By: Eden Chipperfield, News Writer
On June 5, the SFU Black Caucus and Students of Caribbean and African Ancestry (SOCA) held their second Black Brilliance Graduation Celebration. The convocation ceremony honoured and recognized Black students’ achievements from the 2023 graduating class and celebrated the presence of Black students on campus.
To learn more about the ceremony’s significance, The Peak connected with SOCA president, Lauretta Umukoro, Black Caucus member and graduate student Shauna-Kaye Brown, and SFU director of equity, diversity, and inclusion for student services, Jennifer Kandjii.
“SFU Black Brilliance Graduation Ceremony, also known as the Kente Graduation Celebration (Sankofa Ceremony), is a celebration of Black excellence and an atmosphere to honour Black graduates,” Kandjii explained.
The celebration is a “recognition of the triumphant spirit and perseverance of Black students,” Kandjii said, before noting how Black students “overcome hurdles of systemic racism and endeavour to break barriers.”
The graduation ceremony was conceptualised by the SFU Black Caucus in 2022 to create space for Black graduates to celebrate their success and collective work within the Black community. Brown explained, “This year’s event was produced by a threefold effort between SFU, the SFU Black Caucus, and SOCA, who worked assiduously to expand the Caucus’ vision for the event.”
During the ceremony, each graduate is presented with a Kente stole. This is a practice commemorated by universities globally to celebrate graduating students of colour, according to Umukoro. The significance of the Kente cloth is a “display in honour of their ancestral heritage or as the symbol of overcoming the struggles of displacement,” said Umukoro. The pattern and design of the Kente cloth is also notable as it holds meaning to the designer of the Kente. Black represents the colour of Kente and shows “spiritual strength and maturity.” Red is the symbol of “blood, political passion, and strength. Blue is for “peace, love, and harmony.” Gold or yellow shows “wealth and royalty.” Green represents “growth, harvest and renewal” and lastly, white represents “purity, cleansing rites, and festive occasions.”
The event’s itinerary included a variety of speeches from faculty members, including vice president of people, equity and inclusion, Dr. Yabome Gilpin-Jackson, as well as Dr. June Francis, “one of the pioneers of the Black Caucus and establishing a strong black community at SFU,” said Umukoro.
There were also speeches from the president and vice president of SOCA. Alongside the speeches were performances, including cultural dance, poetry reading, and music. A member of the graduating class recited a speech which was followed by the stole ceremony and a dinner with various cultural cuisines.
“The goal of this event is to create an opportunity for the Black community to congregate and celebrate in the success of our graduates,” said Brown. “Black students can feel isolated during different points of their journey [ . . . ] the event is to remind students and the community at large that they are not alone and they belong at SFU”.
Another significant part of holding the ceremonies is “to remind the Black community that we are here to support them throughout their journey and celebrate their wins,” concluded Brown.
Umukoro stressed the importance of “having a space and a moment to solely celebrate you and your achievements with people that look like you, understand where you are coming from, share in your struggles and plight, and seeing that they were able to defy the odds and come out successful at the top.”
The Peak would like to extend their sincere congratulations to the members of the Black Brilliance Graduation.
