Dear Colleagues, Griot Family, and Friends,
We hope your season is off to a remarkable start as we all settle into fall. At The Griot, we have had a thought-provoking few weeks enriched by encounters with artist-intellectuals at events, on and off campus.
Through a rich collaboration of The Griot Institute, the Department of Music (Assistant Professor Ben Barson), and the Arts Res College, the community enjoyed a set of conversations and a music jam created by student Jazz and Hip Hop artists alongside multimedia visual and musical artist and community builder, Charlotte Hill O’Neal. O’Neal, respectfully known as “Mama C,” brought unmatched energy to classrooms she visited, conversations over meals, and her creative work in the community—all at the age of 75. Her visit was immediately followed by a weekend of Homecoming, continuing our marking of 150 years of Black Excellence at Bucknell that began in March 2024 with the Griot Conference on “Decolonial Education and Liberatory Learning“.
Over the course of the Fall 2024-Fall 2025, Alumni Relations, University Advancement, offices formerly under the Vice President of EIE Vernese Edghill-Walden, The Griot Institute, and several student organizations (SNMA-MAPS, BACSA, BSU) all partnernered to develop a series of Homecoming activities to commemorate the past. A substantial ceremony that was well attended was held at the Brawley Statue.
The commemoration at the statue led by Cynthia Mason-Posey ’78 and Jackie Cooke ’77, was a moment to encourage donations for the future. Posey made a call for donations of $150 to the Edward McKnight Brawley Fund, founded by Cooke in the 1990s, to provide funds for student activities that promote learning outside of the classroom. Phi Lambda Fraternity member Frank Wood, Jr. ’62, who has been a fount of knowledge on the late 1950s and early 1960s experiences of students, presented The Griot Institute with a copy of a photo taken in the fraternity house and a letter handwritten by Jackie Robinson following his stay at Bucknell in 1949. A highlight of the weekend was a Friday performance of “Precious Metals” by playwright and performer Carolyn Harrison ’88. There were many social gatherings over meals and snacks at 7th Street House, Walls Lounge and in the Terrace Room to mark the importance of Black students expanding and sharpening their intellectual skills while making a mark socially and professionally at Bucknell and beyond. The weekend was closed by a chapel service that brought Gospel music to Rooke. The events were made particularly special through an archives display organized by Susan Falciani Maldonado, Eir Danielson, Athaliah Elvis ’26, and Gianna Depina ’26 (on display until January at the archives), as well as a gallery display highlighting alumni contributions and achievements from 1875-2025 created by Holiness Kerandi ’26.
Bucknell 150 Years of Black Excellence (1950s-1970s) – October 5, 2025
These activities have rejuvenated and inspired us in our own research on campus. Interns have continued to develop their individual research projects between classes and these various activities. Please be sure to mark your calendars for December 4 when the students will present their work to date at the CSSR poster session from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.
Books have been central to our community conversations over the last three weeks. During Banned Books Week, Griot community members participated in a book group discussion of Richard Wright’s autobiography Black Boy, which makes plain the very kinds of violence Black men face daily in the United States. Due to the generosity of Bucknell University Press sharing 4 of its tickets, a group of ten students had the opportunity for a field trip to Harrisburg’s Book Festival to attend Chimamanda Adichie’s conversation with Aisha Sesay at the Whitaker Center. Additionally, these students had time to engage with creative entrepreneurs at an incubator space designed for minority- and women-owned businesses at the state capital.
Upcoming Events
Film Screening and Discussion: Sinners
Join us for a viewing of Sinners in Hildreth-Mirza Great Room, followed by a discussion led by Professor Aisha Cort on October 29 at 4:00 pm. Popcorn and pizza will be provided.
