February is African American History Month. In honor of African-American history, which is often underrepresented in state curricula and history classrooms across the nation, the Black Diaspora Club at McNair Academic organized an assembly for the student body to appreciate African American Culture and History. The assembly took place on Friday, February 22, 2019 in the Cougar Dome. The program featured original poems by McNair Students, music and choreography reflecting African American history and resistance, and Keynote Speaker Timothy Eatman, PhD.
Timothy Eatman, PhD, is the inaugural Dean of the Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC) and an associate professor in the Department of Urban Education at Rutgers University–Newark (RU-N).
The main message of his talk was that as students and learners, we cannot lose imagination as we become educated. Education without imagination is nothing.
He instructed students to let their hands, and each of their five fingers, to guide them in preventing loss of imagination. He called these the 5 Senses of Engagement:
The thumb is for hope, to grab hold of ideas, that eventually become action.
The pointer finger is for history. You need to be able to point to your history, your present, and your future.
The middle finger is for passion. Passion drives us forward and stands taller than the rest.
The ring finger is for empathy. Empathy "goes deeper, focusing the passion and helping us realize that we all have skin in the game. We are all connected."
The pinky is for planning. Your goals for engagement cannot happen overnight, you need to plan and use all 5 senses of engagement to accomplish your goals and protect your imagination.
Mr. Javier Persad, advisor for the Black Diaspora Club, also ought to be recognized and thanked for his guidance and inspiration to the students. The program was wonderful!
Thank you also to Mr. Kaczka for supporting our students in realizing their "imagination" in identity and culture of McNair Academic.
The students who dedicated their time and effort to this program are Stacy Choi, Kaytrizah Nyachuba, A’dreana Williams, Nyrea Cross, Nawell Moustefauoi, Eileen Sanchez, Jeanne D'arc Koffi, Ariana Roopnarine, Anjali Patel (12), Harsh Patel, Riya Dilal, Arefah Rasheed, Natalie Cisneros, Jonathan Santiago, Jonas Belmonte, Shiradha Patram, Tasnim Belel, Victoria Johnston, Justyn Chapman, Chance Chandler, Nirmala Ramnarine, Neena Budhi, Stephen Otondi, Gabrielle Loncke, Patricia Okoye, Ramesh Russell, Whitney Manoti, Reneece Wilson, Lakshman Prabhakar, Kevin Ebrahim, Matthew Kassi, Jude Ulokameje, Mercy Omare, Amberrain Andrews, Dionnah David, Susanne Oyedeji, Nina Rourk, Mike Roman, Isaac Baker, Ayania James