Students of Color

Jewell Robinson, Goucher’s first African American student, came to Goucher because she fell in love with the campus. Bright and sociable, she easily made many friends and went on to a successful career in the arts and arts administration.

Marguerite Barland, Class of 1960 and Goucher’s first African American graduate, was someone people believed in. Her teachers rallied together to raise funds for her college education. Marguerite paid it forward, majoring in chemistry and devoting her life to inspiring other students in the Baltimore community as a teacher.

Through their tenacity and determination, Jewell and Marguerite opened the doors for so many students to come after them. 

There is obviously more history to be shared and CREI will provide a more complete picture of the heritage of students of color at Goucher College as more is learned.

For more info see:

The Imani Legacy  The Imani Fund

Current Programs & Events

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For a complete listing of our current events, please visit our Programs & Events webpage or CREI Facebook page.

If you have an idea for an event or program, we’d love to hear it! Please email creigoucher@gmail.com with your suggestions!

Past Programs & Events

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Listed below are just a few of our past programs and events centering around the lived experiences of students of color.

Students of Color: Meet & Greet *Held every August
An event for students of color to discuss various campus experiences with a panel of upper-class students and an opportunity to interact with other members of the community.

Queer Trans People of Color Brunch
An event for students who identify as Queer and Trans (LGBTQ+) People of Color to meet and engage with one another while enjoying a light brunch.

Unpacking and Understanding Anti-Black Racism Workshop
Facilitator Tatiana Benjamin, University of Maryland, College Park
This 90-minute workshop was for students, faculty, and staff who are interested in developing a deeper understanding of anti-blackness within our society, and the role anti-black racism plays in various communities, structures, and institutions.

Blaxploitalian: 100 years of Blackness in Italian Cinema
Sponsored by the Lectures and Fellowship grant and The Center for Race, Equity and Identity, screening and talk with filmaker and activist Fred Kuwornu's documentary: “Blaxploitalian: 100 years of Blackness in Italian cinema.”

Dear Me *Held every semester
Sponsored by the Center for Race, Equity and Identity (CREI) and Goucher Women of Color Circle (GWOCC), this event provided an opportunity for womxn of color on Goucher's campus to be in community while sharing our stories and personal experiences. This event was open to anyone who identified as a womxn of color including femme, transgender and gender-nonconforming womxn of color.

We Stand with Standing Rock
In honor of the call to action to stand in solidarity with Standing Rock, CREI hosted multiple events including the screening of Rise, the Viceland documentary series; art and activism session; and critical dialogue on Dakota Access Pipeling (DAPL).

Black Healing Matters
An affinity space for Black students to share space and reflect on events of violence and trauma. This space was open to those looking to connect to their community, those who wish to reflect on feelings which arise after tragic current events, and those who need a space to quietly reflect and mourn.

The Implications of Freddie Grey in Baltimore- Police Brutality, Black Lives Matter, and Activism
This session investigated the various layers of the unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray and its implications on Baltimore. Students explored how Black Lives Matter and the Uprising has changed the landscape around conversations about racial inequality and institutional racism.

Crucial Conversations Workshop with Kim Pevia
Guest-facilitated by Kim Pevia of the Lumbee American Indian Community, this two-hour workshop taught mindfulness as a tool for managing emotions and improving communication during crucial conversations around racial and cultural identity and experience.

Brief History of the Donning of the Kente Clothe Ceremony at Goucher College

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Kimberley Gordy ‘06 “introduced The [Donning of the] Kente Cloth Ceremony to Goucher College and explains that ‘the essence of the ceremony is people sharing their stories. It holds a special meaning for Goucher community members of color because of our connection to African history and of the importance of looking back as you look forward’ (Ross, 2009). The ceremony also presents the occasion for students to pay homage to those who have paved the way prior to and during their time at Goucher.

Over the years, the ceremony has grown significantly to represent the collective unity of people of color (Black, Asian, Latinx, Native, First Nations, Middle Eastern, and Multiracial/Biracial) at Goucher College as a way to pay tribute to their own unique heritages, experiences, and achievements.

What is the “Donning of the Kente Cloth” Ceremony?

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A rite of passage, rooted in African tradition, “in which seniors [of color] recognize loved ones or mentors who have been instrumental in their success” (Ross, 2009). During the intimate ceremony, graduating seniors will be donned with a stole of kente, a fabric native to Ghana reserved for special occasions, and acts as a visual history for the wearer’s own cultural ethos.

