Sound the Drum kicks off month

The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center will hold the Annual Sound the Drum and Family Feast in its Grand Hall tonight. The two-hour event helps mark the beginning of the Center's celebration of Black History Month.\nNeal-Marshall Center Director Oyibo Afoaku said this fourth installment of the Sound the Drum and Family Feast is a perfect beginning to the month-long celebration. \n"This significance of (the program) is that it's about bringing the community together and encouraging people to think about what BHM means to them individually and \ncollectively," Afoaku said.\nThe program involves using the drum, a symbol of gathering and unity, to draw together people from all over campus. One by one, people will sound the drum. They will then give remarks and reflections and offer prayers. \n"It is a time to reflect on a number of things, as well as a time to meet with friends and make new friends," Afoaku said. "It's a celebration of community, a celebration of friendship."\nPlanners of the event have been working for many months. Students and Center employees worked together to brainstorm and make the necessary arrangements for the program. They handled advertising through flyers and posters around campus, hoping to draw student interest for the event, as well as the schedule of events for the entire month. \nThe event centers on the drum, as well as a recommitment to the seven principles of Kwanzaa. These principles include unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. \nEvent coordinators hope the Sound the Drum and Family Feast will be not only the starting point but the focal point for the month's activities celebrating Black History Month. \nOrganizers at the Neal-Marshall Center hope the schedule of programs planned for Black History Month does more than just bring awareness to the meaning of the whole program. They hope the entire program has far-reaching effects, both short- and long-term, on the IUB campus. \n"The short-term effect is that (those in attendance) feel energized, feel encouraged to work together as a community," Afoaku said. "The long-term effect is that a program like this helps to build bridges on this campus"