Book Discussion: Combee by Edda Fields-Black
November 5 at 12:00 – Lunch Provided
Hildreth-Mirza Great Room
Join us for a discussion of Edda Fields-Black’s book COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War on the history of both rice and Harriet Tubman’s work with freedom seekers. A direct descendant of a soldier who fought in the raid, Fields-Black unveils Tubman’s command of spies and pilots and intelligence gathered from freedom seekers, which led to a raid that liberated 756 enslaved people from bondage on seven rice plantations. It was the largest slave rebellion in US history. Winning both the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History and the 2025 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, the book is a remarkably engaging bringing to life the story crafted from personal stories, family history, veterans’ records, and rumors that remind us just how valuable enslaved people were as collateral for fortunes built throughout the nineteenth century.
Griot Intern Presentations: CSSR Poster Session
Join us on December 4 between 11:30 and 1:00 in Academic West for student research posters. Come by and learn more about the research students are developing.
We look forward to seeing you at these events. If you have questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with us at griot@bucknell.edu.
Warm regards,
Cymone Fourshey, Professor of History and International Relations and Director of The Griot Institute
The Griot Intern Blog
For insights, reactions and detailed information on past Griot Institute events, please read our intern-authored blogs throughout the academic year. The blogs also include many updates and reports on what is happening around campus in connection to Black lives and cultures.
Newest Blog Posts:
Mama C Performance: Don’t give up, live life to your fullest
Dancing Mind Challenge
Lunch with a Panther: Conversation with Mama C
“Black Boy” Book Talk
Hooray for Brassroots Democracy!: An Interview with 2025 MAAH Finalist Benjamin Barson
Precious Metals
Power and People: Reflections on Darrick Hamilton’s Speech
Griot intern contributors: Jeremiah Charles ’27, Athaliah Elvis ’26, Mercy Ifiegbu ’26, Holiness Kerandi ’26, Jesse Leon ’28, Ryleigh Roberts ’25 (graduate student and editor), Da’Mirah Vinson ’26 and Barbara Wankollie ’25.
Updates on Life from Griot Institute Interns
The Griot Institute welcomes several new and returning interns this fall.
Catch up with them through their self-authored summer updates shared below (and in the previous newsletters).
Debra Gonkpah ’26
Hello my name is Deborah Gonkpah, I am an international student from Monrovia Liberia, majoring in International Relations with minors in Management and Biology. I am the founder and executive director of WeCan Liberia— a registered non-profit organization inspiring the Liberian dreams of sustainable development through girls education, sanitation, and entrepreneurship— and DEBRASCA— a registered start-up e-commerce importation business that ships goods from China to Liberia businesses. I have four siblings, three sisters, and a brother. I love to sing, dance, and write. In my spare time I love to play the recorder or listen to melodious gospel music.
My favorite Liberian food is palm butter and American food is Olive Garden chicken alfredo.
A carved piece that I hold to my heart: Knowing who you are and what you are gives you the power to change the world. As Martin Luther King put it, not everyone can be famous, but everyone can be great. Just like that, we all bring something to the world’s table that keeps the earth spinning on its axis. Hope you don’t forget that a pound of feathers is just as equal to a pound of steel.
Lucas Reid ’29
Hello everyone, I am Lucas Reid. My previous summer was spent preparing to move out to university and celebrating my high school graduation; the bulk of my summer was actually spent traveling with friends or with people close to me. On the other hand, I stayed at home in Houston with my Mom, getting packed for Bucknell, even coming to tour the campus on June 23rd, 2025.
Despite being on the road most of the summer, I spent much of my time either reflecting on my life in High School and how I wanted my life in college to be, or simply reading on different historical topics for my major. Overall, I am eager to be studying and working at Bucknell.