The Kente Stole

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The Kente cloth originates from Ghana, West Africa. The legend of kente says it came from two brothers, watching a spider weave its web in the forest. While two major ethnic groups claim the cloth originates from their own legends—the Akan in the Ashanti Region and the Ewe in the Volta Region—both groups agree the cloth is very significant and reserved for special occasions. Each kente stole is woven in a specific pattern, often reflecting a proverb or other significant meaning, and each color and symbol carries importance.

The kente stole contains the following colors: blue, yellow, green, and red, and the adinkra symbol of the stool.

• Blue represents peace, togetherness, love, and community.
• Yellow represents the “yolk of the egg,” a symbol for all things holy and precious.
• Green represents growth, harvest, renewal, and good health.
• Red represents strong political/spiritual feelings and passing rites.
• The stool symbol is very important in Ghanaian culture,representing absolute power and serving as a reminder of ancestors’ spirits.

If you are interested participating the The Donning of the Kente Cloth Ceremony, you must attend a Kente Orientation meeting and one-on-one meeting for speech preparation. Registration will open in November 2017. Stay tuned!

African Student Association (ASA)
The African Student Association (ASA) seeks to create a support group for African students who can relate to each other and give one another advice. This group is centered on African culture; however, all are welcome. The group asks that non-Africans seeking involvement be there to learn about African culture and not assume it for Africans in the group.

Asian Student Union (ASU)
The Asian Student Union seeks to provide the Goucher community with the opportunity to explore Asian cultures and traditions. Aside from hosting cultural activities such as the Iron Lotus Cooking Competition, Poor Man Ramen Noodle Dinner, and events from the Asian Heritage Month, The Asian Student Union also sponsors public forums, guest artists, and activities that foster interest, learning and involvement in the Asian community locally and internationally. The Asian Student Union serves as an umbrella organization for students who identify as Asian American, East Asian, Middle Eastern, Pacific Islander, South Asian and Southeast Asian and warmly welcomes members of other cultures in an effort to promote alliance and understanding. The Asian Student Union realizes that all of the communities are unique in their own way and the club only serves as a starting point to explore these identities further.

Dancers of Color Coalition
The Dancers of Color Coalition aims to create a community of support, safety, and leadership for dancers of color. The club hosts weekly meetings and periodic events where the group discusses the aspirations and needs of dancers of color.

Goucher International Student Association (GISA)
Goucher's International Student Association was established to both raise cultural awareness within the Goucher community, by organizing various events such as Arabian Nights, International Fair, Peace Corps information sessions and International Food celebrations, and to facilitate the elimination of misconceptions and stereotypes by hosting discussions and educational movie screenings such as that of "Reel Bad Arabs". As any other organization dedicated to fighting misconceptions and promoting cultural diversity in a society that may not always welcome it, our task is not an easy one, but one that we are absolutely dedicated to tackling. Our aim, to enrich student life by creating and maintaining inter-cultural exchange and providing a support system for culturally diverse students, is one we will persist with regardless of obstacles, and we invite anyone interested in making Goucher a more open-minded society to join.

Goucher Women of Color Circle (GWOCC)
The Goucher Women of Color Circle (GWOCC) provides a supportive atmosphere where women of color can engage in discussion and self-expression related to the challenges, celebrations, and complexities related to their lives at Goucher and beyond.

Hispanic Organization for Learning and Awareness (¡Hola!)
¡HOLA! is open to the entire college community. Club members and guests gather to learn about the Hispanic community at Goucher and beyond. The club sponsors field trips, speakers, cultural events, and community service opportunities focusing on the growing local Hispanic community in Baltimore and Maryland. Moreover, ¡HOLA! provides Hispanic students with a safe space to explore their cultural and ethnic identities.

Umoja-The Black Student Union
Umoja is a Swahili word meaning unity & reflects the African saying "I am, because we are". This simple, yet powerful statement is what Umoja aims to embody. Although we are not an exclusive group and do open our doors to all of the Goucher community, we focus on the empowerment of the black students on campus. Our duty at Goucher is to provide a community that will help foster identity, self-worth, pride for our heritage, and fearlessness to initiate change. We recognize that without the support of our own community that success is difficult. It is only in accomplishing these goals and setting a foundation for ourselves will we be better equipped to empower the greater community around us. It is in this unity that we welcome all to share in our experiences!

