PEWAUKEE, Wis. — Celebrating African culture and building community was a big part of how Waukesha County Technical College is honoring Black History Month.
The event was marked by food, music and dancing. The WCTC’s Multicultural Engagement Center hosted this year’s Black History Month celebration.
Watch: WCTS honors Black culture with community, celebration:
“Bringing Africans together creates a community voice for us to tell our story and empower our community,” said Cordelia Ekweme who is the president of African Stakeholders Inc and was a speaker at this year’s event.
Originally from Nigeria, during COVID, she says she felt disconnected. She helped to create African Stakeholders Inc. to connect to other leaders in the community.
Her message to students is not to let anyone take away your voice. You are a part of history, your family is a part of history—tell your story.
“We want people to be informed that the narrative is told by us, for that story to be told by us,” said Cordelia.
One of the regional vice presidents for Johnson Controls, Yollande Tchouapi, who was leading the discussion, says it is important to share where you came from.
“I’m the daughter of a farmer—two farmers and educators. I was born in the mountains of Cameroon, Central Africa,” said Yollande.
And fight through the idea that you need to silence parts of yourself or your culture to fit in. Instead, keep sharing.
“Every single beautiful part of us,” said Yollande.
They say that is what truly recognizing history means.
“Knowing your heritage, knowing your background gives you a sense of identity, gives you confidence. It tells you who you are, where you are from, so you can build on that,” said Cordelia.
The event included dancers and drummers from Milwaukee African Drum and Dance, while lunch was provided by Ubuntu MKE. It is a nonprofit incubator that works to build a more diverse and equitable food community.
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