Upcoming Events
Bucknell in the Caribbean 2026 Information Session
Tuesday, October 21 (5 – 6 pm), 2025
Hildreth-Mirza Great Room
Griot Institute Fall 2025 Film Group
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
4:30 – 7:30 pm
Hildreth-Mirza Great Room
Griot Institute Fall 2025 Book Group
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Hildreth-Mirza Great Room
On November 5, join The Griot Institute to discuss Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War by Edda L. Fields-Black. Most Americans know of Harriet Tubman’s legendary life: escaping enslavement in 1849, she led more than 60 others out of bondage via the Underground Railroad, gave instructions on getting to freedom to scores more, and went on to live a lifetime fighting for change. Yet the many biographies, children’s books, and films about Tubman omit a crucial chapter: during the Civil War, hired by the Union Army, she ventured into the heart of slave territory–Beaufort, South Carolina–to live, work, and gather intelligence for a daring raid up the Combahee River to attack the major plantations of Rice Country, the breadbasket of the Confederacy.
Our book supply of Combee has been distributed. However, feel free to purchase your own book and still join the book group! Lunch will be provided. Please register by Friday, October 31. https://forms.gle/8mxF5Lf8oEdUaZJr9
West African Drumming Lessons
Mondays, 4:30 – 5:30
Hildreth-Mirza Great Room
West African drumming lessons continue, and it is not too late to join! This opportunity is free of charge and is open to the Bucknell community, as well as the public! No experience is necessary and instruments are provided.
Because we have a limited number of instruments, please register by emailing griot@bucknell.edu.
About the instructor: Urie Kline is a versatile percussionist active across Central Pennsylvania. He first began studying West African drumming — specifically the Jembe and Dunan tradition of the Mande — in 2015. His educational experiences include masterclasses under both Dr. Djo Bi (Ivory Coast) and M’bemba Bangoura (Guinea). He has taught Mande drumming during his World Drumming course at Lycoming College since 2018 and started instructing at The Griot Institute in 2022.
Cosponsored Events
Gospel Music at Bucknell
November 15 – 16, 2025
Rooke Chapel
The 2025-26 Rooke Chapel Gospel Music Fellowship offers current master’s or doctoral students (and recent graduates) the opportunity to cultivate the Gospel music tradition within a vibrant, multicultural University worship setting. The fellow leads, in collaboration with the Protestant chaplain and director of music, weekend residencies open to students, staff, faculty and the local community through the course of the academic year, which are designed to teach, explore and celebrate Gospel music. Rooke Chapel is pleased to welcome back Rev. Angela Jones as our 2025-2026 Gospel Music Fellow! The Rev. Angela Jones is a Howard University School of Divinity graduate and gospel recording artist who has performed with genre Billboard-charting artists such as Richard Smallwood, Yolanda Adams, Bebe Winans, Marvin Sapp, Brandon Camphor & One Way, to name a few. Her singing group, Brandon Camphor & One Way, has been nominated for Stellar Awards, has been included on Billboard’s top-30 chart four times, and has received three Wammie Awards. Jones currently serves as minister of worship arts at Word For Life Church Ministries in Maryland. In 2024-25 Rev. Jones served as the Rooke Chapel Gospel Music Fellow and we look forward to welcoming her back to Bucknell. Join us on the dates above for Saturday rehearsals and Sunday worship services!
Learn more about Rev. Angela here! Contact chapel@bucknell.edu with any questions.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
The MLK Week Committee meets monthly to discuss theme ideas and plan specific events for MLK Week. As part of this process, they are seeking proposals from departments, organizations, clubs, and offices, etc. who would like to develop workshops, panels, performances, community outreach and other creative events around the 2026 theme, “The Time Is Always Right to Do Right.” Please see the theme description on the proposal form.
If you would like to propose an event to be included in MLK Week 2026, which will take place between Jan. 19 and Jan. 30, please fill out the proposal form by Nov. 1, 2025. The committee will organize a schedule of events within the first two weeks of the semester to complement the keynote lecture on the evening of Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Please submit your proposal using this link: https://forms.gle/fJWtgawCWNWdLRGv8
About the Griot
To check event dates, subscribe to the Griot Institute Public Event Calendar
Email: griot@bucknell.edu
Phone: 570-577-2123
Location: Hildreth-Mirza, 2nd Floor
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 3:00pm or by appointment
Director: C. Cymone Fourshey | Program Manager: Michelle Lauver