ACS Scholars Program
This renewable scholarship is to underrepresented minority students who want to enter into chemistry or chemistry-related fields. African American, Hispanic, or American Indian college freshman, sophomores, or juniors can apply who are pursuing a college degree in the chemical sciences or chemical technology. For more information, please visit: https://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-type/minority-scholarships/african-american-scholarships/acs-scholars-program/

APA Judith McManus Price Scholarship
This scholarship helps women and minorities help pursue careers as practicing planners in the public sector (includes local, state, and federal government and not-for-profit careers). For more information, please visit: https://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-type/minority-scholarships/african-american-scholarships/apa-judith-mcmanus-price-scholarship/

Brown and Caldwell Minority Scholarship Program
This scholarship values diversity in the workplace, supporting organizations like the Society of Women Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers and the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers. This scholarship also aims the help minority groups succeed in the environmental engineering industry. More information can be found on the Brown and Caldwell Scholarship Program page.

GE-NMF Primary Care Leadership Program (PCLP)
This scholarship is for a six-week summer program that includes clinical experiences, leadership training, and a service-learning project that focuses on barriers in healthcare. Fore more information, please visit: https://nmf.fluidreview.com/

Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Award
This scholarship is awarded to minority nominees who have demonstrated a need and willingness to continue an educational mission toward a college or graduate training related to a career in the criminal justice field. For more information, please visit: http://www.aca.org/ACA_PROD_IMIS/Docs/Award%20Forms/aca_mlk.pdf

The LAGRANT Foundation (TLF) Graduate Scholarships
These scholarships are available to minority students who are full-time students at a four-year institution. Additionally, applicants must be majoring in a field of study related to advertising, marketing, or public relations. For more information, please visit: https://www.lagrantfoundation.org/Graduate%20Scholarships

AAIA Adolph Van Pelt Scholarship
This scholarship is dedicated to planning for the higher education of Native students. This scholarship is for undergraduate students from federally recognized tribes. For more information, please visit: https://www.indian-affairs.org/scholarships--summer-camps.html

Against The Grain Groundbreaker Leadership Scholarship
This scholarship provides financial assistance and promotion of Asian American college seniors and graduate students who have helped pave a way and changing lives in the Asian American community. More information can be found on the Against The Grain Groundbreaker Leadership Scholarship website.

Ford Foundation Fellowship Program
This scholarship provides three years of support to African American students and other minorities who plan on pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy or a Doctor of Science. More information can be found on the Ford Foundation Fellowship Program fact sheet.

Hispanic Scholarship Fund
This scholarship is designed to assist students of Hispanic heritage obtain a college degree. While all major and graduate fields are accepted, there’s an emphasis on STEM majors. More information can be found on the Hispanic Scholarship Fund website.

Scholarships for Asian and Pacific Islander College Students
This site highlights a few different scholarship opportunities for Asian and Pacific Islanders. For more information, please visit: https://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/resources/asian-pacific-islander-college-scholarships/ttps://www.hsf.net/scholarship

These are a sampling of the many organizations around the country that work with and for people of color, and that have internship or volunteer opportunities. If you are looking for a summer opportunity, check these out!

A. Philip Randolph Institute
To A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, APRl's cofounders, the fight for workers' rights and civil rights were inseparable. A. Philip Randolph Institute in 1965 to continue the struggle for social, political and economic justice for all working Americans. APRI is an Organization of Black Trade Unionist to Fight for Racial Equality and Economic Justice.

Asian American Advancing Justice (Asian American Justice Center)
Founded in 1991, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC works to advance the human and civil rights of Asian Americans, and build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC is one of the nation's leading experts on issues of importance to the Asian American community including: affirmative action, anti-Asian violence prevention/race relations, census, immigrant rights, immigration, language access, television diversity and voting rights.

Breakthrough Collaborative
Unlike most residency programs that work with post-college or midcareer candidates, Breakthrough intentionally recruits, trains, and supports students while they’re still in college. This strategy, delivered for 35 years, has succeeded because the teaching experience occurs at an early and critical time in a young person’s life – during the formative college years. The result is an enduring and unique experience that reaffirms (and often reveals) a desire to enter education, become a teacher, and lead.

