
Jowanna Malone
Chair of the 2012 Black Arts Festival