Leaving the Space Better Than You Found It Through Song: Music, Diversity, and Mission in One Black Student Organization

In recounting the history and present dynamics in the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, Sherry Deckman presents a portrait of what it means to leave a space better than you found it through song. The story of Kuumba—Harvard's oldest black student organization and now its largest multicultural organization—is told through the experiences of Sheldon K. X. Reid, the group's professional director. Issues and tensions of diversity and community surface, and we learn how Kuumba has become a space where lost cultural practices are revived through music to create a campus home and family for members of diverse backgrounds.