Center for Community Change
The mission of the Center for Community Change is to build the power and capacity of low-income people, especially low-income people of color, to have a significant impact in improving their communities and the policies and institutions that affect their lives. The Center for Community Change strengthens, connects and mobilizes grassroots groups to enhance their leadership, voices and power. We believe that vibrant community based organizations, led by the people most affected by social and economic injustice, are key to putting an end to the failed “on your own” mentality of the right and building new policies based on community values.

Center for Media Justice
The Center for Media Justice is a national movement building intermediary to strengthen the communications effectiveness of grassroots racial justice sectors, and sustain a powerful local to local movement for media rights and access. With an office in Oakland, California, and staff in Chicago and New York, CMJ is the only group in the nation that both develops communications strategies and leaders for a 21st-century progressive movement, and organizes nationally for media policy solutions to end racism and poverty. Our mission is to create media and cultural conditions that strengthen movements for racial justice, economic equity, and human rights.

The Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute
The Congressional Black Caucus Institute, incorporated in 2000, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, social purpose organization operating under the IRS designation of 501 (c)(4). Over the past 12 years, the CBC Institute has played a pivotal role in training the next generation of political leaders and providing voters with relevant information regarding issues in their communities.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
In 1978, a small group of Hispanic members of Congress established the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) to develop the next generation of Latino leaders with a clear vision of a strong America made possible with the many contributions of educated and civic-minded Latino leaders engaged in and contributing to all aspects of U.S. society. This vision was founded on three cornerstones for success: education attainment and college access, leadership development programs in D.C., and access to a powerful network of Latino leaders in the United States.

Dream Defenders
The Dream Defenders develop the next generation of radical leaders to realize and exercise our independent collective power; building alternative systems and organizing to disrupt the structures that oppress our communities.

Girls Inc.
Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through life changing programs and experiences that help girls navigate gender, economic, and social barriers. Research based curricula, delivered by trained, mentoring professionals in a positive all girl environment equip girls to achieve academically; lead healthy and physically active lives; manage money; navigate media messages; and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.

The Hope Institute for Children and Families
Founded in 1957, The Hope Institute for Children and Families is a nonprofit center providing educational, residential and health services to children ages 5-21 with multiple developmental disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorders. At Hope, we support children and families to reach optimum growth, independence and joy.

National Council of La Raza
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. In addition, it provides capacity building assistance to its Affiliates who work at the state and local level to advance opportunities for individuals and families.

National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) is a council of national African American women's organizations​ and community based​ sections .​Founded in 1935, the NCNW mission is to lead, develop, and advocate for women of African descent as they support their families and communities. NCNW fulfills this purpose through research, advocacy, and national and community based services and programs on issues of health, education, and economic empowerment in the United States and Africa.

National Disability Rights Network
The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Through training and technical assistance, legal support, and legislative advocacy, NDRN works to create a society in which people with disabilities are afforded equality of opportunity and are able to fully participate by exercising choice and self-determination.

National Organization on Disability
The National Organization on Disability (NOD) is a private, nonprofit organization that 25 promotes the full participation and contributions of America’s 56 million people with disabilities in all aspects of life. Today, NOD focuses on increasing employment opportunities for the 79 percent of working age Americans with disabilities who are not employed.

National Urban League
The National Urban League, which has played so pivotal a role in the 20th Century Freedom Movement, grew out of that spontaneous grassroots movement for freedom and opportunity that came to be called the Black Migrations. The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities.

Sadie Nash Leadership Project
Sadie Nash Leadership Project was founded in 2001 to promote leadership and activism among young women. The program is designed to strengthen, empower, and equip young women as agents for change in their lives and in the world. By increasing the participation of women in social, political, and economic decision making, SNLP seeks to question and redefine the nature of leadership and to promote perspectives and practices that are cooperative, accountable, ethical, and effective.

Step Up Women’s Network
Step Up Women's Network is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to igniting women and girls to fulfill their potential by: creating and implementing impactful afterschool and weekend programs that empower teen girls from under resourced communities to be confident, college bound, and career ready, propelling professional women through connections, collaborations, and continuous development, inspiring our network to invest in the future success of girls through mentorship and financial support.

Young People For
Young People For (YP4) is a long-term leadership development initiative that identifies, engages, and empowers the newest generation of progressive leaders. YP4 focuses on identifying young people who are campus and community leaders today, engaging them in the broader progressive movement, and empowering them with the knowledge, strategies, and skills they can put to work to promote positive, sustainable change in their communities.

• Community Principles
• Non-discrimination Notice and Policy
• Campus Climate Education Team